meaning,[149]
and he interpreted the dream thus: The three
branches are the three Fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
whose descendants in Egypt will be redeemed by three
leaders, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam; and the cup given into
the hand of Pharaoh is the cup of wrath that he will have to
drain in the end. This interpretation of the dream Joseph
kept for himself, and he told the chief butler nothing
thereof, but out of gratitude for the glad tidings of the
deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt, he gave
him a favorable interpretation of his dream, and begged
him to have him in his remembrance, when it should be well
with him, and liberate him from the dungeon in which he
was confined.

When the chief baker heard the interpretation of the
butler's dream, he knew that Joseph had divined its meaning
correctly, for in his own he had seen the interpretation of
his friend's dream, and he proceeded to tell Joseph what
he had dreamed in the night: "I also was in my dream,
and, behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head;
and in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bake-
meats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the
basket upon my head." Also this dream conveyed a prophecy
regarding the future of Israel: The three baskets are
the three kingdoms to which Israel will be made subject,
Babylon, Media, and Greece; and the uppermost basket
indicates the wicked rule of Rome, which will extend over
all the nations of the world, until the bird shall come, who is
the Messiah, and annihilate Rome. Again Joseph kept