Joseph’s sound here is ambiguous. On one leve it is distinctly unpleasant. He buys up all the land, the money and the people taking advantage of the famine. On level it is a canny way of being truly valued in Pharaoh’s eyes. And possibly it was a way in which he could keep his family safe.
Yet the sound of this narrative is uncomfortable. Should Joseph have done it this way? Should it be that ordinary people bear the brunt of famine? After all he was given insight so as to prepare for the famine. Should he have taken advantage of it in this way?
Joseph, the hero of the musicals and Sunday school lessons is an ambiguous sound. He is not altogether pleasant nor is he grating. Yet he is a sound that is remembered. For he sounded dreams and made meanings of them.