Why Bother Sending Prophetic Dreams?
The dreams of Pharaoh’s ministers later on in the story did not help them in any way, since there was no way for them to know whether the interpretation was accurate until the events themselves unfolded, and in any case even if they believed the interpretation, how could they beneficially use this knowledge? In any event we’re not told that they benefited from the knowledge. But the purpose of their dreams was not for their benefit but rather to prove to the surviving minister that Joseph was capable of interpreting dreams, so that he would mention this to Pharaoh at the appropriate time. Joseph’s reception of prophetic dreams had a purpose: the brothers were to have helped Joseph fulfill these dreams rather than attempt to foil them. The dreams were meant to test both Joseph and those around him: to see whether Joseph was sufficiently sensitive to the feelings of others to relate the dreams in a way that would not seem arrogant, and to test the reactions of the brothers. The purpose o
