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Page 17
You notice that the butler spoke of Joseph as "a Hebrew." The people of
Israel, to whom Joseph belonged, were called Hebrews as well as
Israelites. The word Hebrew means, "One who crossed over," and it was
given to the Israelites because Abraham, their father, had come from a
land on the other side of the great river Euphrates, and had crossed
over the river on his way to Canaan.
Then king Pharaoh sent in haste to the prison for Joseph; and Joseph was
taken out, and he was dressed in new garments, and was led in to Pharaoh
in the palace. And Pharaoh said:
"I have dreamed a dream; and there is no one who can tell what it
means. And I have been told that you have power to understand dreams and
what they mean."
And Joseph answered Pharaoh:
"The power is not in me; but God will give Pharaoh a good answer. What
is the dream that the king has dreamed?"
"In my first dream," said Pharaoh, "I was standing by the river: and I
saw seven fat and handsome cows come up from the river to feed in the
grass. And while they were feeding, seven other cows followed them up
from the river, very thin, and poor, and lean--such miserable creatures
as I had never seen before. And the seven lean cows ate up the seven fat
cows; and after they had eaten them up, they were as lean and miserable
as before. Then I awoke.
"And I fell asleep again, and dreamed again. In my second dream, I saw
seven heads of grain growing up on one stalk, large, and strong, and
good. And then seven heads came up after them, that were thin, and poor,
and withered. And the seven thin heads swallowed up the seven good
heads; and afterward were as poor and withered as before.
"And I told these two dreams to all the wise men, and there is no one
who can explain them. Can you tell me what these dreams mean?"
And Joseph said to the king:
"The two dreams have the same meaning. God has been showing to king
Pharaoh what he will do in this land. The seven good cows mean seven
years, and the seven good heads of grain mean the same seven years. The
seven lean cows and the seven thin heads of grain also mean seven years.
The good cows and the good grain mean seven years of plenty, and the
seven thin cows and thin heads of grain mean seven poor years. There are
coming upon the land of Egypt seven years of such plenty as have never
been seen; when the fields shall bring greater crops than ever before;
and after those years shall come seven years when the fields shall bring
no crops at all. And then for seven years there shall be such need, that
the years of plenty will be forgotten, for the people will have nothing
to eat."
[Illustration: _"The two dreams have the same meaning"_]
"Now, let king Pharaoh find some man who is able and wise, and let him
set this man to rule over the land. And during the seven years of
plenty, let a part of the crops be put away for the years of need. If
this shall be done, then when the years of need come, there will be
plenty of food for all the people, and no one will suffer, for all will
have enough."
And king Pharaoh said to Joseph: "Since God has shown you all this,
there is no other man as wise as you. I will appoint you to do this
work, and to rule over the land of Egypt. All the people shall be under
you; only on the throne of Egypt I will be above you."
And Pharaoh took from his own hand the ring which held his seal, and put
on Joseph's hand, so that he could sign for the king, and seal in the
king's place. And he dressed Joseph in robes of fine linen, and put
around his neck a gold chain. And he made Joseph ride in a chariot which
was next in rank to his own. And they cried out before Joseph, "Bow the
knee." And thus Joseph was ruler over all the land of Egypt.
THE STORY OF THE MONEY IN THE SACKS
When Joseph was made ruler over the land of Egypt, he did just as he had
always done. It was not Joseph's way to sit down, to rest and enjoy
himself, and make others wait on him. He found his work at once, and
began to do it faithfully and thoroughly. He went out over all the land
of Egypt, and saw how rich and abundant were the fields of grain, giving
much more than the people could use for their own needs. He told the
people not to waste it, but to save it for the coming time of need.
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