Dreams: Joseph And Solomon
"The matter was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants. Pharaoh said to his servants,
can there be found such a man (Joseph) who has the Spirit of Yahveh in him?"
Genesis 41:37-8
"All Israel heard the judgment that the King (Solomon) rendered, and they felt awe for
the King, for they saw that the Wisdom of Yahveh was within him, to dispense
justice." I Kings 3:28
Both Joseph and Solomon were involved in dreams. When Joseph correctly interpreted Pharaohs dream of
the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine, Pharaoh exclaimed, "Can there be found such a man who has the
Spirit of Yahveh in him."
King Solomon's dream took place at the very beginning of his career. There, Yahveh appeared to
him, saying that he could ask for one thing, and He would grant it. Instead of making a personal request, Solomon
asked YHVH for wisdom to judge the nation. As a result of his selflessness, YHVH, in addition to wisdom, granted
him the things he did not ask for - namely wealth and honor. (I Kings 3:5-15)
The wisdom to judge the people was immediately put to the test, when two prostitutes appeared before the King.
The one said that she gave birth to a child and three days later the other also gave birth to a child. She
claimed that the latter accidentally laid on her own child and killed him, then exchanged the dead baby for the living
one, claiming it was hers. (I King 3:22) Seeing that he had no choice but to intervene, Solomon ordered, "Fetch
me a sword. Cut the living child in two and give a half to each mother." (I King 3:24-25) The real mother pleaded
to give her the child so long as he would remain alive, even though she would lose him. The other woman insisted
on letting the sword do its grisly work. King Solomon ordered the baby to be given to her, as she was the true mother. Thus
the story ends with all Israel feeling "awe for their King, for they saw that the wisdom of Yahveh was
within him, to dispense justice."
"It is not in me. Yahveh shall answer for the welfare of Pharaoh." Gen
41:16
Before Joseph interpreted Pharaohs dreams, he declared that the wisdom to interpret dreams came from YHVH:
"It is not in me. YHVH shall answer for the welfare of Pharaoh." In the actual interpretation Joseph said,
"what YHVH is about to do, He has shown to Pharaoh." (Gen 41:28) Similarly, in Solomon's case, it was clear
to the Israelites that the case of the two women had not been decided by Solomons own wisdom, but YHVH's, through Solomon.
What moved Pharaoh to see Joseph as being divinely inspired? His interpretation of the seven fat cows and
the seven lean cows was correct, but hardly evidence of divine wisdom, especially since the events referred to were still
in the future.
Solomons "fetch me a sword" was a brilliant solution to the quarrel between the two prostitutes, but
did it demonstrate the "Spirit of YHVH" or supernatural knowledge? After all, many people get sudden inspiration
without having being told by YHVH in a dream that they will be granted wisdom to judge the nation.
In Solomon's case, the real "wisdom of YHVH" was not to order the sword, but to read a person correctly and
understand their true thoughts. "YHVH creates their hearts and understands all their deeds."
Ps 33:15 That was the wisdom YHVH granted to Solomon. Long before the women opened their case, Solomon
knew who the real mother was. Just by looking at their faces he could tell who's child it was. The real wisdom
of YHVH was not that He could decode people's words to uncover their intentions, but that he could see into a person's
heart even before that person spoke.
Like Solomon, Josephs interpretation of Pharaohs dreams also reveals the "Wisdom of YHVH".
In comparing Pharaohs dreams (Gen 41:2-7) with Pharaohs recounting them to Joseph (Gen 41:17-32) there were several differences.
One of them was that in Pharaohs dream, the seven healthy cows stood next to the seven lean cows. Pharaoh did not mention
this detail to Joseph. Nevertheless, this detail was the essential fundamental in Josephs interpretation: "Behold: seven years are coming and there will be great satisfaction, then seven years of famine (straight afterwards) will rise after them." This was signified by the two groups of
cows standing together. Thus, Joseph was also able to see beyond Pharaoh's words to get to the truth. Pharaoh recognized
that Joseph was being guided by YHVH when he interpreted details he himself had withheld from him, and knew that such
wisdom could be applied to the solution of his problems: "Could we find another like him, a man who has
the spirit of YHVH in him?"
It is important to note that Joseph came to this level of wisdom later in life than Solomon. Joseph
had previously interpreted two sets of dreams, his own and those of Pharaohs butler and baker. With the first set of
dreams, he put himself in the center and did not acknowledge YHVH at all, and subsequently he found himself sold
into slavery and then put into the dungeon. With the second set, he did acknowledge YHVH. On being approached
for an interpretation he said: "Is not YHVH the source of all interpretations?" Afterwards,
however, he did not say, "This is what YHVH says" as he later declared to Pharaoh, but rather "This is its interpretation;
the three branches are three days." Only on the third occasion, interpreting Pharaohs dream, did Joseph fully
and sincerely show that he was only an agent of YHVH's wisdom. This was reinforced nine years later when Joseph
revealed his true identity to his brothers, giving them the real interpretation of his first two dreams:
To save lives and give you a portion in the land, and to keep you alive to a great delivery,
it is not you that sent me here, but Yahveh. Genesis 45:5-7
