Famous dream interpretations in the Bible

Dreams have always been regarded as a form of inter-plane communication, or a way for people and entities in other worlds to reach people on our plane. Perhaps the most prominent example is the Bible: it contains over 700 incidences where God uses dreams to guide the actions of mortals. As such, some of the most famous dreamers and interpreters of our time have come from Biblical stories. Two of the most revered are Joseph the Dreamer and Daniel the Prophet.

Joseph the Dreamer

Joseph is arguably the most famous dream interpreter in the Bible, if not in all of folklore. The dreams he interpreted were that of the Pharaoh, for whom he worked as chief advisor. In his dream, the Pharaoh was standing on a river bank when seven fat cows came into view, followed by seven thin cows. The thin cows devoured the seven fat cows, but still remained lean. In a parallel dream, the Pharaoh saw seven good ears of corn and seven withered ears; the withered ears ate the good ears and remained shrunken.

Joseph read these dreams as a warning that seven years of prosperity would come, followed by seven years of famine. Duly warned, the Pharaoh was able to set some of the harvest aside during the good years, and the village remained prosperous through the drought.

Daniel the Prophet

Bible experts believe that the Book of Daniel is vital to the history of dream interpretation. Like Joseph, Daniel was a wise man in the employ of a king, Nebuchadnezzar. The king would not reveal his dream; to prove that his advisers were true seers, he demanded that they divine the dream as well as interpret it. Daniel turned to God in prayer to reveal the dream, and his wish was granted. In the dream, the king saw a great statue with feet of clay and iron, and the body made of various other metals. A hand appeared holding a stone and broke the statue into pieces, which were carried away by the wind. The stone turned into a massive mountain that filled the whole world.

Daniel’s interpretation was that the stone stood for God’s law, and the king’s blatant paganism and arrogance would bring about his downfall. The scattered statue represented Nebuchadnezzar’s defiance of God. The king, however, refused to take Daniel’s interpretation to heart. Later, as he was walking on the roof of his palace, he heard a voice say his kingdom has left him, and true enough, he was struck with madness and lost his throne. The kingdom was restored only after Nebuchadnezzar duly repented and changed his ways.

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