English · ASV

Genesis 40

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

Pharaoh's Officers Imprisoned with Joseph 1–4

1
And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. ​
2
And Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
3
And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. ​
4
And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he ministered unto them: and they continued a season in ward.

Joseph Attributes Interpretation to God 5–8

5
And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison.
6
And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and saw them, and, behold, they were sad.
7
And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in ward in his master’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sad to-day?
8
And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell it me, I pray you. ​

The Dream of the Chief Butler 9–15

9
And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;
10
and in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and its blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:
11
and Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.
12
And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days;
13
within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head, and restore thee unto thine office: and thou shalt give Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. ​
14
But have me in thy remembrance when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: ​
15
for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.

The Dream of the Chief Baker 16–19

16
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head: ​
17
and in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of baked food for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.
18
And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: the three baskets are three days;
19
within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. ​

Fulfillment and Joseph's Neglect 20–23

20
And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his servants. ​
21
And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:
22
but he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23
Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Genesis 40

Verse 1

had offended their lord — The verb is chata, the word for sin (it is Joseph's 'sin against God' in Gen 39:9). The butler is the king's cupbearer (mashqeh) and the other officer his baker, both of the royal table. The butler himself later says, 'I do remember my faults this day' (Gen 41:9).

Verse 3

the house of the captain of the guard — The prison is in the house of the captain of the guard, the office Potiphar held (Gen 39:1). The butler recalls it later: Pharaoh 'put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker', and 'a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard' interpreted their dreams (Gen 41:10, 12).

Verse 8

Do not interpretations belong to God? — Joseph gives the credit to God before hearing the dreams. He says the same before Pharaoh: 'It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace' (Gen 41:16). Pharaoh's own 'magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men' could not interpret his dream (Gen 41:8).

Verse 13

lift up thine head — The idiom is nasa rosh, to lift the head, here to restore to favour: Evilmerodach 'did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison' (2 Kgs 25:27). Joseph names the time, 'within three days', as the three branches of the dream stood for three days (v.12).

Verse 14

think on me — The verb is zakar, to remember, and Joseph asks twice: 'think on me' and 'make mention of me'. He adds a plea for chesed, kindness, and gives his reason: 'I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews' (v.15). The butler does not (v.23) until he speaks in Gen 41:9.

Verse 16

the interpretation was good — The baker's dream is built like the butler's, with three branches (v.10) for the butler and three baskets for him. In the uppermost basket was 'all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head' (v.17). Joseph reads the number the same way: 'The three baskets are three days' (v.18).

Verse 19

lift up thy head from off thee — These are the words of v.13 with three added: 'from off thee'. The baker's head is lifted off, and he is hanged 'on a tree'. The Law later says the body of one hanged must be buried the same day, 'for he that is hanged is accursed of God' (Deut 21:22–23; Gal 3:13).

Verse 20

Pharaoh's birthday — The feast is the setting of both outcomes: 'he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker', the same words with opposite results. Scripture names only one other birthday feast, Herod's, at which John the Baptist was beheaded (Matt 14:6; Mark 6:21).

Verse 23

forgat him — Shakach, the opposite of the butler's 'remember' (zakar). The silence lasts until 'at the end of two full years' (Gen 41:1), when the butler says, 'I do remember my faults this day' (Gen 41:9). The psalm says of Joseph, 'Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him' (Ps 105:19).