Genesis 40

CHAPTER 40, 41 JOSEPH MADE RULER OF EGYPT
CHAPTER 40 JOSEPH PREPARED
JOSEPH MAINTAINED HIS CHILDHOOD FAITH IN THE GOD OF HIS FATHERS, ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB. HE DID THIS EVEN WHEN HE MARRIED A DAUGHTER OF THE PRIEST OF ON; HE RULED A HEATHEN KINGDOM AND LIVED IN THE CENTER OF VILE IDOLATRY
Since Joseph had been given authority over the other prisoners, naturally these were added to his responsibility.

We don’t know how much time elapsed before verse 1 or any of the earlier incidents which are recorded. We know that Joseph was 17 when he was shepherding with his brothers, 37:2, and it is possible he was made a slave that same year.

The “season” in 40:4 was likely the first anniversary of the officials imprisonment. It was 2 full years after this that Joseph was remembered before Pharaoh, 41:1, and he was 30 years old at that time 41:46. So the time in Potiphar’s house and in prison before meeting Pharaoh’s butler and baker would have been around ten years.

If we compare 39:1,39:20, 40:3 and 4, and 41;10, it seems that the captain of the guard was Potiphar all the way through. In spite of what he thought Joseph had done, Potiphar recognized his ability. He may have even become suspicious of the truthfulness of his wife, but to save face before others, he could not bring himself to release Joseph. Besides, he was doing a good job.

For a brief time line on Joseph, he was born just before the end of the second seven years of Jacob’s service, so was six when they left Laban. We don’t know how many years they stayed at Succoth, but Dinah was about the same age, so they must have been at least thirteen when they were at Shechem. When Joseph was sold a slave he was seventeen. He worked for Potiphar and then in prison eleven years until he was twenty eight and interpreted the dreams of the butler and baker. He was there two more years until Pharaoh promoted him at age thirty. For his position he must immediately marry, and both sons were before the famine, so Joseph would have been between thirty one - thirty seven when they were born.
Joseph interpreteth the dreams of two of Pharao's servants in prison: the event declareth the interpretations to be true, but Joseph is forgotten.

KING JAMES BIBLE

1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.

2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers—against the chief of the butlers and against the chief of the bakers.

3 And he put them under guard 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 served them; and they continued a season under guard.

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 looked upon them, and behold, they were sad.

7 And he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the guard of his lord’s house, saying, “Why look ye so sadly today?”

8 And they said unto him, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” And Joseph said unto them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me them, I pray you.”

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 her 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 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head and restore thee unto thy place; and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.

14 But think on me 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.”

16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and behold, I had three white baskets on my head.

17 And in the uppermost basket there were all manner of baked meats for Pharaoh, and the birds ate 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 Yet within 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.”

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 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 forgot him.

KING JAMES 1611

1. And it came to passe after these things, that the Butler of the King of Egypt, and his Baker, had offended their lord the King of Egypt.

2. And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chiefe of the Butlers, and against the chiefe of the Bakers.

3. And he put them in ward in the house of the captaine of the guard, into the prison, the place where Ioseph was bound.

4. And the captaine of the guard charged Ioseph with them, and he serued them, and they continued a season in warde.

5. And they dreamed a dreame both of them, each man his dreame in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dreame, the Butler and the Baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.

6. And Ioseph came in vnto them in the morning, and looked vpon them, and behold, they were sad.

7. And he asked Pharaohs officers that were with him in the warde of his lords house, saying, wherefore looke ye so sadly to day?

8. And they said vnto him, we haue dreamed a dreame, and there is no interpreter of it. And Ioseph said vnto them, Doe not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.

9. And the chiefe Butler tolde his dreame to Ioseph, and said to him; In my dreame, beholde, a vine was before mee:

10. And in the vine were three branches, and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot foorth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes.

11. And Pharaohs cup was in my hand, and I tooke the grapes and pressed them into Pharaohs cup: and I gaue the cup into Pharaohs hand.

12. And Ioseph said vnto him, This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three dayes,

13. Yet within three dayes shall Pharaoh lift vp thine head, and restore thee vnto thy place, and thou shalt deliuer Pharaohs cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his Butler.

14. But thinke on me, when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindenesse, I pray thee, vnto mee, and make mention of me vnto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house.

15. For indeed I was stollen away out of the land of the Hebrewes: and here also haue I done nothing, that they should put me into the dungeon.

16. When the chiefe Baker saw, that the interpretation was good, he said vnto Ioseph, I also was in my dreame, and behold, I had three white baskets on my head.

17. And in the vppermost basket there was of all maner of bake-meats for Pharaoh, and the birds did eat them out of the basket vpon my head.

18. And Ioseph answered, and said, This is the interpretation thereof: the three baskets are three dayes:

19. Yet within three dayes shall Pharaoh lift vp thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree, and the birds shall eate thy flesh from off thee.

20. And it came to passe the third day, which was Pharaohs birth day, that hee made a feast vnto all his seruaunts: and he lifted vp by the head of the chiefe Butler, and of the chiefe Baker among his seruants.

21. And he restored the chiefe Butler vnto his Butlership againe, and hee gaue the cup into Pharaohs hand.

22. But he hanged the chiefe Baker, as Ioseph had interpreted to them.

23. Yet did not the chiefe Butler remember Ioseph, but forgate him.

Compare Verses to Verses

I == Neh 1:11

II == Prov 16:14

III == Gen 39:20 , 23

VII == Neh 2:2

VIII == Gen 41:15 - 16 ; Dan 2:11 , 28 , 47

XII == Gen 40:18 ; 41:12 , 25-26 ; Judg 7:14 ; Dan 2:36 ; 4:19

XIII == 2nd Kings 25:17 ; Ps 3:3 ; Jer 52:31

XIV == Josh 2:12 ; 1st Sam 20:14-15 ; 2nd Sam 9:1 ; 1st Kings 2:7 ; Luke 23:42

XV == Gen 39:20

XVIII == Gen 40:12

XIX == Gen 40:13

XX == Gen 40: 13 , 19 ; Matt 14:6 ; Mark 6:21

XXI == Gen 40:13 ; Neh 2:1

XXII == Gen 40:19

XXIII == Job 19:14 Ps 31:12 ; Eccl 9:15-16 ; Amos 6:6

THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE

1 Some time afterward, the royal cupbearer and baker gave offense to their lord, the king of Egypt.

2 Pharaoh was angry with his two courtiers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,

3 and he put them in custody in the house of the chief steward (the same jail where Joseph was confined).

4 The chief steward assigned Joseph to them, and he became their attendant. After they had been in custody for some time,

5 the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt who were confined in the jail both had dreams on the same night, each dream with its own meaning.

6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he noticed that they looked disturbed.

7 So he asked Pharaoh's courtiers who were with him in custody in his master's house, "Why do you look so sad today?"

8 They answered him, "We have had dreams, but there is no one to interpret them for us." Joseph said to them, "Surely, interpretations come from God. Please tell the dreams to me."

9 Then the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. "In my dream," he said, "I saw a vine in front of me,

10 and on the vine were three branches. It had barely budded when its blossoms came out, and its clusters ripened into grapes.

11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes, pressed them out into his cup, and put it in Pharaoh's hand."

12 Joseph said to him: "This is what it means. The three branches are three days;

13 within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your post. You will be handing Pharaoh his cup as you formerly used to do when you were his cupbearer.

14 So if you will still remember, when all is well with you, that I was here with you, please do me the favor of mentioning me to Pharaoh, to get me out of this place.

15 The truth is that I was kidnaped from the land of the Hebrews, and here I have not done anything for which I should have been put into a dungeon."

16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given this favorable interpretation, he said to him: "I too had a dream. In it I had three wicker baskets on my head;

17 in the top one were all kinds of bakery products for Pharaoh, but the birds were pecking at them out of the basket on my head."

18 Joseph said to him in reply: "This is what it means. The three baskets are three days;

19 within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and have you impaled on a stake, and the birds will be pecking the flesh from your body."

20 And in fact, on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, when he gave a banquet to all his staff, with his courtiers around him, he lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and chief baker.

21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, so that he again handed the cup to Pharaoh;

22 but the chief baker he impaled-just as Joseph had told them in his interpretation.

23 Yet the chief cupbearer gave no thought to Joseph; he had forgotten him.

COMMENTARIE

V 1-4. It was the providence of God that allowed Pharaoh to impulsively condemn his chief officers to prison. Again, “officer” could simply mean that, or eunuch. Jealous or protective kings could require all those involved about the palace to be eunuchs. They had possibly made very simple errors which occurred at a time Pharaoh was in a bad mood. On the other hand, there may have been an attempt to poison Pharaoh’s food or drink. These two were in charge of those divisions, so both would have been suspect, or at least responsible, and put in prison. After investigating, the butler was found innocent and the baker executed. This would have been at a time appointed by Pharaoh.

v 5-7. One reason for Joseph being found in favor of those around him was his observance of details, their sadness, and his genuine concern for those in his charge. They were not sad about their care, but that they could not go to the diviners for interpretation.

DOTH NOT INTERPRETATION BELONG TO GOD? These were dreams from God,, the interpretation of them is a gift of God. But the generality of dreams are not of this sort; but either proceed from the natural complexions and dispositions of persons, or the roving of their imaginations in the day on such objects as they are much affected with, or from their mind being disturbed with cares and troubles, and oppressed with bodily infirmities: or they are suggested by evil spirits, to flatter, or to terrify weak minds, in order to gain belief, and so draw them into error or superstition; or at least to trouble them in their sleep, whom they cannot move when they are awake: so that the general rule, with regard to dreams, is not to observe them, nor to give any credit to them.

v 8. Thus Joseph’s answer that interpretations come from God. “Apparently Joseph realized that God would help him to interpret the dreams. Perhaps his awareness that his earlier dreams were prophetic enabled him to endure in faith, those years as a slave and in prison.

v 9-15. Joseph had no doubt about the interpretation that in three days the chief butler would be restored, and hoped this might be the means of his own rescue. He maintained his innocence, but did not incriminate his brothers or Potiphar’s wife.

v 16-22. Unpleasant as the interpretation for the baker was, both dreams were precisely fulfilled as Joseph said. In verse 20, Pharaoh apparently threw a birthday celebration, which occasioned him dealing with the two men that day. They may have been in prison since his previous birthday.

v 23. How ungrateful the butler seems to have been. At first he may have feared to stand up for another. Gradually it may not have seemed so urgent or convenient, until finally he forgot about it. Our sins of omission may be as harmful as if we have deliberately done wrong. Ask ourselves at our communion services, do we really remember Christ and what his death means to us? 1 Cor. 11:24-26. Whether Joseph or ourselves, when we have trials, God is doing something in us that he could not do otherwise, making us into the person He wants us to be.