Thematic Bible: Is an interpreter of dreams

Then the two of them each had a dream. They both had their dreams the same night, and there were separate interpretations for each dream the senior security advisor and the head chef to the king of Egypt, who had confined them in prison. When Joseph came to see them in the morning, he noticed how downcast they looked! They were both very sad. So he asked Pharaoh's officers, who were with him in prison in his master's house, "Why are you so sad today?" read more.
"We had a dream," they replied, "but there's no one to interpret it." "Interpretations belong to God," Joseph told them, "so please tell me your stories." So the senior security advisor related his dream to Joseph. "In my dream," he said, "all of a sudden there was a vine in front of me! On the vine were three branches that budded. Blossoms shot out, and clusters grew up that produced ripe grapes. Then, with Pharaoh's cup in my hand, I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, then handed the cup directly to Pharaoh." Then Joseph told him, "This is what your dream means: The three branches are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will encourage you and return you to your responsibilities. You'll attend to Pharaoh's personal wine cup, just as you did when you were his senior security advisor. But keep me in mind when things go well for you. Be sure to extend kindness to me by remembering me to Pharaoh. Bring me out of this prison, because I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. Not only that, I haven't done anything that deserves me being confined to this pit." When the head chef heard that the interpretation was good, he told Joseph, "I was also in my dream. All of a sudden, there were three baskets with white bread stacked on top of my head. There was all kinds of food in the basket that was on top, including baked food for Pharaoh. The birds were eating them from the basket on my head." Joseph replied, "This is what your dream means: The three baskets are also three days. Within three more days, Pharaoh will behead you and hang you on gallows, where birds will eat your flesh from you." On the third day, which just happened to be Pharaoh's birthday, he threw a party for all his servants. He lifted the head of both his senior security advisor and of his head chef in front of his servants that is, he restored his senior security advisor to his former responsibilities, including attending to Pharaoh's personal wine cup, but he beheaded and hanged the head chef, just as Joseph had interpreted for them. Despite all of this, the senior security advisor not only didn't remember Joseph, he deliberately forgot him.

Two years later to the day Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River, when all of a sudden seven healthy, plump cows emerged from the Nile to graze in the grass that grew in the reeds that lined the bank. Right after that, seven more cows came up out of the Nile. Ugly and gaunt, they stood next to the other cows on the bank of the Nile River. read more.
But all of a sudden they ate up the seven healthy, plump cows! Then Pharaoh woke up. After he had fallen back to sleep, he had a second dream, in which seven ears of plump, fruit-filled grain grew up on a single stalk. Suddenly seven thin ears of grain that had been scorched by an east wind sprouted up right after them and ate up the seven plump, fruit-filled ears. Then Pharaoh woke up a second time, and it had been a very vivid dream! The very next morning, he was frustrated about the dream, so he sent word to summon all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them what he had dreamed, but no one could interpret them. Then Pharaoh's senior security advisor spoke up. "Maybe I should make a confession. When Pharaoh was angry with some of his servants, he incarcerated me in custody of the captain of the bodyguard, along with Pharaoh's head chef. We each had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning. There was a Hebrew young man incarcerated with us, who was also working as a servant to the captain of the bodyguard. "We each related our dreams, and then he interpreted them for us. He provided specific meanings for each of our dreams. And what he interpreted for each of us came true! Pharaoh restored me to my responsibilities, but he executed the other man." Pharoah sent word to summon Joseph quickly from the dungeon, so they shaved his beard, changed his clothes, and then sent him straight to Pharaoh. "I've had a dream," Pharaoh told Joseph, "but nobody can interpret it. I've heard that you can interpret dreams." "I can't do that," Joseph replied, "but God is concerned about Pharaoh's well-being." So Pharaoh told Joseph, "In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile River, and all of a sudden seven healthy, plump, beautiful cows emerged from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds that line the bank. Just then, seven other cows emerged after them, poor, ugly, and appearing very gaunt in their flesh. I've never seen anything as ugly as those cows anywhere in the entire land of Egypt! But those thin, gaunt cows gobbled up the first seven healthy cows! Not only that," Pharaoh continued, "after they had finished devouring the cows, nobody could tell that they had gobbled them up, because they were just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. Later, I also dreamed about seven plump, fruit-filled ears of grain that grew up out of a single stalk. All of a sudden, seven thin, withered ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. But the thin ears gobbled up the seven good ears. I told all this to my advisors, but nobody was able to explain it to me." "Pharaoh's dreams are identical," Joseph replied. "God has told Pharaoh what he is getting ready to do. The seven healthy cows represent seven years, as do the seven healthy ears. The dreams are identical. The seven gaunt cows that arose after the healthy cows are seven years, as are the seven gaunt ears scorched by the east wind. There will be seven years of famine. So the message that I have for Pharaoh is that God is telling Pharaoh what he is getting ready to do. Be advised that seven years of phenomenal abundance are coming throughout all the land of Egypt, but after them seven years of famine are ahead, during which all of the abundance will be forgotten throughout the land of Egypt. The famine will ravage the land so severely that there will be no surplus in the land due to the coming famine, because it will be very severe. "Now since Pharaoh had that dream twice, it means that this event has been scheduled by God, and God will bring it to pass very soon. Therefore let Pharaoh select a wise, discerning person to place in charge over the land of Egypt. Also, let Pharaoh immediately proceed to appoint supervisors over the land of Egypt, who will collect one fifth of its agricultural production during the coming seven years of abundance. Let them collect all the food during the coming fruitful years, store up the grain in cities governed by Pharaoh's authority, and place it under guard. Let the food be kept in reserve to feed the land for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout Egypt, so the people don't die during the famine." What Joseph proposed pleased Pharaoh and all of his advisors,