Dream
God has frequently made use of dreams in communicating his will to men. The most remarkable instances of this are recorded in the history of Jacob (Gen 28:12; Gen 31:10), Laban (Gen 31:24), Joseph (Gen 37:9–11), Gideon (Judg 7:1–25), and Solomon (1 Kgs 3:5). Other significant dreams are also recorded, such as those of Abimelech (Gen 20:3–7), Pharaoh’s chief butler and baker (Gen 40:5), Pharaoh (Gen 41:1–8), the Midianites (Judg 7:13), Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 2:1; Dan 4:10, Dan 4:18), the wise men from the east (Matt 2:12), and Pilate’s wife (Matt 27:19).
To Joseph “the Lord appeared in a dream,” and gave him instructions regarding the infant Jesus (Matt 1:20; Matt 2:12, Matt 2:13, Matt 2:19). In a vision of the night a “man of Macedonia” stood before Paul and said, “Come over into Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9; see also Acts 18:9; Acts 27:23).
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.
