על יוסף י״טOn Joseph 19
א׳
1[99] But, when he was reconciled to his master, the chief butler forgot him who had predicted the reconciliation and alleviated all the misfortunes which befell him; perhaps because the ungrateful are always forgetful of their benefactors, perhaps also in the providence of God Who willed that the happy events which befell the youth should be due to God rather than to man.
ב׳
2[100] For after two years the future of his country for both good and ill was revealed to the king when dreaming, in two visions with the same significance, repeated in order to carry stronger conviction.
ג׳
3[101] He dreamt that seven oxen came up from the river, fat and well covered with flesh and fair to look upon, and browsed beside the banks. After them seven others, mere skeletons, and fleshless, so to speak, and loathsome in appearance, came up and browsed with the former seven. Then suddenly the better seven were devoured by the worse, and yet these after swallowing the others shewed not the smallest increase in bulk of belly but were even more, or at least not less, shrunken.
ד׳
4[102] The king awoke and then slept again, and was beset by another vision. He thought that seven ears of wheat had sprung out of a single stalk. They were very equal in size and grew and throve and rose to a considerable height, fine and strong. Then seven others sprang up near them, thin and feeble, which overran and swallowed up the stalk which bore the good ears.
ה׳
5[103] After seeing this the king remained sleepless for the rest of the night, kept awake by the thoughts which pricked and stung him. At dawn he sent for his wise men and told them the vision,
ו׳
6[104] and when no one could make any likely conjecture which could give a clue to the truth, the chief butler came forward and said: “Master, we may hope to find the man whom you seek. When I and the chief baker had offended, we were by your orders cast into prison where there was a Hebrew servant of the chief cook, to whom we two told the dreams which we had seen, and he interpreted them so exactly and skilfully that all that he had predicted happened to each of us, to him the penalty which he suffered, to me my admission to your clemency and favour.”