Chapter 8 Joseph Dream Interpretation

After wandering for many years, the Jews established a new home in Egypt, and their relative Joseph held an important position in Egypt. You have to keep in mind that the Old Testament is a compilation of a series of disconnected historical legends that emerged nearly a millennium after the death of the founder of the Jewish nation.Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are the main characters in these early histories.They bravely walked into the wilderness, their courage, their perseverance and loyalty to ideals, just like the early Puritan immigrants. However, they lived in a time when the Jews had no written language.Their stories are told from father to son, and each generation adds new and glorious details to their ancestry.

In this compilation of historical legends, there is no one thread running through it, but one thing is certain, and those who are familiar with history know that the Jews three thousand years ago basically lived by shepherding, and they were always looking for New ranch.Abraham moved westward to find pasture for his growing flock of sheep. Every time he found a good pasture, he set up camp, built a house and dug a well.However, within a few years, the drought came and Abraham had to start wandering again. By the time of Isaac, the Jews gradually settled in the Canaan area, but this period of peace and stability was not long. Jacob never stayed in one place for too long. In his later years, the long-term drought made Palestine uninhabitable. , the Jews were forced to leave Asia and move to Africa, but they never forgot their homeland, and they returned whenever they had the opportunity.

The ancient story has been passed down like this. Under the walls of Jewish towns, old people sat together and talked about the deeds of their ancestors. As we have said above, Jacob married a pair of sisters, the elder named Leah, who bore ten sons, and the younger named Rachel, who bore only two sons: Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph Dream Interpretation Jacob liked Rachel and disliked Leah, so likewise he liked Rachel's children and disliked Leah's children.It was unwise for Jacob to show this preference, both at table and in the field, and Joseph felt that his father favored him over other children, and it spoiled him.Joseph was a very clever boy, much more clever than the other brothers.Knowing that no matter what he did, he would get away with it, he became the wildest man in the family.

At breakfast one day, he announced that he had a strange dream. "What dream?" everyone asked. "Oh, it's nothing. I dreamed that we were binding rice in the field. The one I tied stood upright in the center, and the rice they tied bowed around." His brothers, though not so bright, knew what he meant, and everyone hated him. After a few days, Joseph had another dream. This time it was too much, and even his father was angry. Normally, no matter what Joseph said or did, Jacob thought it was a sign of cleverness. "What dream is this time again?" Everyone asked impatiently, "Is it another bundle of rice?"

"Oh, no, this time it's the stars. I dreamed that there were eleven stars in the sky, and they nodded to me along with the sun and the moon." The brothers were very upset when they heard this, and so was the father. He thought of Joseph's dead mother and warned him to be more humble. But Jacob did not change his preference for the child, and soon he bought Joseph a brightly colored coat.Joseph put on his new clothes and happily walked around to show off to his brothers: What a noble person I am! At first, they just laughed at Joseph, but soon their anger turned to hatred.One day, while his father was away, they caught Joseph in a field near Shechem, tore off his fine clothes, and threw Joseph, who was kicking and screaming, into a hole.

They sat together and discussed what to do. They couldn't kill their brother anyway, but they didn't want him to stay at home. Judas had a good idea. Near their home, there is a road leading from the Nile to Mesopotamia, where caravans often pass by. "Sell Joseph," said Judas, "and tear up Joseph's beautiful dress, smear his blood on it, and tell his father that Joseph was eaten by a tiger. We'll give you a penny, and no one will know of." After a while, a group of Midian merchants from Gilead passed by with spices and medicines to go to Egypt.Joseph's brothers said to the merchant, They want to sell a little slave.After a bargain, they sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver.

This is why Joseph went west.For the next twenty years, Jacob missed his son Joseph, who was killed by wild animals when he was a boy.Unknown to all of them, however, Joseph was ruling Egypt at this time.The strange process among them is recorded in the history books. As we said earlier, Joseph was very clever, but unfortunately his cleverness was mistaken by his cleverness. The experience of Shechem taught him a lesson, and he no longer boasted that he knew everything. The Midianites quickly sold him to Potiphar, the captain of the Egyptian army, at a high price.From then on, Joseph became Potiphar's house slave.But it wasn't long before he became Potiphar's right-hand man, keeping accounts for him and acting as steward of his servants.

Unfortunately, Potiphar's wife fell in love with Joseph, whom she thought was a better-looking boy than her dull-witted husband.But Joseph knew that the relationship between master and servant should not be too close, otherwise there would be trouble, so he kept Potiphar's wife at a respectful distance. Potiphar's wife, a vicious woman, hurt her pride, and told her husband that the new steward was dishonest and insolent. In ancient Egypt, where slaves had no power, Potiphar sent Joseph to prison without asking whether the accusation was justified. Joseph went to prison, but he was still in a good mood. He was optimistic, cheerful, and well-behaved, and he was very popular.

The warden was very happy to have such a reliable person on his behalf, who could move about freely as long as he did not leave the gate, and sometimes stayed with the prisoners to amuse himself. Two of the prisoners caught Joseph's attention, one the steward of the court and the other the Pharaoh's baker.They pissed off the king for some reason, which is a very serious crime.The Egyptians respected their rulers very much. They never called the king directly, but called them Pharaoh, which means "big palace". These two are servants of the "Omiya" and are awaiting judgment.They try their best to pass the boring time. What they like most is to talk to each other about dreams.Ancient people believed that dreams have special meanings, and those who can interpret dreams are unique characters.

This is where Joseph's ingenuity comes in handy, and the baker and court master tell him their dreams, and he immediately agrees to interpret them. The court chief said: "I dreamed that I was standing under a vine, and suddenly three branches were full of grapes. I squeezed the grape juice into the king's cup and put it in the Pharaoh's hand." Joseph thought for a while and replied, "It's very simple. Within three days, you will be released and the officer will be reinstated." The baker hurriedly said: "I also dreamed about some strange things. I dreamed that I was walking towards the palace with a basket of bread, and suddenly a group of birds flew over and ate up the bread. What does it mean?"

"That's easy," said Joseph, "in three days you'll be hanged." As a result, three days later, Pharaoh celebrated his birthday and hosted a banquet for his ministers.Thinking of the imprisoned baker and court master, he ordered the baker to be hanged, the court master released, and the magistrate reinstated. Of course the court chief was very happy, and thanked Joseph for predicting his good luck, and said that he would appeal to Pharaoh and all the officials, and must let Joseph be free, and he would never forget Joseph's kindness, etc. . But as soon as he resumed his official position and stood beside the king, the supervisor forgot all about the Jewish youth in prison.He never mentioned Joseph again. This hurt Joseph, and he stayed in prison for more than two years. If it weren't for the strange dream that Pharaoh had, Joseph might have been imprisoned for the rest of his life. The king had a dream, and the whole country paid attention to it. Everyone was discussing what revelation God gave to Pharaoh in his sleep. The following is Pharaoh's dream: Pharaoh saw seven full ears of wheat on a stalk, and suddenly they were eaten by seven dry ears of wheat; and dreamed of seven fat cows grazing by the Nile River, Suddenly, seven thin and ugly cows came and ate up the fat cows. This was the content of the dream, which disturbed Pharaoh.He ordered all the wise men in the country to interpret the dream, but none of these wise men could answer.At this time, the head of the court thought of the Jewish boy in prison, so he asked the king to summon Joseph. At this time, Joseph, who was still in prison, was taken to have a bath, had his hair cut, put on new clothes, and then came to the palace. The boring life in prison did not wear away Joseph's ingenuity, and he easily explained the dream.He said: "Seven fat oxen and seven ears of wheat on one stalk mean seven years of abundance, but then there will be seven years of famine that will consume the entire reserves of those seven years of abundance. His majesty must appoint A man of talent manages the grain of the country to tide over the famine." Pharaoh appreciated this explanation very much and felt that the young man made sense.He took immediate action and immediately ordered the appointment of the young foreigner as Minister of Agriculture. As time went on, Joseph's power grew, and by the end of seven years, the son of Jacob was the second ruler of Egypt after the king.He did a good job, he built countless granaries and stored a lot of grain. The famine finally came and spread throughout the country, and Joseph's preparations were complete. Egyptian farmers did not have the habit of saving, and they always ate as much as they had.Now for the survival of the whole family, they had to exchange their houses, livestock and even land with Pharaoh for food. In the end, they lost everything and nothing, and the pharaoh gained all the land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Moon Mountains. In this way, the ancient Egyptian free system ended, and the slavery that lasted for thousands of years began.Worse than dozens of famines, slavery kept the Egyptians alive and made Egypt the commercial center of the civilized world.At that time, only Egypt was prepared for the disaster. Babylon, Assyria, and Canaan were similarly hit by drought and various other disasters.Thousands of people died, vast tracts of land were left uncultivated, and children were sold. Old Jacob's family also tasted the pain of hunger soon. They had no choice but to go to Egypt to buy grain.Joseph's younger brother Benjamin stayed at home, while the other ten brothers drove their donkeys westward to find food. They crossed the desert of Sinai and came to the banks of the Nile, where the Egyptians detained them and brought them before Joseph the governor. Joseph recognized the ragged vagrants as his brothers, but he kept his face and asked the interpreter to ask what they were doing. "It's a duty-bound shepherd from Canaan, looking for food for the old father," they replied. "Who can prove that you are not spies who came to spy on Egyptian defense intelligence?" They swore that they were innocent, that they were good shepherds, twelve brothers who lived in Canaan with their father. "Twelve brothers, where are those two?" "Well, one is dead, and the other stays at home to take care of my father." Joseph feigned disbelief, telling them that the Governor had doubts about them, and that they must bring the other brother to prove their word. Terrified, the ten brothers stood outside Joseph's tent talking rapidly, their hearts weighed down by their past crimes, and it was horrific to have sold their brother to a trafficker.Now, they might lose another younger brother, what would father think? They begged Joseph to forgive them, but Joseph refused.He heard the conversation of the brothers, and rejoiced in their repentance.Over the past three decades, his older brothers had learned a lesson.But he had to test them one last time before he could forgive them for hurting him when they were young.The ten brothers left Simeon as a hostage, and the others went back and brought Benjamin. It was not an easy task, and Jacob was heartbroken.But the whole family was starving, the servants were dying of hunger, and there was no grain for the coming year.Jacob had no choice but to let them take Benjamin back to Egypt, and stay at home alone. This time there was no detention and all officers were polite.They were taken directly to the governor's mansion, where they were treated like distinguished guests. But they don't like this kind of treatment, because they are not beggars and don't need handouts.They bought food with gold, but were told to take what they wanted without paying.They insisted on paying, only to find the gold slipped back into their pockets. On the way home, at the end of a hot day, they sat around talking about the strange incident.Suddenly they heard a group of people shouting and rushing in the dark, it was a group of Egyptian soldiers, and they came to arrest these Jews. The brothers asked loudly what crime they had committed, they were innocent.The soldiers replied that the governor's wine glass was lost and they were ordered to search it, and that the governor had not approached anyone other than the Jewish guests that day, so they had to be checked.The brothers had no choice but to open their bags one by one, my God!Benjamin found the governor's wine glass in his bag. With all the stolen goods, they were taken back to Egypt to meet the governor.They were desperate, and they repeatedly pleaded their innocence, which is so incredible.The governor, looking sullen, accused them of ingratitude.They finally couldn't stand it anymore and confessed their past crimes to the Governor, and now they are willing to give everything to make up for their sins.At this time, Joseph could no longer control his emotions, and he said that he ordered the cup to be put. He then ordered all the Egyptians to leave the room.He stepped down from the throne and took Benjamin in his arms.The sons of Jacob watched in amazement at the sight before them.This time they saw clearly that the most powerful person in Egypt in front of them was actually their own brother who they wanted to kill and later sold to the merchants of Midian. This bizarre story caused a sensation throughout the country, and the king sent a caravan to take Jacob to Egypt.Joseph gave his father his land in the province of Goshen to live in. In this way, the Jews left Canaan and moved to Egypt, but they still missed their homeland in their hearts.When Jacob died, he requested that he be buried in the cave of Machpelah, with his grandparents and parents. Joseph carried his father's body back to Canaan according to his will.Joseph lived in Egypt for many years. He was kind and tolerant, and the people loved him.