This chapter does not seem to advance
the story of Joseph, rather it seems to retard it. It seems that
Joseph’s prison stay and the ingratitude of the chief bearer of
Pharaoh is a delay in his release. None the less these factors were
all controlled by God to accomplish a certain end.
CHAPTER 40 AT A GLANCE
I. Two of Pharaoh's servants are
committed to prison, and there to Joseph's care, and so become
witnesses of his extraordinary conduct v. 1-4.
II. They dreamed each of them a dream,
which Joseph interpreted v. 5-19, and the event verified the
interpretation v. 20-22, and so they became witnesses of his
extraordinary skill.
III. Joseph recommends his case to one
of them, whose preferment he foresaw v. 14-15, but in vain v. 23.
(from Matthew Henry's
Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic
Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)
CHAPTER 40
Joseph in prison interprets the dreams
of the chief of the butlers and the chief of the bakers.
This chapter does not seem to advance
the story of Joseph, rather it seems to retard it. It seems that
Joseph’s prison stay and the ingratitude of the chief butler of
Pharaoh is a delay in his advance. None the less these factors were
all controlled by God to accomplish a certain end.
CHAPTER 40 AT A GLANCE
I. Two of Pharaoh's servants are
committed to prison, and there to Joseph's care, and so become
witnesses of his extraordinary conduct v. 1-4.
II. They dreamed each of them a dream,
which Joseph interpreted v. 5-19, and the event verified the
interpretation v. 20-22, and so they became witnesses of his
extraordinary skill.
III. Joseph recommends his case to one
of them, whose preferment he foresaw v. 14-15, but in vain v. 23.
(from Matthew Henry's
Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic
Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)
Genesis 40:1-4
40:1 Some
time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended
their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two
officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in
custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison
where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard assigned them
to Joseph, and he attended them.
After they
had been in custody for some time,
1. Joseph Meets the Cupbearer and
the Baker
The cupbearer ... and ... baker had
offended their lord the king of Egypt ... And Pharaoh ... put them in
ward. Even in the prison Joseph could not be kept down. He was
given supervision of the prisoners, and he ministered to them. The
old dungeon became a different place because of his presence. God was
blessing others through Joseph's thoughtfulness and kindness.
Potiphar had put him where his remarkable talents could still be
felt. The cupbearer (mashgeh), or drink-giver, was a valued member of
Pharaoh's household. In Neh 1:11 the word is translated "cupbearer."
Nehemiah, who bore that title, was a trusted official in the palace
of the Persian monarch. The baker ('opeh) was the superintendent of
the bakery, responsible for seeing to it that the monarch's food was
safe and palatable. These two high officials in the royal household
had offended Pharaoh. Pending investigation, they were confined in
the same prison to which Joseph had been committed.
Genesis 40:5-8
5 each of
the two men--the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who
were being held in prison--had a dream the same night, and each dream
had a meaning of its own.
6 When
Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected.
7 So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his
master's house, "Why are your faces so sad today?"
8 "We
both had dreams," they answered, "but there is no one to
interpret them."
Then
Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell
me your dreams."
2. Both Men Dreamed a Dream
It was the duty of Joseph to take care
of these two prisoners. Finding them upset and disturbed, he inquired
concerning their needs. They had both dreamed dreams that they could
not understand. And no official interpreter of dreams was available.
Joseph reminded them that God could give the meaning.
Genesis 40:9-19
9 So the
chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, "In my
dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three
branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters
ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the
grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in his
hand."
12 "This
is what it means," Joseph said to him. "The three branches
are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head
and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in
his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 But
when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness;
mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 For I was
forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I
have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon."
16 When
the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation,
he said to Joseph, "I too had a dream: On my head were three
baskets of bread. 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked
goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket
on my head."
18 "This
is what it means," Joseph said. "The three baskets are
three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and
hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh."
3. Their Dreams and Their Meanings
So they told him their dreams, and
Joseph explained what they signified. The cupbearer would have a
pleasant surprise: Within three days he would be granted an official
release from prison to go back to his work at the king's side.
The baker would not be so lucky. He
would be released at the same time, but he would loose his head and
his carcass would be hung out in the open to become food for the
birds.
Joseph made one request of the
cupbearer: But when all goes well with
you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get
me out of this prison. (vs. 14). Joseph wanted to be free
to live and help bring about the full will of God in his life.
NOTE: All the officers in
the employment of the ancient kings of Egypt were, according to
Diodorus Siculus, taken from the most illustrious families of the
priesthood in the country, no slave or common person being ever
permitted to serve in the presence of the king. Since these persons,
therefore, were of the most noble families, it is natural to expect
they would be put, when accused, into the state prison.
But many suppose the word signifies a
complete year; and as Pharaoh called them to an account on his
birthday, Gen 40:20, Calmet supposes they had offended on the
preceding birthday, and thus had been one whole year in prison.
(from
Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by
Biblesoft)
Genesis 40:20-23
20 Now the
third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his
officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the
chief baker in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the
chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup
into Pharaoh's hand, 22 but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph
had said to them in his interpretation.
23 The
chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.
4.
Joseph's Disappointment
Don't you think that after the
cupbearer was called back to Pharaoh's court, Joseph just knew it
would be any day now until he was let out of prison. Each day he must
have thought, “Today will be the day.”
But as the weeks and then
the months went by disappointment must have set in. Joseph's just
knew the cupbearer was his ticket out, wasn't that why God had put
him in prison with Joseph? Wasn't that why he had been able to
interpret the cupbearer's dream? But the cupbearer did not remember:
The chief cupbearer, however, did not
remember Joseph; he forgot him. (vs.
23)
What ingratitude! “Out of sight, out
of mind.” How sad that there are those who are quick to forget or
ignore those in distress. Joseph should have been helped. After all
he had ministered to the cupbearer, sympathized with him, helped him
to a favorable interpretation of his dream, had proven himself to him
to be an extraordinary person by all accounts; and yet the cupbearer
forgot him.
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