Answer: Abimelech
Insight: God intervened before Abimelech sinned against Sarah, preserving the promised line through Abraham.
Bible Stumpers
Dreams in the Bible
God spoke while people slept.
Pagan kings woke up terrified. An enemy soldier’s dream changed the course of a battle. A night vision redirected an apostle’s journey.
Some dreams in Scripture reshaped empires.
Others delivered divine warnings, protected innocent lives, or gave unexpected courage.
Below are 10 questions about dreams recorded in the Bible. How many can you get before checking?
1. A frightened ruler was warned in a dream not to touch another man’s wife after unknowingly taking her into his household. Who was the ruler?
2. In a dream at Gibeon, God told this newly crowned king to ask for whatever he desired.
Answer: Solomon
Insight: Rather than asking for wealth or long life, Solomon requested wisdom to govern God’s people.
3. In two separate dreams, this young man saw sheaves bowing down and later the sun, moon, and stars bowing before him, provoking jealousy among his brothers.
Answer: Joseph
Insight: The dreams foreshadowed Joseph’s future authority in Egypt and his family’s eventual dependence on him during famine.
4. This pagan king dreamed of seven healthy cows being devoured by seven thin cows, a mystery none of his wise men could explain.
Answer: Pharaoh
Insight: Joseph explained that the dreams predicted seven years of abundance followed by seven years of severe famine.
5. A Midianite soldier dreamed that a loaf of barley bread tumbled into camp and overturned a tent. Hearing the dream gave this Israelite judge courage to attack.
Answer: Gideon
Insight: God used the enemy soldier’s dream to strengthen Gideon’s faith before battle against overwhelming odds.
6. In a dream meant to counter years of workplace deception, this man saw mating livestock that were entirely streaked, speckled, and spotted. Who was he?
Answer: Jacob
Insight: The dream reassured Jacob that God had seen Laban’s mistreatment and was directing his return home.
7. After dreaming of a great tree cut down, this king lost his sanity, lived like an animal for seven years, and later proclaimed that God rules over all earthly kingdoms.
Answer: Nebuchadnezzar
Insight: The dream became a warning against pride and a testimony to God’s sovereignty over rulers and nations.
8. In a night vision, this prophet saw four terrifying beasts emerge from the sea, representing future kingdoms.
Answer: Daniel
Insight: The vision revealed that earthly empires rise and fall, but God ultimately establishes an everlasting kingdom that will never be destroyed.
9. Because of a dream, the Magi departed for their country by another route instead of returning to report to this king.
Answer: King Herod
Insight: God warned the Magi in a dream, preventing Herod from immediately locating the young Jesus.
10. This Roman governor’s wife urged her husband to avoid condemning Jesus because she had suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.
Answer: Pilate’s wife
Insight: Even during Jesus’ trial, a dream served as a warning about His innocence.
Bonus: A man from this region appeared to Paul in a nighttime vision, saying “Come over and help us,” which led to the Gospel entering Europe.
Answer: Macedonia
Insight: Paul immediately recognized the vision as God’s direction to carry the Gospel into new regions beyond Asia Minor.
Don't rush through these questions. Again and again in Scripture, God used dreams to warn, guide, humble, and reveal His purposes.
