On Joseph (Memra 6)

Memra Six on Joseph Memra Six on Joseph When he opened the two prisons in which their dreams were confined. What painter can depict the sun? The artist is bewildered, for he has no colors that can rival its splendor. Full beauty cannot be contained in limited colors. And as one tries to depict it, the finger of the art of painting is like the sun. The story of Joseph resembles it, and as it were, on the page of a memra I would recount his story, but no one knows the great heat of the sun, which is beyond painters. And when they paint it, it is not confined beneath pigments. The image of the youth whom Joseph wore is beyond measure, and however much one speaks of what is great, it is not contained. A living, guarded fire is in his story, and when one seeks, I will approach his side; my lip has placed itself in his heat. The story of Joseph is not spoken except with difficulty, for it was by him that the land of Egypt, which had descended, was subdued. The wisdom of the king brought what was placed among the Egyptians, and the sign of power subdued the land that had been rebellious. He placed his testimony in Joseph, his servant, the son of God, and sent him to Egypt, where in the prisons he fashioned an image. His mysteries were scattered along the entire journey as he descended, and all the sufferings that befell him were lost in them. And not by imprisonment did the mysteries of difficulty distance themselves from him, for in the prison he was the guardian of the death of the upright. He was the mediator between the two servants of the king who were with him.

like the wild man who set up with him two gallows, the king's cupbearer and the chief baker were imprisoned with him. And in prison they saw the wild man in secret, both of them dreamed dreams together and they were troubled, that Joseph might interpret and explain their secrets. Joseph was troubled because they were troubled like their custom, and he found that they were mourning because of dreams. The zealous one began and asked them about the sadness, what was the cause that they were grieving, their faces being downcast because of it. For he was concerned about the prisoners, that they were troubled, and like a father he was filling their needs with his word, and with his sweet speech he was comforting them from afflictions. He did not believe that they were asking about their lives; he saw their faces, the servants of Pharaoh, that they were mourning, and in his zeal he approached them to ask, "Why are your faces so sad today? A new sorrow appears to me in your countenances." They said, "These dreams have worn us out and we are bewildered, and in the visions of the night we have been greatly troubled. A lot has been sent to us in the night with a riddle that has no interpretation to comfort us. The vision is difficult, and there is no interpreter here, and because of it sorrow has already overcome us and we are sad." Joseph said, "Behold, God's dreams are these, and it is possible to show their interpretations.

It was pleasing to that wise man when he was proclaiming in the land of Egypt that the interpretations of the Lord were at hand. The name of God in a rebellious land from the heavens, with a bold face he was speaking that he had helped before he gave the interpretation to the Lord who is his own. When the dreams were interpreted by him, he was praised. "Behold, the Lord's dreams were revealed to me." Those who had seen their visions began to recount them to him. Here Joseph was entirely immersed in the image of the wild man, while he stood among the executioners on Golgotha. Joseph distinguished between those two servants of the king, decreeing for one life and for one death. For one he was bringing into the royal house before Pharaoh, and for one he was delivering to be food for the beasts of the field. How then could he fashion a beautiful image as Joseph fashioned the Messiah in all his beauty? The Redeemer stood among the executioners on Golgotha, and for one guilty and for one innocent, as Joseph did. For one he was bringing into the kingdom through faith, and for one he was casting into Gehenna because of his stumbling. To this one he said, "Do not be with me in the crowd of the Jews," and that one he left to the side of the crosses in great mockery. One is a wondrous heir, companion, and son of the kingdom; the other is bound to the blasphemers on the left side. Also Joseph, through the prisons, proclaimed to them: he made a distinction between the right and the left.

The king's daughter he gave to the chief of the cupbearers, as if a foreigner gave a kingdom to the son of a handmaid. To the chief of the dream-interpreters, the crucified one, he gave her; that same one who was to that baker from the left side. In the mouth of Joseph, death and life were being administered, and in the interpretation of brothers and of slaughter he was sovereign. By the word of the Lord, again a kingdom was being administered, for he was ruler who would give life to those who sought him. To the servants of Pharaoh, night and day gave visions, and over their dreams Joseph was sovereign to interpret them. Even the bakers at the hour of death saw the Messiah, and he interpreted for them which one would die and which one would live. By bread and wine, death and life to the servants of the king; a dream which is a mystery of the body of the Son of God. One was the bread, and two interpretations were concealed in it: for one it entered within the house of the king, and for one it was raised up. By bread and wine, that interpreter caused to live and killed, who was wise, who made an image of the Son of God. The body of the Lord was depicted in those dreams, for he decreed death and he gave life to whomever he wished. The crucified one of grace stood in the midst of the bakers, and killed and caused to live like the interpreter of dreams, Joseph. As from the hour, the bakers were astray concerning their crucified ones; a discourse that resembles the dream that the servants of Pharaoh saw. One was astray from the handmaid; they remembered my Lord.

The other one cried out from the left, beneath the wood; he was a confessor of faith in the love of the Son. In one of them was the spirit of stumbling against the Savior; one was confessing that Jesus was king even when they crucified him, and was beseeching: "In your kingdom, remember me, my Lord." The other says: "If it is true that he is the Son of God, let him save himself and also save you who believe in him." To one who was a revealer of faith, it was sent, and as in a dream he saw the Messiah, who was of God. To the other, however, concerning the interpretation, it was like a vision that he would deny the Son because he who was crucified was not a king. It was pressing, however, concerning the interpreter of these requests, that he might explain to each one of them from what was holy to him. Then the master of Joseph spoke from the top of the wood, to show the interpretation of the words that had been spoken. To one he said: "With me you shall not be in the congregation of the feast." To the other, however, the fool who would be known among the crucified ones, to one a soldier he interpreted that he would enter the house of the kingdom, and to one he explained that in lamentation from the left he was. The rest of the mystery that Joseph bound among the Egyptians, that to one he raised up and to one he crucified in the interpretation of the dream. To one he gave the daughter of the king along with his service, and to one he interpreted an evil death that would befall him. Joseph was empowered in the dream, that he might save and kill, and in his interpretations all were as he said, and so it was.

He released and brought into the king's house, and his own standing was established. He cut again and brought out a third on the cross, and he did not spare him. On the edge of his lips were death and life for the two thieves. And where his word pressed, it accomplished according to its interpretation. To one of the king's servants he gave him, and he was given to him. And to one he killed him by interpretation, and death found him. He was also empowered to give life and to decree death. The image of his Lord was set in the prison, and it was his wisdom. He gave full authority to the word of command, that life and death by his words he would release and interpret. The great image of the Son of God was set among the prisoners, and through it he spoke commandingly with the prisoners. From it he took the word of the authority of the judge, so that even over the dreams of the night his command would extend. He was the judge and he released the prisoners by the interpretation of his dreams. And to one he killed him, and to one he raised him up to his service. Pharaoh was silent, and Joseph commanded in his kingdom. What would become of these who were his servants, who had been prisoners? Sorrow came by night to loose the decree of their judgment. And by another morning he loosed the decree of judgment. What then? He said, "I did not spare," but Joseph knew. He was the bearer of the mystery, and the king's burden was what he bore. He heard from the dream the voice of remembrance from the Egyptians, and he interpreted the judgment as to how it would be loosed by the decrees. For three days Joseph interpreted those who were imprisoned.

So that his burial might be clearly seen, three days in the darkness like a dead man he said. The mystery of the son who conquers and is guilty in uprightness was fulfilled. Then the three days that Joseph interpreted, and Pharaoh did as he had done with the dream of the cupbearer. Joseph began to interpret the whole dream without hesitation, so that he might interpret the dream, and he himself was interpreting and completing it for Pharaoh. By the sickness of his imprisonment, Joseph's story from the interpreters, and as they said, it is not spoken of as it is. From that sun of righteousness that shone in him, and upon them he also cast light clearly. He was confined in prison and began the dream of the palace, and over the interpretations of dreams he had authority to interpret. He was kept in prison and was a treasurer of administration for him. And when he was struck, he was being nourished for leadership. And when he had well appeased the king's canal that had remembered me, he did not remember that it was not the time of his leadership. For it was a small thing to interpret the dreams of servants that came out, and he remained in prison, and even the king himself was an interpreter for him. It was a great cause, the revelation of wisdom, that the place might perceive how much authority he had over the interpretations. He was an interpreter for the king's servants, and it was nothing. And for the king's revelation, he was kept so that through him it might come out. Thirty years of the son before his revelation were being fulfilled in him in prison, and he came out.

He was concealing the mystery for Joseph in the prison until the full measure of the three was completed. Because of this, his error was great, that of the scales, that he might hide the truth, for without a time he did not speak. The seed was hidden and he restrained all his powers until the time of the fruits arrived, and then he released the beauty of the form until all its inward parts were revealed, and then he brought it forth that the place might see how fair it was. He remained in the prison until all the mysteries were completed, and then he went out and took possession of the place as a master. Thirty days he walked in pain in the prisons, and after that he arranged his revelation before John. And when he was able, before his own time, he kept the order of his incarnation without confusion. For this discovery Joseph was watchful, that he might be made ready, and then he went out at the time, the land that was sent to him. Over the prison he sat and watched until the measure was completed, that measure which is completed in him, the beginning. Also because of that, he bound the mystery in a hidden place, so that without its time it would not be revealed among the Egyptians. He restrained the seed that had been sown, that it might not show a shoot in winter but in Iyar. For a known time the youth was watchful, and then he is revealed. Because of this, at all times he was restrained; from his youth he was loving in him, the beauty of the son.

And the scales concealed him so that he would not be revealed before the completion. Before his honor, the dreams that he saw, and behold, their interpretation. And he hid the mystery and concealed it in Egypt until he grew up. He was about to serve in the house of servitude and was astonished. And before his time had come, he imprisoned him until it arrived. He was among the prisoners and interpreted the dreams and rejoiced. And before he went out, it was delayed until its time. The beauties of the son were kindled in him to be revealed. And through pretexts he was concealing them because of the opportunity. The thirty years were being completed, and he was astonished. And his governance was being revealed to many. When his measure found something about what was hidden, that through the measures the time of completion came. And when all the limbs of the great image were gathered, the great cause called for the revelation that was to be shown. Pharaoh slept and saw a full dream of wonder, that a Hebrew youth would come and interpret and take the place. The hour of his sleep and the visions of the night were preserved for him, so that he would be in need of an interpreter, and Joseph came, wise of heart in pretexts, pretexts that he was composing. He subdued the peoples through the Egyptians in the lands. Through a dream he enslaved the Babylonians and the Egyptians, so that the crookedness of their authority would bend toward the Hebrews. Through the interpretation of dreams, even Daniel was rejoiced, and the kings of Babylon worshipped him in their honors.

Again, when Joseph was dwelling among the Egyptians, he interpreted dreams and became lord of the entire land. The sons of the Hebrews were captive and scattered in the regions, and their wisdom was victorious over kings and rulers. The lover of the people, Pharaoh, there wisely decreed that the entire land would need the interpretation. The captive Hebrews and the captors made an agreement that when they would interpret the dreams, they would ask the Hebrews, so that when the deep things were revealed, it would be clear that the Lord is sovereign over the hidden things of the one who saw. And when the hidden mysteries were being interpreted by the Hebrews, the land perceived that their God is greater than all. Through revelations, he humbled the pride of the kings who had agreed upon the interpretation and were also being enlarged. To the sons of the captivity he gave authority over the hidden things, so that what the kings had sought in dreams, they would reveal to them. He elevated the kings above the interpreters among the sons of the Hebrews, so that their distress would be fulfilled by their servants. What the king who sought from the son of the captivity had been enslaved, he would know that he too was distressed over the interpretation. And when it was seen that he too was sovereign over the hidden things, the world perceived that he was the one who commanded the revelations. To the kings who had conquered while they were vigilant over the regions, in the dreams of the night he subjugated them to the sons of his people. When they cried out in the houses of the legions, they took victory.

They turned from dreams to interpreters, they asked of the dream-interpreters. Daniel went down to the land of Babylon from within his own country, and dreams came and set him before the king from within his prison. The son of the captive went out and interpreted for the king from the dreams, and he made him bow down to the one who had been exiled before the captivity. He made the two parties stand together, one upon the other, for they knew that one interpreter suffices for all difficulties. Kings are distressed over the interpretation of their dreams, and interpreters over the decree of their free ones. Joseph was enslaved and greatly distressed over freedom, and Pharaoh was troubled because of the dream that was interpreted for him. Both were distressed, for one of them was supported by his companion. That one was freed, and this one knew how to interpret his dream. Joseph was watchful; he would interpret the dream, and through it it would be revealed that Egypt would perceive its revelation when he interpreted. Pharaoh slept, and a dream came and arranged its visions, and its making distressed him over the interpretation, which he did not know. Pharaoh saw, as he stood by the banks of the river, and behold, seven cows, good and fat, that were beautiful and fat and plump, and they grazed there in the meadow that he saw on the side of the river. And behold, seven cows, evil, lean in their appearance, thin in their flesh, and weak, and they ate the lean grass from the fat ones. And Pharaoh awoke, as he was terrified from the vision.

Amazement seized him at the new vision that was revealed to him, and he was marvelling how this could be in that revelation. And when the thoughts of the night carried him off to interpretation, at that hour he was perplexed, and another dream came and encountered him. He saw again a stalk of seven full ears of grain, and again after them seven stalks were going up, full ones, and these full ones devoured the lean ones. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold it was a dream, and amazement seized him at the revelation, and he formed for himself an image of future things. And he had no clear-sighted eye to see the vision, and he arose perplexed from his sleep. And for interpretation he was anxious to find from the wise. The king's mind was troubled by the vision he saw, and he summoned all the magicians to interpret his dream. He called the wise men of all Egypt for interpretation, and he related it to them, and there was no interpreter who could explain it to him. The dream troubled him without knowledge, and he was perplexed. And he called sorcery to solve it, but it was not possible. The magicians came to seek the king's dream, what it was, but they could not find the cause of the matter or its interpretation. It was a riddle from the left concerning interpretation, and he related it to them, and there was no interpreter who could explain it to him. It was a riddle from the left concerning interpretation, and it was not sufficient for the interpretation of a dream that was from the right. The judges of the cause of the dream were sent to seek.

And that God had sent the dream, they did not know. The mystery was hidden from the magicians and from his servants. The dream of Pharaoh, the Lord sent to be revealed to him from God. A revelation of truths came forth, and the evil one did not know how to interpret the riddles. All the art of interpretation was confounded by the interpretation of the king's dream. It was hidden from her, and she could not find it. For the Hebrew youth, the dream was preserved, which was from God. The teaching of his Lord was revealed when he interpreted. The wisdom of all Egypt was humbled, for the dream of Pharaoh was not interpreted by her wise men. Truth did not call Joseph from the beginning. He was hiring all the wise men, and they were examined. He concealed his account and did not give it to be revealed to him, so that the shame of the art might enter within the king's house. If Joseph had interpreted from the beginning, neither the magicians nor the wise men would have been refuted. For they were saying that if Joseph had not interpreted, they would have known how to solve the dream as he did. And for this reason, until they all came up and went out, the account of Joseph, that he had interpreted, was not spoken. The king was perplexed by his dream, for they were liars, and he perceived that true one who was coming to him. And when all had been questioned and had failed in knowledge, the king's cupbearer remembered Joseph and his interpretations.

It was time for him to go out from the prison, and in wonder he was raised to the chief governorship. The full measure of the three was again delivered to him, and the pattern of the well was turned to show itself. The pit drew near and revealed to Pharaoh concerning Joseph, and the king sent and opened for the youth that he might come to him. His wife had bound him, and the king opened for him as he went out, that he might be exalted in place of his humiliation among the Egyptians. The youth was seen to be wronged in Joseph, as he was revealed, and without any injustice did that judge bear with him. O wronged one, look to God, who is not unjust, and do not trouble yourself to know yourself, O youth, whether you wish to please God or the judge. The injustice of the judge arranged a time of beauties in your place. Not without cause shall the spirit of the youth go out from you. That beauty which was woven in you was hidden from him. If you allow that God has authority to judge you, toil to bring forth the spirit as it is perfected. Joseph became like a mirror for all the wronged, and through him the cries of their injustices were revealed. His injustice bound him, and he went out in weeping that he might become lord over Egypt, which had wronged him. Like a physician over the king whose pain was stirred, he brought him the remedy that his kingdom needed, as it was fitting and as he said when he was asked.

It was fitting that at length the discourse should be prolonged concerning him. The memory of his splendid story was placed in your minds. And I sought to preserve it, and the time of the word, to the place where it had set. Behold, before Pharaoh, he entered and was questioned concerning the cups. Blessed be the one who revealed to him the mysteries of the king and their interpretations.