The Meaning of a Dream
After deciphering the meaning of Pharaoh's dreams, Yosef proceeds to
advise Pharaoh on what needs to be done to ensure that Egypt survives the years
of famine. He proposes to establish a network of storehouses to stock the surplus
grain in the seven plentiful years to sustain the country during the seven years
of famine; 'repair the roof when the sun is shining', as someone famously said.[1]
The suggestion is as bold as it is smart. Surely instructing Pharaoh how
to protect against the future crisis went beyond his mandate as dream
interpreter? Add to this the fact that Yosef was not just any dream
interpreter; he was a hitherto unknown foreigner and long-term prisoner. One
might suggest that Yosef was emboldened to provide the unsolicited advice after
receiving a positive reaction from Pharaoh,[2] however this seems
insufficient as the text presents the interpretation and the advice as part of
a continuous monologue. At the very least, the fact that the Torah presents the
two together suggests that the advice offered by Yosef is intrinsic to the
dream itself.
Another interesting point to note is that the solution proposed by Yosef serves to undermine the interpretation. From the fact that the appearance of the
lean cows was unchanged after consuming the fat cows, Yosef initially inferred that
the seven years of famine will be so harsh that they will cause the years of
plenty to be forgotten. Through the storage plan, however, Yosef ensures that
the years of plenty will not be forgotten during the years of famine.
To address these points, it is worth briefly considering the significance
of dreams in ancient Egypt. Alongside other forms of superstition, dreams were
taken extremely seriously and seen as omens for future events. The practice of dream
interpretation (oneiromancy) was the domain of the elite, and the class of
diviners or seers responsible for dream interpretation often had great
political and social influence.[3]
One of the famous ancient documents on this subject is the Egyptian 'Dream
Book' estimated to date back to the early reign of Ramesses II (1279-1213 BCE).
According to the British Museum description: 'on each page of the papyrus a
vertical column of hieratic signs begins: 'if a man sees himself in a dream';
each horizontal line describes a dream, followed by the diagnosis 'good' or
'bad', and then the interpretation. For example, 'if a man sees himself in a
dream looking out of a window, good; it means the hearing of his cry'. Or, 'if
a man sees himself in a dream with his bed catching fire, bad; it means driving
away his wife''.[4]
For our purposes it is important to appreciate the deterministic and highly
specific nature of these interpretations.
A clash of worldviews
Against this backdrop, the significance of Yosef's response to Pharaoh
can be fully appreciated. By tying together, the dire prediction on the one
hand, and the potential for pre-emptive action on the other, Yosef asserts that
the main purpose of the dream is a call to take responsible preventative action.
That is the sole reason why 'God has revealed his plans to Pharaoh' (see
41:25).[5]
This approach of Yosef stands in marked contrast to the fatalistic view of
Egypt, where intervention is seen as pointless in the face of the supposed
inevitable. The contrast with Pharaoh can be seen in Pharaoh's reconstruction
of his own dream. The fear which grips Pharaoh is not simply the fear of the
unknown or lack of certainty. Rather, the bad omen Pharaoh senses in the dream
is what paralyses him, even without knowing its precise meaning. One can
discern this from the various changes Pharaoh makes when he retells the dreams
to Yosef, which are absent from the objective narrative. I would like to focus
on three significant differences which shed light on the subjective position of
Pharaoh.
1.
The appearance of the lean cows.
וְהִנֵּה שֶׁבַע־פָּרוֹת אֲחֵרוֹת עֹלוֹת אַחֲרֵיהֶן דַּלּוֹת וְרָעוֹת תֹּאַר
מְאֹד וְרַקּוֹת בָּשָׂר לֹא־רָאִיתִי כָהֵנָּה בְּכָל־אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לָרֹעַ:
(בראשית מא:יט)
The bolded phrase does not appear in the objective narrative. Pharaoh's
obsession with the 'bad' appearance of the cows is reflective of someone who is
fixated on the problem and sees no way out.
2. The lean cows and the fat cows stand side by side (original version only)
וְהִנֵּה שֶׁבַע פָּרוֹת אֲחֵרוֹת עֹלוֹת אַחֲרֵיהֶן מִן־הַיְאֹר רָעוֹת
מַרְאֶה וְדַקּוֹת בָּשָׂר וַתַּעֲמֹדְנָה אֵצֶל הַפָּרוֹת עַל־שְׂפַת הַיְאֹר (בראשית מא:ג)
The objective narrative contains this bolded phrase suggesting an
overlap or even co-existence between the lean cows and the fat cows. This
phrase does not appear in Pharaoh's own account. Consciously or subconsciously,
this element of the dream is fulfilled by Yosef who ensures that the food surplus from
the good years is distributed during the years of famine.[6]
3. The 'bad' appearance of the lean cows after swallowing the fat cows
וַתֹּאכַלְנָה
הַפָּרוֹת הָרַקּוֹת וְהָרָעוֹת אֵת שֶׁבַע הַפָּרוֹת הָרִאשֹׁנוֹת הַבְּרִיאֹת׃ וַתָּבֹאנָה
אֶל־קִרְבֶּנָה וְלֹא נוֹדַע כִּי־בָאוּ אֶל־קִרְבֶּנָה וּמַרְאֵיהֶן רַע
כַּאֲשֶׁר בַּתְּחִלָּה וָאִיקָץ׃ (בראשית מא:כ-כא)
This, to my mind, is by far the most important difference. Pharaoh
states that the lean cows were unchanged after eating the fat cows – but this
is not stated anywhere in the objective narrative(!). This insertion by Pharaoh
seems to be a consequence of his worldview that everything is governed by fate
and destiny with little room for humans to influence what is written in the
stars. If indeed the lean cows are a bad omen, then there is no reversal and no
room for optimism. The possibility that the fat cows may be intended to sustain
the lean cows does not occur to Pharaoh. Yosef, on the other hand, who
understands the limitations of dreams and the role of human action senses the imposition. On the contrary, he sees in the dream a call
to action. The purpose of the fat cows is to feed and
sustain the thin cows; it is the key to survival rather than the source of the problem. This alternative ending is certainly a possibility within
the objective narrative. The years of plenty may be used to sustain the
population in the years of famine[7]; however, it is contingent
on responsible action and governance.
Power and responsibility (the Peter Parker principle)
I would like to take this one step further and suggest that part of
Pharaoh's fear in relation to the dreams, lies in the symbol of the weak consuming
the strong. In the worldview where might is right, the lean cows consuming the
fat cows is worrying and disorientating. Yosef's interpretation on the other
hand, asserts that it is not a zero-sum game - the strong may use their power
to assist the weak, rather than to dominate. This, of course, is exactly the
way Yosef himself will soon act in relation to his own family as he sustains
them during the famine:
וְעַתָּה אַל־תֵּעָצְבוּ
וְאַל־יִחַר בְּעֵינֵיכֶם כִּי־מְכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי הֵנָּה כִּי לְמִחְיָה שְׁלָחַנִי
אֱלֹהִים לִפְנֵיכֶם (בראשית מה:ה)
Thus, Yosef's message to Pharaoh was equally a lesson to himself. Recall
that in Yosef's earlier dreams, he was the central figure to whom everyone
bowed:
וְהִנֵּה אֲנַחְנוּ מְאַלְּמִים אֲלֻמִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַשָּׂדֶה וְהִנֵּה קָמָה
אֲלֻמָּתִי וְגַם־נִצָּבָה וְהִנֵּה תְסֻבֶּינָה אֲלֻמֹּתֵיכֶם וַתִּשְׁתַּחֲוֶיןָ
לַאֲלֻמָּתִי (בראשית לז:ז)
Like Pharaoh's subjective perceptions are reflected in his recounting of
his dreams, the fixation on power in Yosef's dreams – also conveyed through
subjective narrative - reflects his mindset at that stage in his life. Between
these dreams, however, Yosef undergoes a transformation. Instead of rising to
the top as he originally dreamt, he quickly finds himself down at the bottom of
a pit. When he does obtain power in Potiphar's house, his protest to the attempted seduction is based on concerns of abuse of power and trust:
אֵינֶנּוּ גָדוֹל בַּבַּיִת הַזֶּה מִמֶּנִּי וְלֹא־חָשַׂךְ מִמֶּנִּי
מְאוּמָה כִּי אִם־אוֹתָךְ בַּאֲשֶׁר אַתְּ־אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֵיךְ אֶעֱשֶׂה הָרָעָה
הַגְּדֹלָה הַזֹּאת וְחָטָאתִי לֵאלֹהִים (בראשית לט:ט)
Yosef has here begun to learn the equation of power and responsibility. At
the start of the story, we are told that the master leaves everything in
Yosef's hand - ויעזוב את כל אשר לו ביד יוסף – but Yosef, in
order not to abuse his position of trust, is even prepared to leave his garment
in the hands of Potiphar's wife – ויעזוב בגדו בידה.[8]
Retuning to Pharaoh's dreams, when Yosef sees how the lean cows can be
sustained by the fat cows, he understands how his own dreams reveal a future point
in which the rest of the family would be dependent on him for material support.
This is the meaning of the other sheaves bowing down to his sheave. It symbolises
dependency not supremacy.[9]
Later, when the brothers (minus one) bow down to Yosef in Egypt, it acts
as a superficial trigger to remind Yosef of the deeper calling of his dreams. The
reader who eagerly awaits to see the literal fulfilment of the dreams where the
entire family bows down to him, is sure to be disappointed. If the literal
fulfilment of the dreams was the anchor to the plot, then surely this should
have been explicitly recorded.[10] The shift in the
understanding of the dream which the reader experiences, reflects the
transformation which Yosef himself undergoes.
The connection between Pharaoh's dream and his own personal life is
strengthened if we consider that the 7 years depicted by the respective set of cows
remind Yosef of Rachel and Lea, each for whom Yaakov worked 7 years.[11] Like the fat cows which sustain
and pave the way for the lean cows – Yosef's leadership in Egypt sustains the
people and paves the way for a son of Lea (Yehudah) to eventually take on the mantle of leadership. The son of Rachel leads in exile, however, it is the son of Lea who obtains the ultimate blessing of
leadership (with wording reminiscent of Yosef's dream[12]) and eventually becomes
king.
.
[1] John F. Kennedy used
this phrase in the 1962 State of the Union address. It later became a favourite
of George Osborne to justify his policy of fiscal prudence and commitment to run
a surplus in ‘normal’ times.
[2] See, for example, N. Sarna (JPS, p.284) who makes this suggestion.
[3] https://www.britannica.com/topic/oneiromancy
[4] From the British Museum description - https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-dream-book/MwFiHsBS2T_Qug?hl=en . This context explains a number of points in the story of Yosef. When
the butler and baker are in prison, they say they are depressed as there is no
one to interpret their dreams. Outside the prison walls, they would have gone
to their local dream specialist to determine its meaning, but now they are at a
loss. When Yosef interprets the dreams, however, he is at pains to emphasize
that God alone holds the keys of interpretation.
[5] In the view of Shadal, this is sufficient to explain why Yosef could offer the unsolicited advice:
ועתה ירא פרעה וגו': לפי מה שאמרתי מבואר הוא שהוצרך יוסף להכנס למחיצה שאינה שלו ולעוץ את המלך עצה, כי המבוקש מן החלום הוא לקבל ממנו תועלת למלך ולארצו
[6] See Jonathan Grossman, פיתרון חלום פרעה, VBM. Grossman sees these differences as deliberate red herrings planted by Pharaoh to test Yosef – I have not gone in this direction.
[7] Along similar lines, the Ohr HaChaim explains Yosef's advice as being an
integral part of the interpretation based on the lean cows swallowing the fat
cows. He does not comment on the difference between the original and Pharaoh's
recollection in this respect.
[8] This places the
story of Potiphar's wife as the turning point in Yosef's life. This corresponds
well with the story of Tamar, positioned immediately beforehand, as the turning
point in Yehudah's life. There are indeed numerous parallels between the
stories.
[9] See R. Elchanan Samet, יוסף פותר חלומות בארץ מצרים (ב) יוסף בעמדו לפני פרעה מלך מצרים VBM. His overall approach is also similar.
[10] This is one of
several problems with the explanation of the Ramban that Yosef was acting to
bring about the fulfilment of his dreams by engineering a situation where the
brothers and his father bow down to him.
[11] It is trickier to figure out which set of cows correspond to which side of the
family, if indeed any correspondence is intended. I have assumed that the fat
cows allude to Yosef (= Rachel) who is the first to arrive in Egypt and obtains
a position of privilege. The brothers (led by Yehudah = Lea) arrive second, in
a weak and vulnerable state and become dependent on Yosef to survive. R.
David Fohrman places significance, amongst other things, on the use of יפות מראות to describe the fat cows – a phrase used to describe
both Rachel and Yosef. However, this phrase is not uncommon. Grossman,
in contrast, sees the correspondence the other way round.
[12] Compare:
וְהִנֵּה הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְהַיָּרֵחַ וְאַחַד עָשָׂר כּוֹכָבִים
מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לִי (בראשית לז:ט)
יְהוּדָה אַתָּה יוֹדוּךָ אַחֶיךָ יָדְךָ בְּעֹרֶף
אֹיְבֶיךָ יִשְׁתַּחֲוּוּ לְךָ בְּנֵי אָבִיךָ (בראשית מט:ח)
