Genesis 40
40
Joseph Interprets Dreams
1#Ge 40:13Sometime after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 2#Pr 16:14Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, with the chief of the cupbearers and with the chief of the bakers. 3#Ge 39:20So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. 4The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he attended to them.
They continued to be in confinement for some time. 5#Ge 41:11Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.
6Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them and realized they were sad. 7#Ne 2:2So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in the care of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”
8#Ge 41:15–16; Da 2:28And they said to him, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter for it.”
Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
9The chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream, a vine was in front of me. 10And in the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms shot forth and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. 11Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”
12#Ge 41:12; Jdg 7:14Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it. The three branches are three days. 13#2Ki 25:27; Ps 3:3Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand in the same way you did before when you were his cupbearer. 14#Jos 2:12; 1Ki 2:7But remember me when it is well with you, and show kindness, I pray you, to me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. 15#Ge 39:20For I was indeed kidnapped out of the land of the Hebrews, and I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon.”
16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and I had three white baskets on my head. 17In the uppermost basket there was all manner of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”
18#Ge 40:12Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days. 19#Ge 40:22Within three days Pharaoh will lift your head from off you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
20#Ge 40:13; 40:19It happened on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker among his servants. 21#Ge 40:13; Ne 2:1He restored the chief cupbearer to his position again, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. 22#Ge 40:19However, he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23#Job 19:14; Ps 31:12Yet, the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Military Bible Association
Genesis 40
40
1Later on the cupbearer and the baker committed some offense against their master, the king of Egypt. 2Pharaoh was angry with these two royal officials—the chief cupbearer and chief baker— 3and imprisoned them in the house of the commander of the guard, the same prison where Joseph was. 4The commander of the guard assigned Joseph to them as their personal attendant. They were kept in prison for some time.
5One night while they were in prison the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt each had a dream. They were different dreams, each with its own meaning. 6When Joseph arrived the next morning he noticed they both looked depressed. 7So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were imprisoned with him in his master's house, “Why are you looking so depressed?”
8“We've both had dreams but can't find anyone to explain what they mean,” they said.
So Joseph told them, “Isn't God the one who can interpret the meaning of dreams? Tell me your dreams.”
9So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. “In my dream there was a vine right in front of me,” he explained. 10“The vine had three branches. As soon as it budded, it flowered, and produced clusters of ripe grapes. 11I was holding Pharaoh's wine cup, so I picked the grapes and squeezed them into the cup and gave it to Pharaoh.”
12“This is the meaning,” Joseph told him. “The three branches represent three days. 13In three days' time Pharaoh will take you out of prison and give you back your job, and you will hand Pharaoh his cup as you used to. 14But when things go well for you, please remember me with kindness and speak to Pharaoh on my behalf, and please get me out of this prison. 15I was cruelly kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and now I'm here in this pit even though I've done nothing wrong.”
16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was positive, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream. I had three baskets of cakes on my head. 17In the top basket were all the cakes and pastries for Pharaoh to eat, and the birds were eating them from the basket on my head.”
18“This is the meaning,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets represent three days. 19In three days' time Pharaoh will take you out of prison and hang you on a pole, and birds will eat your flesh.”
20Three days later it happened to be Pharaoh's birthday, and he arranged a banquet for all his officials. He had the chief cupbearer and the chief baker released from prison and brought there before his officials. 21He gave the chief cupbearer his job back, and he returned to his duties of handing Pharaoh his cup. 22But he hanged the chief baker just as Joseph had said when he interpreted their dreams. 23But the chief cupbearer didn't remember to say anything about Joseph—in fact he forgot all about him.
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com