56 PHILO'S POLITICS
Philo has inserted all this into the Old Testament account in order tomake the gentile reader understand that when he speaks about Joseph
he is really describing the ideal prefect. But it would be indelicate to say
so outright. Far from that, Philo would have it appear only that he had
found in the Old Testament a splendid character who resembled a pre
fect by his very virtues. The most loyal gentile could not take offence at
such delicate flattery. Philo has waited until the respect and restraint of
his handling the subject had been impressed upon the reader before in
dicating the parallel at all, but when he does indicate it, no citizen of
Alexandria could have missed the point. Philo has now told the story
of Joseph through the great scene of his coming from prison to inter
pret Pharaoh's dream, and his being appointed viceroy or prefect. But
what of Pharaoh's dreams, and the prefect as an interpreter of dreams?
This is a point he must stop to clarify. As usual Philo's reaction to a
difficulty is to allegorize it. Neither the hellenistic king nor the prefect
was considered, ideally or practically, to be an interpreter of dreams.
So in a labored allegory Philo explains that the business of a king or
ruler is to lead his subjects from their dreams, that is from their false
assumptions and valuations into a true understanding of life.^48 He ends
with a few words about the chariot, ring, and necklace, which were ex
plained in De Somniis as such shameful tokens.^49 These are explained
now as only partially degrading. For Philo here temporarily allegorizes
Pharaoh as representing not the emperor but the populace of Egypt, by
whom, as he has explained before, the freedom of the prefect is limited.
These tokens of royalty, which are really obligations to please the
masses, are put upon him by the mob. But although they have ultimate
power over him, so long as everything is going well the chain and ring
are marks of distinction.^50
After a further digression in which Philo relates the highly artificial
allegorization given this part of the story by some of his contemporaries,
he goes on with the narrative.
The first detail of the continued story is a striking addition to the ac
count as it appears in Genesis:
But when Joseph had been appointed viceroy (unapxoc)^51 of the king, and
had received the superintendence and headship of Egypt, he took a journey- Jos., 125 ff. 49. See above, p. 23. 50. Jos., 148-150.
- (wiaQjcoc; is found in later inscriptions for praefectus provinciae; CIG, I, 373^ (add.); cf.