page_title: Miketz
section_title: Genesis chapter 41
hierarchical_section_title: Miketz / In classical rabbinic interpretation / Genesis chapter 41
caption_attribution_description: English: Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dream, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French, 1836-1902), gouache on board, 5 15/16 x 8 7/8 in. (15.1 x 22.6 cm), at the Jewish Museum, New York
context_page_description: Miketz or Mikeitz, is the tenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 41:1–44:17. The parashah tells of Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams, Joseph's rise to power in Egypt, and Joseph's testing of his brothers.
  The parashah has the most letters of any of the weekly Torah portions in the Book of Genesis. It is made up of 7,914 Hebrew letters, 2,022 Hebrew words, 146 verses, and 255 lines in a Torah Scroll. In the Book of Genesis, Parashah Vayeira has the most words, and Parashiyot Noach and Vayishlach have the most verses. Jews read Parashah Miketz on the tenth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in December, or rarely in late November or early January, usually during Chanukah.
context_section_description: The Gemara noted that the words "two years of days (יָמִים, yamim)" in Genesis 41:1 means two years.
  A Midrash asked what was so exceptional about the report of Genesis 41:1, "Pharaoh dreamed," as all people dream. The Midrash answered that while it is true that all people dream, a king's dream affects the whole world.
  The Gemara taught that a dream is a sixtieth part of prophecy. Rabbi Hanan taught that even if the Master of Dreams (an angel, in a dream that truly foretells the future) tells a person that on the next day the person will die, the person should not desist from prayer, for as Ecclesiastes 5:6 says, "For in the multitude of dreams are vanities and also many words, but fear God." (Although a dream may seem reliably to predict the future, it will not necessarily come true; one must place one's trust in God.) Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Jonathan that a person is shown in a dream only what is suggested by the person's own thoughts (while awake), as Daniel 2:29 says, "As for you, Oh King, your thoughts came into your mind upon your bed," and Daniel 2:30 says, "That you may know the thoughts of the heart." When Samuel had a bad dream, he used to quote Zechariah 10:2, "The dreams speak falsely." When he had a good dream, he used to question whether dreams speak falsely, seeing as in Numbers 10:2, God says, "I speak with him in a dream?" Rava pointed out the potential contradiction between Numbers 10:2 and Zechariah 10:2. The Gemara resolved the contradiction, teaching that Numbers 10:2, "I speak with him in a dream?" refers to dreams that come through an angel, whereas Zechariah 10:2, "The dreams speak falsely," refers to dreams that come through a demon.
  Rabbi Johanan taught that the wicked stand over their gods, as Genesis 41:1 says, "And Pharaoh dreamed, and, behold, he stood over the river." (The Egyptians worshiped the Nile as a god.) But God stands over them, as Genesis 28:13 says, "and, behold, the Lord stood over him." (Thus, idolaters must stand over and protect their idols, but God protects God's people.)
  A Midrash taught that in the words of Genesis 41:2, "And, behold, there came up out of the river seven cows," God hinted to Pharaoh what his dream symbolized, for plenty does not come to Egypt other than from the Nile River, and likewise famine does not come to Egypt other than from the Nile River.
  Rabbi Judah explained that Pharaoh's "spirit was troubled" in Genesis 41:8 because he wanted the interpretation of his dreams.
  The Midrash Tanhuma taught that the "magicians" (חַרְטֻמֵּי, chartumei) for whom Pharaoh sent in Genesis 41:8 were those who inquire of the bones (בטימי, betimei) of the dead (מֵתִים, meitim).
  Reading in Genesis 41:8 that Pharaoh "sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt . . . but there was none that could interpret them for Pharaoh," Rabbi Joshua of Siknin taught in Rabbi Levi's name that there were indeed interpreters of the dream, but their interpretations were unacceptable to Pharaoh (and thus "there were none . . . for Pharaoh"). For example, the magicians said that the seven good cows meant that Pharaoh would have seven daughters and the seven ill-favored cows meant that Pharaoh would bury seven daughters. They told Pharaoh that the seven full ears of corn meant that Pharaoh would conquer seven provinces and the seven thin ears meant that seven provinces would revolt against him. Thus Rabbi Joshua concluded that the words of Proverbs 14:6, "A scorner seeks wisdom, and finds it not," applied to Pharaoh's magicians, while the continuation of the verse, "But knowledge is easy for him who has discernment," applied to Joseph.
  A Midrash read the words of Genesis 41:8, "he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt . . . but there was none that could interpret them for Pharaoh," to teach that every nation in the world appoints five wise men as its ministers. And God grants each nation wisdom, understanding, and strength. When God judges the world, God takes these things away from the nation that God punishes, as Obadiah 1:8–9 says, "‘Shall I not in that
caption: Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dream (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)
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