Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word. This week's question:

Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, born of Rachel, and whose brothers were both jealous and hated him for it. He has a special gift of God, the ability to interpret dreams, and that's plural, so our answer to this week's question has multiple answers.

To Genesis chapter 37 we go to see Joseph at age 17 having two dreams. The first was he and his brothers binding sheaves and his sheave rises up and his brother's sheaves gather around and bow down before his. His brothers hate him all the more because of it. In his next dream the sun, the moon and 11 stars bow down to him. Even his father rebukes him at the thought of he and his wife along with his brothers bowing down to him.

After Joseph is sold into slavery in Egypt to Potiphar and charged of attacking Potiphar's wife, he is thrown into prison. Soon Pharaoh's chief cupbearer and baker offend Pharaoh and are both thrown into prison. Both have dreams the same night and relate them to Joseph. The cupbearer says he sees a vine with 3 branches producing clusters of grapes and he squeezed them in Pharaoh's cup.

Joseph tells him in 3 days he would be released and be put back in his former position-and when that happens, to not forget him in prison. The chief baker, seeing the favorable interpretation, relates his dream. He has 3 baskets on his head with baked goods, and the birds are eating out of the baskets. Joseph tells him in 3 days he would be hung and the birds would be eating his flesh. Both dreams come to pass but Joseph is forgotten by the cupbearer.

Two years later Pharaoh has a dream of seven fat cows coming out of the Nile being followed by seven thin cows and the thin ones eat up the fat ones and are still as gaunt and ugly as before. Then a second dream of seven plump ears of grain followed by seven thin and scorched ears swallowing the first. Joseph interprets them as being of the same theme, Egypt would have seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine and by dreaming twice, it would come quickly.

Pharaoh recognizes Joseph's wisdom and places him in charge of all the land to put back a fifth of all the produce of Egypt.

The famine was extreme even in the land of Canaan and as they ran short of provisions Jacob requests his sons to go to Egypt to buy more. When they do, they are charged as spies and are brought before the ruler of Egypt, and as they are, they bow down before their own brother, just as his own early dreams had predicted.

Genesis 42:6 "Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold to

All the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him

With their faces to the ground."

So, Joseph interprets the chief cupbearer, the baker, as well as Pharaoh's dreams, and lives out his own dreams! But he always gave glory to God as the giver of this great gift, the interpretation of dreams.

Genesis 41:15-16 "And pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I have had a dream, but no one

Can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream

You can interpret it.' Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, 'It is not in me, God will

give Pharaoh a favorable answer.'