Genesis 40:23 | 77
But while Jo seph was there in the pris on , 21 the Lord was with him ; he showed him kind ness and grant ed him fa vor in the eyes of the pris on war den . 22 So the war den put Jo seph in charge of all those held in the pris on , and he was made re spon si ble for all that was done there . 23 The warden paid no at ten tion to any thing un der Jo seph ’ s care , be cause the Lord was with Jo seph and gave him suc cess in what ev er he did .
The Cupbearer and the Baker
Some time lat er , the cup bear er and the
40 bak er of the king of Egypt of fend ed their mas ter , the king of Egypt . 2 Phar aoh was an gry with his two of fi cials , the chief cup bear er and the chief bak er , 3 and put them in cus to dy in the house of the cap tain of the guard , in the same pris on where Jo seph was con fined . 4 The cap tain of the guard as signed them to Jo seph , and he attend ed them .
Af ter they had been in cus to dy for some time ,
5 each of the two men — the cup bear er and the bak er of the king of Egypt , who were be ing held in pris on — had a dream the same night , and each dream had a mean ing of its own .
6
When Jo seph came to them the next morn ing , he saw that they were de ject ed . 7 So he asked Pharaoh ’ s of fi cials who were in cus to dy with him in his mas ter ’ s house , “ Why do you look so sad to day ?”
8
“ We both had dreams ,” they an swered , “ but there is no one to in ter pret them .”
Then Jo seph said to them , “ Do not in ter pre tations be long to God ? Tell me your dreams .”
9
So the chief cup bear er told Jo seph his dream . He said to him , “ In my dream I saw a vine in front of me , 10 and on the vine were three branch es . As soon as it bud ded , it blos somed , and its clus ters rip ened into grapes . 11 Phar aoh ’ s cup was in my hand , and I took the grapes , squeezed them into Phar aoh ’ s cup and put the cup in his hand .”
12
“ This is what it means ,” Jo seph said to him . “ The three branch es are three days . 13 With in three days Phar aoh will lift up your head and re store you to your po si tion , and you will put Phar aoh ’ s cup in his hand , just as you used to do when you were his cup bear er . 14 But when all goes well with you , re mem ber me and show me kind ness ; mention me to Phar aoh and get me out of this pris on .
15
I was forc ibly car ried off from the land of the He brews , and even here I have done noth ing to de serve be ing put in a dun geon .”
16
When the chief bak er saw that Jo seph had given a fa vor able in ter pre ta tion , he said to Jo seph , “ I too had a dream : On my head were three bas kets of bread . a 17 In the top bas ket were all kinds of baked goods for Phar aoh , but the birds were eat ing them out of the bas ket on my head .”
18
“ This is what it means ,” Jo seph said . “ The three bas kets are three days . 19 With in three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and im pale your body on a pole . And the birds will eat away your flesh .”
20
Now the third day was Phar aoh ’ s birth day , and he gave a feast for all his of fi cials . He lift ed up the heads of the chief cup bear er and the chief bak er in the pres ence of his of fi cials : 21 He re stored the chief cup bear er to his po si tion , so that he once again put the cup into Phar aoh ’ s hand — 22 but he im paled the chief bak er , just as Jo seph had said to them in his in ter pre ta tion .
23
The chief cup bear er , how ev er , did not remem ber Jo seph ; he for got him .
a
16 Or three wicker baskets
40:1 – 23 While in prison , Joseph interprets dreams for two of Pharaoh ’ s chief officials . Despite a seemingly bleak outlook for Joseph ( see v . 23 ), his successful interpretations ultimately lead to an encounter with Pharaoh and a promotion ( ch . 41 ). Joseph later interprets his circumstances in Egypt as God sovereignly arranging using particular circumstances to ensure the preservation of his people ( see 50:20 ).
40:1 Some time later While the time frame is not specified here , later chronological references allow for a reconstruction . Two years elapse before Pharaoh has the dream that he calls upon Joseph to interpret ( 41:1 ). Joseph is 30 years old when Pharaoh elevates him to high office ( 41:46 ), which immediately follows his successful dream interpretation . As a result , Joseph was probably 28 years old when he entered prison . This means he served Potiphar for roughly 11 years ( compare 37:2 ). cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt These men are the chief officials of their professions in Pharaoh ’ s household ( v . 2 ). 40:2 Pharaoh This word in Egyptian means “ great house .” In Egyptian records , this term is not used of Egypt ’ s king until the fifteenth century BC and is not paired with the personal name of the king as a title until roughly the tenth century BC . This means that it is probably supplied here by a later writer or editor . chief cupbearer A palace official who served Pharaoh ’ s wine and oversaw his drinking needs . Since this position offered regular opportunities to poison the king , the chief cupbearer had to be highly trustworthy . 40:13 lift up your head The Hebrew phrase used here is a common idiom for showing favor or pardoning someone ( compare 2Ki 25:27 ; Jer 52:31 ). 40:19 will lift off your head Joseph repeats the imagery from v . 13 , but with a negative connotation . Unlike the chief cupbearer , the chief baker is not restored or pardoned ; he is literally lifted off the ground and impaled ( v . 22 ). birds will eat away your flesh This would be especially horrible to an Egyptian . Egyptians at this point in history linked preservation of the body to their wellbeing in the afterlife . 40:22 impaled This could involve execution followed by the public hanging of a body from a large pole , or the execution itself being carried out by impalement . 40:23 chief cupbearer , however , did not remember Joseph ’ s request in v . 14 is forgotten , and he remains in prison . Yet the earlier mention of God ’ s favor with Joseph hints that something good is looming on the horizon , despite the bleak outlook ( 39:2 ).