Properly speaking, Joseph should have gone out free from his dungeon on
the same day as the butler. He had been there ten years by that time,
and had made amends for the slander he had uttered against his ten
brethren. However, he remained in prison two years longer. "Blessed is
the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord," but
Joseph had put his confidence in flesh and blood. He had prayed the
chief butler to have him in remembrance when it should be well with
him, and make mention of him unto Pharaoh, and the butler forgot his
promise, and therefore Joseph had to stay in prison two years more than
the years originally allotted to him there.[154] The butler had not
forgotten him intentionally, but it was ordained of God that his memory
should fail him. When he would say to himself, If thus and so happens,
I will remember the case of Joseph, the conditions he had imagined were
sure to be reversed, or if he made a knot as a reminder, an angel came
and undid the knot, and Joseph did not enter his mind.[155]
But "the Lord setteth an end to darkness," and Joseph's liberation was
not delayed by a single moment beyond the time decreed for it. God
said, "Thou, O butler, thou didst forget Joseph, but I did not," and He
caused Pharaoh to dream a dream that was the occasion for Joseph's
release.[156]
In his dream Pharaoh saw seven kine, well-favored and fat-fleshed, come
up out of the Nile, and they all together grazed peaceably on the brink
of the river, In years when the harvest is abundant, friendship reigns
among men, and love and brotherly harmony, and these seven fat kine
stood for seven such prosperous years. After the fat kine, seven more
came up out of the river, ill-favored and lean- fleshed, and each had
her back turned to the others, for when distress prevails, one man
turns away from the other. For a brief space Pharaoh awoke, and when he
went to sleep again, he dreamed a second dream, about seven rank and
good ears of corn, and seven ears that were thin and blasted with the
east wind,[157] the withered cars swallowing the full ears. He awoke at
once, and it was morning, and dreams dreamed in the morning are the
ones that come true.[158]
This was not the first time Pharaoh had had these dreams. They had
visited him every night during a period of two years, and he had
forgotten them invariably in the morning. This was the first time he
remembered them, for the day had arrived for Joseph to come forth from
his prison house.[159] Pharaoh's heart beat violently when he called
his dreams to mind on awaking.[160] Especially the second one, about
the ears of corn, disquieted him. He reflected that whatever has a
mouth can eat, and therefore the dream of the seven lean kine that ate
up the seven fat kine did not appear strange to him. But the ears of
corn that swallowed up other ears of corn troubled his spirit.[161] He
therefore called for all the wise men of his land, and they endeavored
in vain to find a satisfactory interpretation. They explained that the
seven fat kine meant seven daughters to be born unto Pharaoh, and the
seven lean kine, that he would bury seven daughters; the rank ears of
corn meant that Pharaoh would conquer seven countries, and the blasted
ears, that seven provinces would rebel against him.[162] About the ears
of corn they did not all agree. Some thought the good ears stood for
seven cities to be built by Pharaoh, and the seven withered ears
indicated that these same cities would be destroyed at the end of his
reign.
Sagacious as he was, Pharaoh knew that none of these explanations hit
the nail on the head. He issued a decree summoning all interpreters of
dreams to appear before him on pain of death, and he held out great
rewards and distinctions to the one who should succeed in finding the
true meaning of his dreams. In obedience to his summons, all the wise
men appeared, the magicians and the sacred scribes that were in
Mizraim, the city of Egypt, as well as those from Goshen, Raamses,
Zoan, and the whole country of Egypt, and with them came the princes,
officers, and servants of the king from all the cities of the land.
To all these the king narrated his dreams, but none could interpret
them to his satisfaction. Some said that the seven fat kine were the
seven legitimate kings that would rule over Egypt, and the seven lean
kine betokened seven princes that would rise up against these seven
kings and exterminate them. The seven good ears of corn were the seven
superior princes of Egypt that would engage in a war for their
overlord, and would be defeated by as many insignificant princes, who
were betokened by the seven blasted ears.
Another interpretation was that the seven fat kine were the seven
fortified cities of Egypt, at some future time to fall into the hands
of seven Canaanitish nations, who were foreshadowed in the seven lean
kine. According to this interpretation, the second dream supplemented
the first. It meant that the descendants of Pharaoh would regain
sovereign authority over Egypt at a subsequent period, and would subdue
the seven Canaanitish nations as well.
There was a third interpretation, given by some: The seven fat kine are
seven women whom Pharaoh would take to wife, but they would die during
his lifetime, their loss being indicated by the seven lean kine.
Furthermore, Pharaoh would have fourteen sons, and the seven strong
ones would be conquered by the seven weaklings, as the blasted ears of
corn in his dream had swallowed up the rank ears of corn.
And a fourth: "Thou wilt have seven sons, O Pharaoh, these are the
seven fat kine. These sons of thine will be killed by the seven
powerful rebellious princes. But then seven minor princes will come,
and they will kill the seven rebels, avenge thy descendants, and
restore the dominion to thy family."
The king was as little pleased with these interpretations as with the
others, which he had heard before, and in his wrath he ordered the wise
men, the magicians and the scribes of Egypt, to be killed, and the
hangmen made ready to execute the royal decree.
However, Mirod, Pharaoh's chief butler,[163] took fright, seeing that
the king was so vexed at his failure to secure an interpretation of his
dreams that he was on the point of giving up the ghost. He was alarmed
about the king's death, for it was doubtful whether the successor to
the throne would retain him in office. He resolved to do all in his
power to keep Pharaoh alive. Therefore he stepped before him, and
spake, saying, "I do remember two faults of mine this day, I showed
myself ungrateful to Joseph, in that I did not bring his request before
thee, and also I saw thee in distress by reason of thy dream, without
letting thee know that Joseph can interpret dreams.[164] When it
pleased the Lord God to make Pharaoh wroth with his servants, the king
put me in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the
chief baker.[165] And with us there was a simple young man, one of the
despised race of the Hebrews, slave to the captain of the guard, and he
interpreted our dreams to us, and it came to pass, as he interpreted to
us, so it was. Therefore, O king, stay the hand of the hangmen, let
them not execute the Egyptians. The slave I speak of is still in the
dungeon, and if the king will consent to summon him hither, he will
surely interpret thy dreams."[166]