Interpreting Pharaoh's dreams is the turning point of the story of Yosef in Parshat Miketz. This is when Yosef is transformed from prisoner to prince. He is appointed viceroy over all Egypt and is soon to become the undisputed ruler of all the countries in the region.
According to the biblical story, Pharaoh does not initially turn to Yosef to interpret his dreams, for he does not know him and is unaware of his abilities. He first turns to the magicians and wise men of Egypt. We are not privy to the conversations that took place between Pharaoh and these dream interpreters, as the Torah only records the conclusion. Pharaoh does not accept the interpretations that were offered, and he continues to search for someone who will interpret his dreams more accurately. The rabbinic sages fill in the blanks for us and share the solutions rejected by Pharaoh.
The healthy cows and the gaunt cows that follow, inform Pharaoh that he was to father seven daughters who were all destined to die. The dreams about the ears of grain inform Pharaoh that he was to conquer seven nations, but that seven nations would succeed in throwing off his yoke.
So explained the Egyptian dream interpreters.
At first glance it is not clear why these were the meanings given to the dreams by the Egyptian wise men (or, at any rate, by the rabbinic sages in their name). And if this is what they suggested, why were these interpretations rejected by Pharaoh? Some commentaries suggest that Pharaoh’s dreams included both the dreams and their meaning, but that upon awakening in the morning he forgot what they meant, so that when Yosef explained them, Pharaoh immediately remembered that this is what they truly meant. This approach, however, is by no means definitive.
Let us compare and contrast the two sets of dream interpretations – those of the Egyptian wise men and those of Yosef. The common factor, understood by all, was that two opposite processes were about to take place. First the positive process would begin, but it would be followed by a negative process. Another common understanding was that the number seven – representing an overabundance, first of goodness and then of badness – was significant. Furthermore, both the Egyptian wise men and Yosef recognized that the healthy cows and the solid ears of grain were indicative of health and well-being.
On one level, the two sets of interpretations were not all that different.
What stood out about Yosef’s interpretation was that the two dreams were, in fact, a single dream message. The Egyptians approached the dreams as two separate ideas – first a personal message of birth and success that would ultimately be lost, and then a national message of political growth that would then shrink back to its original dimensions. This helps explain why Pharaoh rejected the original interpretations. The Torah relates that Pharaoh told of his dream – apparently he had a strong sense that the dreams contained a single message. It was only Yosef who understood that that the messages of birth and success related to an economic windfall that would lead to a political triumph, leaving Egypt to rule over the entire region. Yosef understood that one dream explained the other. The dreams were related – one helped explain the other.
Furthermore, the Egyptian wise men suggested interpretations over which man has no control. What can be done if daughters who are born will then succumb and die? If nations are captured and subjugated, it is only reasonable that they will attempt to rebel and regain their freedom. For this reason, Pharaoh understood that those interpretations could not be correct, since, he believed, they contained a message that should direct him to act; they did not merely foretell the future.
The dreams, according to the wise men of Egypt, promulgated the position that fate governs man. Yosef’s interpretation is a celebration of human activism. Man can choose his own path and future. Man can control nature and mold it to serve his needs. The dream interpretations are different because they originate in different world-views of those offering the interpretations.
Many years later, the Egyptian magicians successfully mimic Moshe’s magic, believing that if they can copy him, they can defeat him. There is, however, a difference between the one who initiates – the one who is able to control the power of nature – and those who simply imitate them. There is a difference between those who lead and those who react. Yosef does not merely interpret dreams, he serves as a leader, who has the ability to proclaim new directions. In Yosef's world, good and bad are bland concepts that result from a narrow perspective that focuses on the details and misses the larger perspective. Yosef introduces the ability to see the grand scheme, the broad historical vision, and, in doing so, to glimpse the divine.
