“Do not interpretations belong to God?”
 Genesis 40:8
Dear members and friends,
The story of Joseph is filled with dreams. His own youthful dreams set his remarkable and unique journey into motion. Pharaoh’s dreams elevate him from prison to the palace. Yet nestled quietly between these well-known stories is another pair of dreams: those of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker. Though often overlooked, Swedenborg gives these dreams an astonishingly detailed spiritual interpretation, revealing them to be not simply predictions of future events but a portrait of the Lord’s work of regeneration within every human being.
The setting itself is quite dramatic. Joseph, falsely imprisoned, shares his confinement with two servants of Pharaoh. One is the chief cupbearer, entrusted with wine; the other is the chief baker, entrusted with bread. Both dreamed on the same night. Both awakened troubled. Both sought Joseph’s help. Joseph’s response establishes the foundational theme:
“Do not interpretations belong to God?”
These words remind us that dreams are not puzzles solved by human ingenuity. Their true meaning belongs to the Lord, who alone knows the hidden workings of the human heart. In Secrets of Heaven, Swedenborg explains that Joseph represents the Lord’s Divine truth working within us, especially as the Lord leads us through the process of regeneration. Joseph is not merely a wise interpreter; he is an image of the Lord, who alone can bring order out of the confusion of our inner life.
The two prisoners represent two essential faculties of every person. The cupbearer corresponds to the understanding—the faculty by which we receive and think about truth. Wine throughout the Word symbolizes spiritual truth because it refreshes and gladdens the mind just as natural wine gladdens the heart. The cupbearer’s restoration therefore signifies that our understanding can be restored to its proper purpose: receiving truths from the Lord and placing them in the service of a transformed life.
The baker represents another faculty: the will or the affection. Bread throughout Scripture corresponds to heavenly goodness, the love that nourishes the soul. Yet the baker’s baskets are filled with baked goods that never reach Pharaoh. Instead, birds descend and consume them. This disturbing image carries profound spiritual meaning. Swedenborg explains that birds can symbolize thoughts, both true and false, depending upon the context. Here they represent false ideas and reasonings that consume what should have become genuine goodness. Good intentions alone are not enough. Unless our loves are purified by divine truth, they become vulnerable to selfish motives and distorted thinking.
The two dreams therefore describe two different aspects of spiritual transformation: Truth can be restored; Goodness must be purified. Neither process is accomplished by our own effort alone. Both belong to the Lord’s work within us, especially the divine truth.
Blessings,
Rev. Junchol Lee