12. Yusuf

Joseph told his two companions in the prison that he would interpret their dreams for them. He told them that the one who dreamed that he was pressing grapes to make wine would get out of the prison, and return to his work, and would serve the king. As for the one who dreamed that he was carrying bread on his head that the birds were eating from, he would be killed and crucified, and the birds would eat from his head. The matter they asked for an opinion on was settled and would come to pass. It was an inevitable reality.

One day the king said that he had seen a dream in which seven fat cows were being eaten by seven thin ones, and seven green ears of corn and seven dry ears of corn. He asked the notables and nobles to tell him the interpretation of his dream, if they knew how to interpret dreams.

They said that his vision was a jumble of dreams, and because of this it could not be interpreted; and that they were not knowledgeable about the interpretation of mixed-up dreams.

The wine bearer – who, of the two men who had been imprisoned, had been saved – then remembered Joseph (peace be upon him) after some time and that he was able to interpret dreams, so he said that he would tell them the interpretation of the king’s vision after asking someone who knew how to interpret it. He asked to be sent by the king to Joseph so that he could interpret his dream.

When the man who had been saved reached Joseph, he asked Joseph, the truthful, to inform them of the interpretation of someone dreaming about seven fat cows being eaten by seven thin cows, and seven green ears of corn and seven dry ears of corn, so that he might return to the king and those with him and they might know the explanation of the king’s dream, and also know the virtue and rank of Joseph.

Explaining this dream, Joseph said that they should plant really well for seven consecutive years. And what they harvested in each of these seven years, they should leave in the ears of corn so that it would not rot, except for a little which they needed to eat from the corn.

Then after these seven fertile years in which they successfully grew food, seven barren years would come, when the people would eat all they had harvested in the fertile years, except for a little of what they had stored, from which they would be able to sow seeds.

Then after these barren years a year would come in which the rains would fall, and the crops would grow, and the people would press those things that need pressing, such as grapes, olives and cane.

The king told his servants, when Joseph’s explanation of his dream reached him, to release Joseph from prison and bring him to him. When the king’s messenger came to Joseph, he told him to return to his master, the king, and ask him about the story of the women who cut their hands, so that his innocence would be made clear before he left the prison. Joseph said that his Lord was aware of how they had tried to seduce him, as nothing is hidden from Him.