Dreams come true

 Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as we discover new insights and new perspectives from a very old book.

I'm reading Young's Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Some striking differences between the YLT and NRSV in the early verses. In the YLT the two servants "sinned against" the king of Egypt, whereas in the NRSV they "offended" him. "Sin against" implies that an actual wrong was done, whereas "offended" in today's language often implies an imagined wrong. So we're left with the mystery of whether these two were actually criminally corrupt or if they merely had the misfortune of serving a temperamental king. 

One would hope that Pharaoh had good reasons to forgive the one and execute the other.

As discussed in my commentary on the last chapter, "Eunuch" in the YLT definitely means "officer" as the NRSV has it. The YLT says "butler" where the NRSV has "cupbearer." Maybe that's the original meaning of "butler" anyway.

Otherwise, unlike some previous chapters, the YLT is a pretty easy read.

This chapter suggests that dream interpretation is, or can be, a form of fortune-telling. But who has this gift? In verse 8 Joseph said, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

That's startling in its own way. Joseph is saying, "I can't interpret dreams, but God can through me." Joseph seemed to have a deep connection with a God who resides in his consciousness. His father Jacob saw that in him, Joseph understood it himself, and his brothers resented him for it.

I'll cut the cupbearer some slack at the end of the chapter for forgetting about Joseph. Teachers of manifestation such as Neville Goddard recount that doubters will claim that a good result "would have happened anyway" with or without faith. Pharaoh probably would have pardoned the cupbearer anway.

James Leroy Wilson writes Daily Miracles, The Daily Bible Chapter, JL Cells, and The MVP Chase. Thanks for your subscriptions and support!

(Photo credit: TyshkunVictor)