Gift of Interpretation

How do you make the truth of the Gospel clear to someone who does not yet understand it?

“The cupbearer and the baker … both dreamed … They said to him … ‘There is no one to interpret them.’ And Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me’” (Genesis 40:5–8).

Themistocles stood before Artaxerxes, asked to speak about the affairs of his native Greece. It was a sensitive moment: Themistocles had led Athens to victory over the very empire whose throne he now approached, at Salamis. He had since lost his people’s confidence and fled to Persia—how he answered might determine his fate.

According to Plutarch, he “replied that the speech of man was like rich carpets, the patterns of which can only be shown by spreading them out.” He then requested a year to learn Persian, and Artaxerxes granted it. A year later, Themistocles returned and “spoke with the king on his own” and won his favor.

History often has been changed by men like Themistocles, who understood the importance of language and learned how to interpret and be understood.

We think of Joseph, who gained power because, guided by God, he could interpret dreams and tell people, in practical terms, what they meant.

This is what we need as believers to communicate the Gospel to the peoples of the world, as well as to our neighbors—sensitivity to the importance of speaking so others can understand.

Ask God to help you be an effective communicator and good listener, always ready to tell others what Jesus has done for you.

Reflection Question: What are some steps you can take to learn better communication skills?

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Themistocles really appear before the Persian king?

Yes‚ but ancient sources disagree on which king. Some‚ including Plutarch’s own alternate sources‚ name Xerxes; Thucydides‚ whom Plutarch and most modern historians consider more reliable on chronology‚ records that Themistocles’s audience was with Xerxes’s son and successor‚ Artaxerxes I.

What role did Joseph’s gift of interpretation play in his story?

Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams—first for two fellow prisoners in Genesis 40‚ then for Pharaoh in Genesis 41—became the turning point that elevated him from prisoner to second-in-command over Egypt.