Background
During a study of the Book of Daniel, I became interested in Daniel’s ability to interpret the first dream of Nebuchadnezzar, recorded in Daniel chapter 2. I was not focused on the dream particularly, or its interpretation, but the events surrounding the story. I wrote two articles about this, one on how Daniel Honors God during this time. The second is about the relationship Daniel has with God, and looks at some qualities revealed about God. It is titled, God Uses Daniel.
Introduction
Daniel’s story has a parallel story with that of Joseph found in Genesis 41. Joseph also had the gift of interpreting dreams, which brought him before Pharaoh. Because of this parallel, I did a comparison of some of the events surrounding Daniel and Joseph’s dream interpretation for their respective kings. Their stories have some similarities that make for an interesting comparison.
Daniel
I tell some of Daniel’s story in the two articles mentioned above, so I will just give a summary.
Daniel’s story starts in about 605 BC when Jerusalem was besieged by Babylon and he was taken captive. Daniel is put into an indoctrination program and enters the king’s service upon completion. King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and Daniel gives the dream and its interpretation. Daniel is rewarded and made ruler over the province of Babylon.
Next, I will recount Joseph’s story, leading up to his dream interpretation for Pharaoh.1 Then, we will compare how the Daniel and Joseph dealt with the situation before them.
Joseph before Pharaoh
Getting to Egypt
We’ll pick up the story of Joseph when he was sold into slavery. This is thought to have occurred in about 1889 BC. His brothers were jealous of the favoritism toward him by their father, so they sold Joseph to some slave traders. Joseph ended up in Egypt, in the house of an Egyptian officer of the Pharaoh. Joseph rose up to be in charge of the house because God’s favor was upon him. Genesis 39:5 reports,
“And it came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house, and overall that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field.”
However, the wife of his master tried to seduce him. When Joseph refused, she was insulted, and yelled out. Joseph was accused of attacking her, and thrown into prison.
In Prison
While in prison, God gave Joseph favor in the sight of the chief jailer. Because God was with Joseph, the chief jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. Genesis 39:23 explains,
“The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper.”
While in jail, the king of Egypt threw two of his officials into the same prison as Joseph. One was the king’s cupbearer, the other, his chief baker. Joseph was put in charge of the two and he took care of them.
Prison Dreams
After some time, on the same night, the two officials both had dreams. Joseph was told the dreams and he was able to interpret them. Three days later, the officials were both released from prison. The dreams were fulfilled just as Joseph had disclosed.
Even though Joseph had asked to be remembered once they were released from prison, he was forgotten.
Pharaoh Dreams
Two years later, Pharaoh had dreams and he awoke troubled. He sent for the magicians and wise men, but no one could provide the interpretation. One of the officials that had been in prison with Joseph, remembered that Joseph was able to interpret dreams. They therefore sent to the prison and had Joseph brought before Pharaoh.
Genesis 41:15-16 tells of the meeting:
“Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’ Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.’ ”
Joseph was able to give Pharaoh the interpretation of the dream and explain what was about to take place in the land.
Wise Counsel
Joseph informed Pharaoh that through his dream, God was making known the upcoming famine. Therefore, Joseph recommended a course of action saying,
“Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth [of the produce] of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance.”2
Joseph’s plan was to save up during the time of plenty so that there would be reserves to use during the time of famine. Pharaoh recognized that God was with Joseph and agreed with his counsel:
“So Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you.’ Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck.”3
Comparison
We will compare some of the things I observed in both the situations and then the men. There are certainly more than this, but this is a start. In both comparisons, there are similarities and differences. First the situation:
The Situation
Similarities
The two men’s situation was similar in the following ways:
- Living in captivity
- Ruler had a dream
- God gave the interpretation
- A gold chain was given
- Put in the situation by God
- Elevated to second highest office in the land
Differences
The differences in their situation are shown in the following chart.
| Daniel | Joseph |
| Daniel & wise men to be killed | In prison |
| Asked for time to pray | Cup-bearer remembers him |
| With his peer group | Alone |
| Had to know dream also | Gave counsel for a wise man |
| Saved his life and the wise men | Saved the lives of the nation |
The Men
Similarities
The two men were similar in the following ways:
- Trusted God
- Had a relationship with Him4
- Given a foreign name
- Gave glory to God for the interpretation
- Known for ability to understand dreams5
Differences
The differences in the men are shown in the following chart.
| Daniel | Joseph |
| Less than 20 years old | 30 years old6 |
| Given many great gifts | Given a wife |
| Lifted his friends into prominence | Eventually brought his family |
| They thought he was a god | They saw he had a divine spirit7 |
| Lineage not given | Son of Jacob |
Impact
Both men had an immediate spiritual impact on those around them. They also had a longer term impact, but that is beyond the scope of this paper.
Three times the benefit of Joseph’s spiritual life is seen by those around him:
- The Lord blessed Potiphar’s house8 (Genesis 39:3–5)
- The Lord gave success in prison (Genesis 39:21–23)
- Pharaoh recognized God’s Spirit in Joseph (Genesis 41)
The impact of Daniel’s life is demonstrated throughout the book of Daniel. However, since I am focused on the first two chapters of the book, I’ll just mention one effect. King Nebuchadnezzar recognized the power of God at work. He said, “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings… .” (Daniel 2:47)
Appendix
There have been some objections raised concerning the authenticity of the book of Daniel. In particular, the story of Daniel’s dream interpretation is said to be a copy of Joseph’s. This paper has shown that the two stories do agree in some aspects.
But, as one Bible commentator points out, there are many things that are different. Such as,
“The dreams themselves; the occasion; the explanation; the result; the bearing on future events – in these, and in numerous other things, they differ entirely. It may be added also, that if the one had been copied from the other, it is probable that there would have been some undesigned [sic] allusion by which it could be known that the writer of the one had the other before him, and that he was framing his own narrative from that. But, as a matter of fact, there are no two records in history that have more the marks of being independent and original narratives of real transactions, than the account of Joseph in Egypt, and of Daniel in Babylon.”9
For more on the authenticity of the book of Daniel, please see my post, Authenticity of the book of Daniel.
1 Summarized from Genesis – the last part of chapter 37, then 39, 40, and 41.
2 Genesis 41:33-34
3 Genesis 41:39-40, 42
4 2 Chronicles 16:9a “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” I believe that this verse helps explain their relationship with God. In short, they had faith and gave their heart to God.
5 Daniel, in Daniel 1:17; Joseph, in Genesis 40
6 According to Genesis 41:46, Joseph was 30 when he entered Pharaoh’s service. Daniel is a thought to be in his early teens when taken captive and is perhaps younger than 20 when he interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
7 Daniel 2:46 “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him and offering and fragrant incense.” This is how one treats a god.
In Joseph’s case, he was promoted to be second in command. Since Pharaoh was considered to be a god in their society, one could make the case that Joseph was also considered a god.
8 Potiphar is the Egyptian officer whom Joseph first served as a slave.
9 Barnes’ Notes on the Bible -Emboldened added for emphasis.