his dreams." But Reuben said, "Shed no blood; cast him into this pit, but lay not your hands upon him." This he said that he might save his life, for he had it in his mind to come back and take him out of the pit and deliver him to his father.

So the men stripped Joseph of his coat, the robe of honour that he wore, and cast him into the pit. But

the pit had no water in it. After this they sat down to their meat. And as they ate, a caravan of Ishmaelites came by, travelling from Gilead to Egypt, with camels bearing loads of spices and balm and gum ladanum.1 And Judah said to his brethren, "What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Let us not lay hands upon him, for he is

1 A medicinal gum derived from a variety of the plant cistus.

our brother and our flesh. Let us rather sell him to the Ishmaelites." With this the men were content; so they drew Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.

Now Reuben had departed from his brethren, seeking how he might save Joseph alive. But when he came again to the pit, thinking to draw him out of it, lo! Joseph was not there. Then he rent his clothes, and returned to his brethren, and said, "The child is not, and I, whither shall I go?" Then the men took Joseph's coat, and dipped it in the blood of a kid that they had killed. This they brought to their father, and said, "This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no." And he knew it, and said, "It is my son's coat; a savage beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces." Then he rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days. And when his children would have comforted him, he refused to be comforted, saying, "I will go down to the dead for my son mourning."

Meanwhile the Ishmaelites carried Joseph into Egypt, and sold him to Potiphar, who was the captain of the king's executioners. And the Lord was with Joseph, and made all that he did to prosper in his hand; and when his master perceived this, he made him overseer of his house, and put all that he had into his care. Now Joseph was fair of form and of face, and his master's wife would have tempted him to sin. But when he refused she accused him falsely to her husband. Then Joseph's master took him, and put him in the prison, where the king's prisoners were bound. But there also the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour with the keeper of the prisoners, so that the keeper committed

to his hand all the prisoners.

Whatsoever was done

in the prison, Joseph was the doer of it.

It came to pass after these things that the chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the confectioners had offended their master the king of Egypt, so that he cast them into prison, in the place where Joseph was bound. And the chief of the executioners put them into Joseph's charge; and they continued there for the space of a year.

When the year was out each of them dreamed a dream; and when Joseph visited them in the morning, he perceived that they were sad; and he asked them, saying, "Wherefore look ye so sadly to-day?" They answered, "We have dreamed each of us a dream, and there is no interpreter." Joseph said unto them, "Do not interpretations come from God? tell me your dreams, I pray you."

Then the chief of the cupbearers told his dream: "In my dream I beheld a vine, and in this vine there were three branches; and while I looked it budded and blossomed and brought forth grapes, and the grapes grew ripe. And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand."

Joseph answered, "This is the interpretation of thy dream: The three branches are three days: within three days Pharaoh shall take thee out of prison, and restore thee to thy place, and thou shalt give the cup into Pharaoh's hand, as thou was wont to do in former days. But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness unto me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this place. For I was stolen away out of the land of my fathers; and here also I have done no wrong that they should put me into the dungeon."

When the chief of the confectioners saw that the interpretation of the dream was good, he told his dream also, and said, "In my dream I had on my head three baskets of white bread; and in the uppermost basket there were all manner of confections for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head."

Joseph answered, “This is the interpretation of thy dream The three baskets are three days: within three days Pharaoh shall cut off thy head, and hang thy body on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee."

And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast to all his servants; and he took account of the chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the confectioners. The chief of the cupbearers he restored to his place again; but he hanged the chief of the confectioners, doing even as Joseph had interpreted their dreams to them. Yet the chief of the cupbearers did not remember Joseph, but forgat him.

At the end of two years Pharaoh the king dreamed a dream. He stood by the river of Egypt, and, behold, there came up out of the river seven heifers, fair of aspect and fat-fleshed; and they fed in the seed-grass that was by the river-side. And, behold, seven other heifers came up out of the river, foul of aspect and lean-fleshed, and stood by the other heifers. And the lean-fleshed heifers did eat up the seven that were fatfleshed, and when they had eaten them up they were still lean-fleshed as at the beginning. So Pharaoh awoke.

And he slept, and dreamed a second time. He saw seven ears growing on one stalk, fat and good. And, behold, seven ears, thin and blasted with the wind

of the desert,1 sprang up after them.

And the seven

thin ears devoured the seven fat and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.

Then

The next day his spirit was troubled, and he called for all the magicians and all the wise men of Egypt, and told them his dreams; but there was no one that could interpret them to him. Then said the chief of the cupbearers, "I do remember my fault this day. Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me and the chief of the confectioners in the prison; and we both of us dreamed a dream one night. And there was a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the executioners; he interpreted our dreams to us. And it came to pass that as he interpreted, so it fell out

me Pharaoh restored to my office, but the chief of the confectioners he hanged."

Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon; and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and stood before Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said unto Joseph, "I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; and I have heard say of thee that when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it."

Joseph answered, "It is not in me to interpret a dream: the power is of God."

Then Pharaoh told his dreams, how that the seven lean heifers and the seven lean ears of corn had devoured the fat, and were none the better.

Joseph said, "The dreams of Pharaoh are the same: God hath shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven fat heifers and the seven fat ears are seven years of plenty; and the seven lean heifers and the seven lean ears are years of famine. Behold, there

1 Not the east wind, but the south-east, or sirocco that blows from the desert, and, if it blows long enough, destroys the grass.

D