For the next twenty years,Jacob mourned his youngest son,who had been killed by wild beasts when he was still a boy,while Joseph—quite unknown to his family—ruled the land of Egypt,after some of the strangest adventures of which the world had ever kept a record.
Joseph,as I have told you before,was very bright.Sometimes,unfortunately,he was a bit too clever and then his sharp tongue got him into all sorts of trouble.
The experience at Shechem taught him a lesson.He still saw many things which escaped the attention of other people,but he did not always say everything he knew.
The Midianites had bought the Jewish slave as an investment.As soon as they could,they sold him at a good profit to a certain Potiphar,who was a captain in the Egyptian army.
And so Joseph became Potiphar's house slave,and ere long,he was the captain's right hand man,kept his accounts,and was overseer of all the other workmen on the estate.
Unfortunately,Potiphar's wife thought the handsome black-haired boy much better company than her own dull Egyptian husband.But Joseph,who knew that too great familiarity between masters and servants invariably leads to trouble,kept at a respectful distance.
Well,the wife of Captain Potiphar was no better than she should have been.Her vanity had been hurt,and soon she was telling her husband that his new foreman was a very insolent young fellow,and as for his honesty—well,she had her doubts,and so on—and so forth.
In ancient Egypt,a slave was a slave.Potiphar did not bother to investigate these accusations.He sent for the police and Joseph was taken to prison and locked up,although no charges were preferred against him.But there again his good spirits and his pleasant manner stood him in good stead.
The keeper of the prison was only too happy to let his establishment be run for him by a faithful trusty.Joseph was given the freedom of the jail,so to speak.Provided he did not leave the front door,he was at liberty to do whatever he liked,and out of sheer boredom,he spent a good deal of his time with his fellow sufferers.
Among these,two prisoners interested him most of all.One had been the chief-steward of the royal palace and the other had been Pharaoh's baker.In some way or other,both had displeased His Majesty,and that,of course,was a grave offence in a day when a king was regarded as a god.The Egyptians especially had such a tremendous respect for their ruler that they never referred to him by name.They called him Pharaoh,which really meant the “Big House,”just as we often say “the White House”when we really mean the President of the United States.
The two men were both servants of the “Big House,”and they were awaiting their sentence.They had nothing to do and they whiled away the weary hours as best they could.One of their favourite practices was to tell each other their dreams.The ancient people had great respect for dreams.A man who could explain them was in their eyes a person of importance.
Joseph now made a virtue of his old cleverness.When the baker and the steward came and told him their visions,he readily agreed to explain them.
“This is what I saw,”the steward said.“I was standing near a vine,and suddenly three branches grew on that vine and they were full of grapes and I plucked the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's drinking cup and placed the cup in my master's hand.”
Joseph thought a moment and then he answered:“That is very simple.Within three days,you shall be set free and reinstated in your old office.”
Eagerly the baker interrupted him.“Listen to my dream,for I too saw many strange things.I was going to the palace with three baskets filled with bread on my head.But suddenly a number of birds swooped down from high Heaven and ate all my bread.What does it mean?”
“That,too,is simple,”Joseph answered.“You will be hanged inside of three days.”
And behold!on the third day,Pharaoh celebrated his birthday and gave a great feast to all his servants.He then remembered the baker and the steward,who were still incarcerated.He ordered that the baker be hanged,which was done,and that the steward be set free and be brought back to the palace.
Of course,the steward was very happy.When he left his cell,he promised golden mountains to Joseph,who had foretold him his luck.He was going to speak to Pharaoh and to all the officials,so that Joseph should receive justice and be set free,and he would always remember Joseph's good service.But as soon as he was back in his official uniform,standing behind the King's chair,ready to fill the royal cup at his master's request,the good butler forgot all about the Jewish boy who had been his companion for so many months,and he never mentioned him with a single word.
It was rather hard on Joseph.He was obliged to stay in prison for two more years,and he might have died there if Pharaoh had not had a dream which greatly upset him.
When the King dreamed,it was a great and solemn occasion.All the people talked about it and every one tried to guess what the gods had tried to reveal to the royal slumberer.It was something like a Presidential message in our own day.
The contents of the royal nightmare were as follows:Pharaoh had seen seven ears of good corn,growing on one stalk.Suddenly they had been devoured by seven bad ears.Next,seven lean and miserable-looking cows had suddenly rushed forth upon seven fat cows,who were peacefully grazing along the banks of the Nile,and had gobbled them up,without leaving a trace of skin or bone.
That was all,but it was enough to upset the peace of mind of His Majesty.He asked all the wise people of the land for an explanation,but alas!they were at a loss to tell him.Then the butler remembered the Jewish boy who had been so clever at explaining such things,and he suggested to his master that Joseph be sent for.They found him still in jail and so they had him washed and shaved and ordered his hair to be cut and gave him a new suit of clothes,and brought him to the palace.