Dreams in Tanakh; Who, What and Why?

(1) Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negeb and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was sojourning in Gerar, (2) Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. (3) But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are to die because of the woman that you have taken, for she is a married woman.” (4) Now Abimelech had not approached her. He said, “O lord,*lord See the Dictionary under “male metaphors for God.” will You slay people even though innocent? (5) He himself said to me, ‘She is my sister’! And she also said, ‘He is my brother.’ When I did this, my heart was blameless and my hands were clean.” (6) And God said to him in the dream, “I knew that you did this with a blameless heart, and so I kept you from sinning against Me. That was why I did not let you touch her. (7) Therefore, restore the man’s wife—since he is a prophet, he will intercede for you—to save your life. If you fail to restore her, know that you shall die, you and all that are yours.” (8) Early next morning, Abimelech called his servants and told them all that had happened; and they*they Lit. “the [salient] participants.” See the Dictionary under ’ish. were greatly frightened.

How does this sequence compare with the abduction of Sarai by Pharaoh?

(20) Jacob kept Laban the Aramean in the dark,*kept Laban the Aramean in the dark Lit. “stole the mind of Laban the Aramean”; similarly in v. 26. not telling him that he was fleeing....

(24) But God appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Beware of attempting anything with Jacob, good or bad.”

(1) ויבא, just as G’d had communicated with Avimelech in honour of Yitzchok, so He now communicated with Lavan in honour of Yaakov.

(13) Gideon came there just as one man was narrating a dream to another. “Listen,” he was saying, “I had this dream: There was a commotionhcommotion Meaning of Heb. uncertain. —a loaf of barley bread was whirling through the Midianite camp. It came to a tent and struck it, and it fell; it turned it upside down, and the tent collapsed.” (14) To this the other responded, “That can only mean the sword of the Israelite Gideon son of Joash.ithe Israelite Gideon son of Joash Or “Gideon son of Joash, Israel’s man in charge”; cf. Kimhi. God is delivering Midian and the entire camp into his hands.”jThe loaf of bread symbolizes the agricultural Israelites; the tent, the nomadic Midianites. (15) When Gideon heard the dream told and interpreted, he bowed low. Returning to the camp of Israel, he shouted, “Come on! GOD has delivered the Midianite camp into your hands!”

(16) Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “Not I! God will see to Pharaoh’s welfare.” (17) Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile....

(25) And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same: Pharaoh has been told what God is about to do....

(32) As for Pharaoh having had the same dream twice, it means that the matter has been determined by God, and that God will soon carry it out. (33) “Accordingly, let Pharaoh find someone*someone Lit. “a participant whose involvement defines the (proposed) situation.” See the Dictionary under ’ish. who’s discerning and wise, whom you can set over the land of Egypt. (34) And let Pharaoh take steps to appoint overseers over the land, and organize*organize Others “take a fifth part of”; meaning of Heb. uncertain. the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty.

(5) At Gibeon GOD appeared toaappeared to Or “made contact with.” Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask, what shall I grant you?” (6) Solomon said, “You dealt most graciously with Your servant my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness and righteousness and in integrity of heart. You have continued this great kindness to him by giving him a son to occupy his throne, as is now the case. (7) And now, my ETERNAL God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David; but I am a young lad, with no experience in leadership.bwith no experience in leadership Lit. “do not know going out and coming in”; cf. Num. 27.17.

(9) Grant, then, Your servant an understanding mind “listening heart.” to judge Your people, to distinguish between good and bad; for who can judge this vast people of Yours?” (10) Pleased that Solomon had asked for this, (11) God said to him, “Because you asked for this—you did not ask for long life, you did not ask for riches, you did not ask for the life of your enemies....

(12) I now do as you have spoken. I grant you a wise and discerning mind; there has never been anyone like you before, nor will anyone like you arise again.

(15) Then Solomon awoke: it was a dream! He went to Jerusalem, stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Sovereign One, and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented offerings of well-being; and he made a banquet for all his courtiers.

(2) Daniel related the following:
“In my vision at night, I saw the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea. (3) Four mighty beasts different from each other emerged from the sea....

(28) Here the account ends.
I, Daniel, was very alarmed by my thoughts, and my face darkened; and I could not put the matter out of my mind.

The Gemara relates: Ameimar and Mar Zutra and Rav Ashi were sitting together. They said: Let each and every one of us say something that the other has not heard. One of them began and said: One who saw a dream and does not know what he saw should stand before the priests when they lift their hands during the Priestly Blessing and say the following:
Master of the Universe, I am Yours and my dreams are Yours,
I dreamed a dream and I do not know what it is.
Whether I have dreamed of myself, whether my friends have dreamed of me or whether I have dreamed of others,
if the dreams are good, strengthen them and reinforce them like the dreams of Joseph.
And if the dreams require healing,
heal them like the bitter waters of Mara by Moses our teacher, and like Miriam from her leprosy,
and like Hezekiah from his illness, and like the bitter waters of Jericho by Elisha.
And just as You transformed the curse of Balaam the wicked into a blessing,
so transform all of my dreams for me for the best.
And he should complete his prayer together with the priests so the congregation responds amen both to the blessing of the priests and to his individual request. And if he is not able to recite this entire formula, he should say:

In a long chain of those transmitting this statement, it is said that Rabbi Bizna bar Zavda said that Rabbi Akiva said that Rabbi Panda said that Rav Naḥum said that Rabbi Birayim said in the name of one elder, and who is he, Rabbi Bena’a: There were twenty-four interpreters of dreams in Jerusalem. One time, I dreamed a dream and went to each of them to interpret it. What one interpreted for me the other did not interpret for me, and, nevertheless, all of the interpretations were realized in me, to fulfill that which is stated: All dreams follow the mouth of the interpreter.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: A person is shown in his dream only the thoughts of his heart when he was awake, as evidenced by what Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar, as it is stated: “As for you, O king, your thoughts came upon your bed, what should come to pass hereafter” (Daniel 2:29).

[He offers a negative view of dreams and does not even consider the classical dreams of the Tanakh.]

(1) Keep your mouth from being rash, and let not your throat be quick to bring forth speech before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth; that is why your words should be few. (2) Just as dreams come with much brooding, so does foolish utterance come with much speech....

For much dreaming leads to futility and to superfluous talk.