withered ears indicated that these same cities would be
destroyed at the end of his reign.

Sagacious as he was, Pharaoh knew that none of these
explanations hit the nail on the head. He issued a decree
summoning all interpreters of dreams to appear before him
on pain of death, and he held out great rewards and distinctions
to the one who should succeed in finding the true
meaning of his dreams. In obedience to his summons, all
the wise men appeared, the magicians and the sacred scribes
that were in Mizraim, the city of Egypt, as well as those
from Goshen, Raamses, Zoan, and the whole country of
Egypt, and with them came the princes, officers, and servants
of the king from all the cities of the land.

To all these the king narrated his dreams, but none could
interpret them to his satisfaction. Some said that the seven
fat kine were the seven legitimate kings that would rule over
Egypt, and the seven lean kine betokened seven princes that
would rise up against these seven kings and exterminate
them. The seven good ears of corn were the seven superior
princes of Egypt that would engage in a war for their overlord,
and would be defeated by as many insignificant princes,
who were betokened by the seven blasted ears.

Another interpretation was that the seven fat kine were
the seven fortified cities of Egypt, at some future time to fall
into the hands of seven Canaanitish nations, who were
foreshadowed
in the seven lean kine. According to this interpretation,