Genesis 40

Some time after these things, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker did something that offended their master, the king of Egypt.

1And 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.

NoteA cupbearer served the king his wine and tasted it first as a guard against poisoning. Because the job required absolute trust and daily access to the king in private, it was a high court post, not a servant's errand. The baker likewise headed the palace bakery. In Egyptian court records both offices ranked among the senior household officials.

2Pharaoh was angry with two of his officers, the chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the bakers.

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

Note"Officers" translates a Hebrew word (saris) used for royal officials generally; in some contexts it means a eunuch, but it is applied broadly to court servants of high rank. "Chief of the cupbearers" and "chief of the bakers" mean the heads of those palace departments, each with staff under him. "Pharaoh" is a title for the king of Egypt, not a personal name; the Hebrew word comes from an Egyptian phrase meaning "great house," that is, the palace.

3He put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the same place where Joseph was held.

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

NoteThe captain of the guard commanded the royal bodyguard and had a prison attached to his own household, so that detained officials were held under his personal supervision rather than in a public jail. This is the same official, Potiphar, whose house Joseph had served in.

4The captain of the guard put them in Joseph's charge, and Joseph waited on them. They stayed in custody for some time.

4And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.

5Both of them had a dream, each man his own dream, on the same night. Each dream had its own meaning. They were the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were held in the prison.

5And 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, which were bound in the prison.

6Joseph came to them in the morning and looked at them, and he saw they were sad.

6And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.

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

7And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day?

8They said to him, "We have each had a dream, and there is no one to tell us what it means." Joseph said to them, "Don't interpretations belong to God? Please tell me your dreams."

8And 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.

NoteIn Egypt dream interpretation was a recognized professional skill. Trained specialists attached to the temples worked from written manuals that listed dream images and their standard meanings. The two men are not saying dreams are unreadable in principle; they are saying that in prison they have no access to anyone qualified to do the reading.

9So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, "In my dream, there was a vine in front of me.

9And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;

10On the vine were three branches. It was as if it budded, its blossoms opened, and its clusters ripened into grapes.

10And 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:

11Pharaoh's cup was in my hand. I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh's hand."

11And 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.

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

12And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:

13Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and give you back your position. You will put Pharaoh's cup into his hand, the same way you used to when you were his cupbearer.

13Yet 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.

Note"Lift up your head" is an idiom with more than one sense. It can mean to raise someone from disgrace and restore him to favor, and it can also mean to take a count or review a list of people, as an official might call up a name. Joseph uses it here in the favorable sense, then twists the same phrase in verse 19 to mean the removal of the baker's head.

14But remember me when things go well for you. Please be kind to me. Speak about me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.

14But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:

Note"This house" means the prison, which was part of the captain of the guard's residence (see verse 3).

15For I was in fact stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here too I have done nothing for which they should put me in this dungeon."

15For 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.

Note"The land of the Hebrews" means Canaan, where Joseph's family lived. "Stolen away" is a strong word for kidnapping a person; Joseph does not say who did it, and avoids naming his brothers. The word translated "dungeon" is the ordinary Hebrew word for a pit or cistern, the same word used of the pit his brothers threw him into.

16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, "I had a dream too. There were three white baskets on my head.

16When 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:

NoteThe Hebrew phrase behind "three white baskets" is uncertain. It may describe baskets of white bread, or baskets of wickerwork woven with openings, or baskets carried on the head in the manner shown in Egyptian tomb paintings, where servants are depicted balancing stacked bread baskets exactly this way.

17In the top basket there were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head."

17And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.

18Joseph answered and said, "This is what it means. The three baskets are three days.

18And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:

19Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from off you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you."

19Yet 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.

Note"Hang you on a tree" refers to fixing the body on a pole or stake after execution, leaving it exposed rather than buried. It was a public display of disgrace, not a method of killing. Birds stripping the corpse made the shame worse, and in Egypt, where preserving the body was central to burial practice, the loss of the body was a particularly severe penalty.

20On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants. In front of his servants he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker.

20And 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.

NoteAncient kings commonly marked such occasions with amnesties and promotions, so a feast for the whole court was a natural setting for deciding the fate of detained officials. The narrator repeats the phrase "lifted up the head" for both men, holding together the two opposite meanings Joseph had given it in verses 13 and 19.

21He gave the chief cupbearer his job as cupbearer back again, and he put the cup into Pharaoh's hand.

21And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:

22But he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had explained to them.

22But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.

23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph. He forgot him.

23Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.