†. Gen 41:15 . . I had a dream last night; Pharaoh told him; and none
of these men can tell me what it means. But I have heard that you
can interpret dreams, and that is why I have summoned you.
Potiphar of course would have been responsible for delivering Joseph, and
probably informed him of the reason. But just to set his mind at ease, I'm
assuming Pharaoh himself personally informs Joseph of the reason why he's
there because when prisoners like Joseph were summoned to a Pharaoh, it
was more than likely for trial.
†. Gen 41:16 . . It is beyond my power to do this; Joseph replied. But
God will tell you what it means and will set you at ease.
A verse like that is ambiguous since the Hebrew word translated "God" in
that verse is plural so that verse could just as accurately be read: "But the
gods will tell you what it means . . ." However, Pharaoh would have no
problem with the god being Yhvh because his land was literally infested with
gods and were a common part of everyday Egyptian life.
Although Mr. Pharaoh is probably not going to like what he hears, at least
he'll have the peace of mind of knowing what to expect. How many of us
really want our doctors to lie to us? No, we want the truth; even if it's
terminal cancer.
†. Gen 41:17a . . So Pharaoh told him the dream.
Pharaoh is really grasping at straws here since Joseph had no credentials nor
could produce any references aside from the cup-bearer's to recommend
him and vouch for his skills; and he had only two successful interpretations
to his credit thus far; so you can see just how desperate Pharaoh really is.
†. Gen 41:17b . . I was standing on the bank of the Nile River; he
said.
The Nile River's role in the dream is highly significant since it was a major
factor in Egypt's economy; especially its agriculture. Every year the Nile
overflowed it banks; leaving behind a deposit of silt; which kept a portion of
the land replenished with a nice new layer of fresh topsoil. Take away the
Nile's flooding, and eventually the soils would become depleted in an era
when hardly anybody knew anything about crop rotation. Not only that, but
winds coming in from the eastern deserts would not only dry the soils out
and blow them away, but in the process leave behind sands that would
eventually render the land unproductive like during America's depression era
when its croplands turned into dust bowls. Lower the Nile's water level
significantly, and it would make irrigation very difficult in a time without
pumps powered by internal combustion engines or electric motors.
Joseph is going to predict a famine; and in those days, as even now, famines
were caused by insufficient rainfall. Reduced rainfall results in less natural
irrigation and less runoff, so that Egypt's worst fears will be realized: crops
will dry up, the Nile won't overflow its banks, and its levels will shrink.
Back in Genesis 2 it says that a flow welled up from the ground to water the
whole surface of the earth, and a river watered the garden of Eden. River
systems irrigate the subsoil and replenish aquifers. Lower a river system too
much, and see what happens.
I can recall an instance, I think it was somewhere in Australia, where the
natural aquifer below a farmer's land went down because a marsh nearby
was drained for commercial purposes. The aquifer was like a dam. When it
went down, salt water moved in to take its place and the stuff percolated up
and flooded the man's property. All his trees died and the land became good
for nothing. Tamper with nature too much; and nature will tamper with you.
†. Gen 41:18a . . when out of the river
That is so perfect because the Nile was Egypt's source of life; so that
whatever happened to the Nile, or whatever the Nile produced, effected
Egyptian life in a big way.
During Moses' confrontation with Pharaoh in the book of Exodus, the Nile
was turned into blood (Ex 7:17-25), and subsequently Egypt's streams,
rivers, ponds, and their pools. Next, God made the Nile produce myriads of
frogs (Ex 8:1-6), so that the frogs were so thick, they became a serious
infestation. So then, the Nile, which ordinarily was a blessing, became a
superfund site.
†. Gen 41:18b-24a . . there came up seven heifers, sleek and fat; and
they grazed in the marsh grass. After them, seven other heifers
came up-- ragged and bony, I had never seen such ugly cows in all
the land of Egypt. The hideous heifers ate up the seven fat heifers
that came up first. But even after they ate them, no one could tell
that they had done so; they looked just as hideous as before. Then I
woke up.
. . . In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good,
growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads sprouted--
withered and thin and dehydrated by the east wind. The thin heads
of grain swallowed up the seven good heads.
This second dream sounds like a redux of The Little Shop Of Horrors.
†. Gen 41:24b . . I told this to the magicians, but none could explain
it to me.
Since Pharaoh's brain trust couldn't figure out the dreams, then they
certainly wouldn't be able to devise effective contingency plans to deal with
their meanings. It's always nice to know the future so you can get ready for
it; and certainly nobody likes to be kept in the dark.
†. Gen 41:25a . .Then Joseph said to Pharaoh:
Note Joseph's quick response time. He didn't even go off and pray about it
and wait for an answer from God-- no, right to it. Since Genesis doesn't say
that God spoke inside Joseph's head, or by an audible dictation that only his
own ears could hear; then I have to assume he figured out the meanings of
those dreams by intuition. In other words: it would appear that Joseph was
somewhat clairvoyant. That's not an unreasonable assumption. Even in the
secular world, there are people who have the Midas touch; good investments
just seem to come second nature to them. And how about "gifted"
musicians? Why do they have perfect pitch? How can eight year old children
play Chopin on piano? I once watched spell bound as a young man drew
pencil drawings of super heroes. He made no erasures, and the heroes came
out in perfect physical proportion; in any posture he chose for them; viewed
from any angle. I asked him how he did it. He said he didn't know; they just
came out.
Where did those people get that from? Think about it. If there are people in
the secular world with those kinds of natural intuition, then why wouldn't it
be reasonable to assume that God gifted the prophets with inspired
intuition? It can't possibly be any more difficult to give a man an inspired
intuition than it is to walk on water, to raise the dead, or to create a fully
functioning cosmos and all of its forms of matter, life, and energy from
scratch in just six days.
Cont.
/
of these men can tell me what it means. But I have heard that you
can interpret dreams, and that is why I have summoned you.
Potiphar of course would have been responsible for delivering Joseph, and
probably informed him of the reason. But just to set his mind at ease, I'm
assuming Pharaoh himself personally informs Joseph of the reason why he's
there because when prisoners like Joseph were summoned to a Pharaoh, it
was more than likely for trial.
†. Gen 41:16 . . It is beyond my power to do this; Joseph replied. But
God will tell you what it means and will set you at ease.
A verse like that is ambiguous since the Hebrew word translated "God" in
that verse is plural so that verse could just as accurately be read: "But the
gods will tell you what it means . . ." However, Pharaoh would have no
problem with the god being Yhvh because his land was literally infested with
gods and were a common part of everyday Egyptian life.
Although Mr. Pharaoh is probably not going to like what he hears, at least
he'll have the peace of mind of knowing what to expect. How many of us
really want our doctors to lie to us? No, we want the truth; even if it's
terminal cancer.
†. Gen 41:17a . . So Pharaoh told him the dream.
Pharaoh is really grasping at straws here since Joseph had no credentials nor
could produce any references aside from the cup-bearer's to recommend
him and vouch for his skills; and he had only two successful interpretations
to his credit thus far; so you can see just how desperate Pharaoh really is.
†. Gen 41:17b . . I was standing on the bank of the Nile River; he
said.
The Nile River's role in the dream is highly significant since it was a major
factor in Egypt's economy; especially its agriculture. Every year the Nile
overflowed it banks; leaving behind a deposit of silt; which kept a portion of
the land replenished with a nice new layer of fresh topsoil. Take away the
Nile's flooding, and eventually the soils would become depleted in an era
when hardly anybody knew anything about crop rotation. Not only that, but
winds coming in from the eastern deserts would not only dry the soils out
and blow them away, but in the process leave behind sands that would
eventually render the land unproductive like during America's depression era
when its croplands turned into dust bowls. Lower the Nile's water level
significantly, and it would make irrigation very difficult in a time without
pumps powered by internal combustion engines or electric motors.
Joseph is going to predict a famine; and in those days, as even now, famines
were caused by insufficient rainfall. Reduced rainfall results in less natural
irrigation and less runoff, so that Egypt's worst fears will be realized: crops
will dry up, the Nile won't overflow its banks, and its levels will shrink.
Back in Genesis 2 it says that a flow welled up from the ground to water the
whole surface of the earth, and a river watered the garden of Eden. River
systems irrigate the subsoil and replenish aquifers. Lower a river system too
much, and see what happens.
I can recall an instance, I think it was somewhere in Australia, where the
natural aquifer below a farmer's land went down because a marsh nearby
was drained for commercial purposes. The aquifer was like a dam. When it
went down, salt water moved in to take its place and the stuff percolated up
and flooded the man's property. All his trees died and the land became good
for nothing. Tamper with nature too much; and nature will tamper with you.
†. Gen 41:18a . . when out of the river
That is so perfect because the Nile was Egypt's source of life; so that
whatever happened to the Nile, or whatever the Nile produced, effected
Egyptian life in a big way.
During Moses' confrontation with Pharaoh in the book of Exodus, the Nile
was turned into blood (Ex 7:17-25), and subsequently Egypt's streams,
rivers, ponds, and their pools. Next, God made the Nile produce myriads of
frogs (Ex 8:1-6), so that the frogs were so thick, they became a serious
infestation. So then, the Nile, which ordinarily was a blessing, became a
superfund site.
†. Gen 41:18b-24a . . there came up seven heifers, sleek and fat; and
they grazed in the marsh grass. After them, seven other heifers
came up-- ragged and bony, I had never seen such ugly cows in all
the land of Egypt. The hideous heifers ate up the seven fat heifers
that came up first. But even after they ate them, no one could tell
that they had done so; they looked just as hideous as before. Then I
woke up.
. . . In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good,
growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads sprouted--
withered and thin and dehydrated by the east wind. The thin heads
of grain swallowed up the seven good heads.
This second dream sounds like a redux of The Little Shop Of Horrors.
†. Gen 41:24b . . I told this to the magicians, but none could explain
it to me.
Since Pharaoh's brain trust couldn't figure out the dreams, then they
certainly wouldn't be able to devise effective contingency plans to deal with
their meanings. It's always nice to know the future so you can get ready for
it; and certainly nobody likes to be kept in the dark.
†. Gen 41:25a . .Then Joseph said to Pharaoh:
Note Joseph's quick response time. He didn't even go off and pray about it
and wait for an answer from God-- no, right to it. Since Genesis doesn't say
that God spoke inside Joseph's head, or by an audible dictation that only his
own ears could hear; then I have to assume he figured out the meanings of
those dreams by intuition. In other words: it would appear that Joseph was
somewhat clairvoyant. That's not an unreasonable assumption. Even in the
secular world, there are people who have the Midas touch; good investments
just seem to come second nature to them. And how about "gifted"
musicians? Why do they have perfect pitch? How can eight year old children
play Chopin on piano? I once watched spell bound as a young man drew
pencil drawings of super heroes. He made no erasures, and the heroes came
out in perfect physical proportion; in any posture he chose for them; viewed
from any angle. I asked him how he did it. He said he didn't know; they just
came out.
Where did those people get that from? Think about it. If there are people in
the secular world with those kinds of natural intuition, then why wouldn't it
be reasonable to assume that God gifted the prophets with inspired
intuition? It can't possibly be any more difficult to give a man an inspired
intuition than it is to walk on water, to raise the dead, or to create a fully
functioning cosmos and all of its forms of matter, life, and energy from
scratch in just six days.
Cont.
/
