league's dream, proceeded to relate his own: 'I also was in my dream, and behold, I had three baskets of white bread on my head. And in the uppermost basket there was all kind of food for Pharaoh, the work of the baker; and the birds ate them out of my basket upon my head.' Joseph replied fearlessly: 'This is its interpretationThe three baskets are three days; within three days more Pharaoh will lift up thy head from thee, and will hang thee upon a tree; and the birds will eat thy flesh from thee.' Joseph's predictions were literally fulfilled; for 'on the third day which was Pharaoh's birth-day, he made a feast to all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler, and the head of the chief baker among his servants; and he restored the chief butler to his butlership, and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand; but he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.' Having regained his high station, the chief butler forgot his wise fellow-prisoner. But it was not ordained that Joseph's life should pass wearily on in the Egyptian dungeon. God watched over him, and the time was now at hand when he should step from the prison to the distinction he deserved. Two years had passed away, and king Pharaoh himself dreamt a dream which filled him with wonder and awe. 'He was standing by the river Nile. And behold, there came up out of the river seven cows, fine in appearance and fat in flesh; and they fed in the reed-grass. And behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, bad in appearance and lean in flesh; and they stood by the other cows upon the bank of the river. And the cows bad in appearance and lean in flesh consumed the seven cows fine in appearance and fat. And Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamt a second time and behold, seven ears of corn came up on one stalk, strong and good. And behold, seven ears thin and blasted by the east wind sprang up after them.

And the seven thin ears devoured the seven strong and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold it was a dream.'

Pharaoh's spirit was troubled, for although he did not know the interpretation of the dreams, he felt that they had a deep and important meaning. He may have vaguely imagined that they had some reference to the produce of the land. For the Nile, the one great river of Egypt, is the almost exclusive source of fertility for the whole land. It was, therefore, an object of veneration and worship; it was the holy, the blessed, the beneficent river. Again, the cow was the symbol of Isis, the goddess of the earth and of fruitfulness. Then the very fact of a second dream following immediately upon the first, and resembling it so closely in form, was considered a sure proof of its reality and speedy fulfilment. Yet Pharaoh could arrive at no distinct conclusion. His mind was perplexed. He sent to all the soothsayers and wise men of On. He told them his dreams, but not one of them could offer an interpretation. The learned Egyptians were at fault, men who were regarded as superior in knowledge to all others, and as inspired by their gods. The chief butler, seeing the king's trouble, now suddenly bethought himself of the young Hebrew, and he said to Pharaoh: 'I remember my sins this day; Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and gave me into custody in the house of the chief of the guard, both me and the chief baker. And we dreamt a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamt each according to the interpretation of his dream. And there was with us a Hebrew youth, a servant to the chief of the guard; and we told him and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man he interpreted according to his dream. And it happened as he interpreted to us, so it was; I was restored to my office, and he was hanged.' Perhaps this youth might speak, and

speak truly, when the wise and the learned of Egypt were dumb.

Pharaoh at once sent for Joseph; he was instantly brought out of the dungeon, and appeared before the king in the garb of the Egyptians, with the beard, the great pride of the Hebrews, shaven from his chin. And Pharaoh said to Joseph: I have dreamt a dream, and there is none who can interpret it; and I have heard say of thee that thou understandest a dream to interpret it.' He then related his dreams, upon which Joseph clearly and firmly declared: The dream of Pharaoh is one : God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. And the seven thin and bad cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind will be seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh: what God is about to do, He has shown to Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt; and there will arise after them seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will consume the land, and the plenty will not be known in the land on account of that famine afterwards; for it will be very heavy. And because the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice, indeed the thing is established by God, and God will hasten to bring it to pass.' But Joseph was not satisfied with merely stating impending events and calamities; he at once indicated the means to obviate or mitigate them, and he continued: Now therefore let Pharaoh look out for a man intelligent and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part in the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty. And let them gather all the food of those

good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, for food in the cities, and keep it. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt, that the land do not perish through the famine.'

The king felt that the spirit of God rested upon the Hebrew youth, and idolator as he was, he could not help feeling reverence for that God. Delighted with the counsel of Joseph, he turned to his no less astonished servants, and urged them frankly to confess that there was not one amongst them equal to the captive stranger in intelligence and wisdom. The parentage, the slavery, and the cause of Joseph's imprisonment were immaterial to the high-minded king: he saw and fully appreciated his rare and remarkable abilities; and exercising his sovereign power, he raised him in a moment to the highest position in the state. 'And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has taught thee all this, there is none intelligent and wise like thyself; thou shalt be over my house, and all my people shall obey thy command; only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Behold I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.'

Can we not see in all this true glimpses of Egyptian life, as we look back through the dim shadow of retreating ages? What is engraved for ever in the pages of the Bible, lives once again in the pictured records of Egypt now carefully examined and reproduced. Joseph, clad in fine linen, with the heavy gold chain, the proud ornament of the noble Egyptian, round his neck, with the king's own ring upon his hand, was to be presented to the people as their ruler and their governor, second only to Pharaoh himself. The procession went forth with its horsemen and chariots, and lines of priests and men of science from the royal residence, traversing the sacred

city of the Sun. The new governor of Egypt drove in the second state-carriage, whilst the people shouted round him Abrech (Ruler); and Pharaoh, in a burst of delight and gratitude, addressed Joseph before his excited and wondering subjects with the words, I am Pharaoh, but without thee no man shall lift his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.' Then the king bestowed upon him the glorious Egyptian name of Zaphenath-paneah (Rescuer of the World). And in order to strengthen and enhance Joseph's affection for the country of his adoption, the king gave him as a wife an Egyptian maiden, Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, the priest of the Sun. Nothing could have impressed the high station, honour, and eminent wisdom of the young Hebrew governor upon the minds of the Egyptians more powerfully than this marriage. The priests of the Sun were almost sacred in the eyes of the people, and the daughters of high-priests were considered fitting brides for none but the greatest and most distinguished nobles in the kingdom.

Joseph was thirty years old when he was elevated to his august dignity, to which he at once devoted his whole attention and energy. He travelled through the length and breadth of the land, in order to inform himself personally of its wants and resources. As he had foretold, the wonderful abundance of the harvests during the next seven years was unparalleled. So he caused a vast amount of provisions to be laid by for the years of famine. Every city had its granaries stocked with boundless stores of corn. The Egyptians, who at first kept accounts of their marvellous supplies, were soon forced to desist, for the corn was indeed numberless, like the sand of the sea.' During these seven years of rejoicing, two sons were born to Joseph. His thoughts naturally reverted to his own youth, to his father's tent at Hebron. He could not discard from his mind those early scenes, in spite of his