Q&A: Dreams Today Compared to Those in the Hebrew Bible
Dreams Today Compared to Those in the Hebrew Bible
Question
In the portion of Vayeshev and the portion of Miketz we see a recurring motif of dreams. In Vayeshev we saw Joseph’s dream, and in Miketz we saw Pharaoh’s dream. In both cases, the dreams ultimately turn out to be true when interpreted. Today, in almost the year 2025, we know that dreams are a sequence of events that happened during the day. What does that say about the dreams that appear in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)? Why do you think the dreams that appear in the Hebrew Bible reflect something prophetic, rather than something like today, just an ordinary dream?
Answer
Simply speaking, there it is a kind of prophecy.
As for the contemporary view, I don’t think we “know” that, and even what people think is not just a sequence of events, and not only from that day.
Discussion on Answer
Uri,
The psychoanalyst Erich Fromm argues in his book The Forgotten Language that during sleep an intuitive power of awareness arises, expressed in dreams, which does not exist in waking life. He believes there are dreams that can teach a person things he has difficulty grasping when everyday, analytical, conscious thinking dominates the mind; things like discerning the nature of a certain person or foreseeing the future.
So it’s not so clear how much a dream is “just a dream” (that is: a collection of imaginings).
Even with prophetic dreams, there may be a connection to the thoughts of the day’s events, as Daniel says to Nebuchadnezzar, “Your thoughts upon your bed came up,” but apparently we’re talking about people with a prophetic gift that gets mixed into their dreams. Maybe that’s why, with prophetic dreams, there is no dream without some idle elements, unlike prophecy, which is supposed to be fulfilled in every detail.