GE�ESIS 40 COMME�TARY

EDITED BY GLE�� PEASE

The Cupbearer and the Baker

1 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of

the king of Egypt offended their master, the king

of Egypt.

BAR�ES, " - Joseph in Prison

An uncomplaining patience and an unhesitating hopefulness keep the breast of Joseph in calm tranquillity. There is a God above, and that God is with him. His soul swerves not from this feeling. Meanwhile, new and distinguished prisoners are introduced into his place of confinement.

Gen_40:1-4

The chief butler and chief baker, high officials in Pharaoh’s court, come under the displeasure of their sovereign. “In the house of the captain of the guards.” It appears that this officer’s establishment contained the keep in which Joseph and these criminals were confined. “Charged Joseph with them.” As Joseph was his slave, and these were state prisoners, he appointed him to wait upon them. It is probable that Joseph’s character had been somewhat re-established with him during his residence in the prison.

CLARKE, "The butler - mashkeh, the same as saky among the Arabians and משקהPersians, and signifying a cup-bearer.

Baker - .opheh; rather cook, confectioner, or the like אפה

Had offended - They had probably been accused of attempting to take away the king’s life, one by poisoning his drink, the other by poisoning his bread or confectionaries.

GILL, "And it came to pass after these things,.... After Joseph had been accused and cast into prison, where he had been for some time:

that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the

king of Egypt; committed some fault, at least were accused of one, which raised his displeasure at them. The Targum of Jonathan says, that they consulted to put poison into his drink and food; which, it is not improbable, considering their business and office, they might be charged with; at least it is much more probable than what Jarchi suggests, that the one put a fly into his cup, and the other a little stone or sand into his bread.

HE�RY 1-4, "We should not have had this story of Pharaoh's butler and baker recorded in scripture if it had not been serviceable to Joseph's preferment. The world stands for the sake of the church, and is governed for its good. Observe, 1. Two of the great officers of Pharaoh's court, having offended the king, are committed to prison. Note, High places are slippery places; nothing more uncertain than the favour of princes. Those that make God's favour their happiness, and his service their business, will find him a better Master than Pharaoh was, and not so extreme to mark what they do amiss. Many conjectures there are concerning the offence of these servants of Pharaoh; some make it no less than an attempt to take away his life, others no more than the casual lighting of a fly into his cup and a little sand into his bread. Whatever it was, Providence by this means brought them into the prison where Joseph was. 2. The captain of the guard himself, who was Potiphar, charged Joseph with them (Gen_40:4), which intimates that he began now to be reconciled to him, and perhaps to be convinced of his innocence, though he durst not release him for fear of disobliging his wife. John Baptist must lose his head, to please Herodias.

JAMISO�, "Gen_40:1-8. Two state prisoners.

the butler— not only the cup-bearer, but overseer of the royal vineyards, as well as the cellars; having, probably, some hundreds of people under him.

baker— or cook, had the superintendence of every thing relating to the providing and preparing of meats for the royal table. Both officers, especially the former, were, in ancient Egypt, always persons of great rank and importance; and from the confidential nature of their employment, as well as their access to the royal presence, they were generally the highest nobles or princes of the blood.

K&D 1-4, "The head cup-bearer and head baker had committed crimes against the king of Egypt, and were imprisoned in “the prison of the house of the captain of the trabantes, the prison where Joseph himself was confined;” the state-prison, according to Eastern custom, forming part of the same building as the dwelling-house of the chief of the executioners. From a regard to the exalted position of these two prisoners,

Potiphar ordered Joseph to wait upon them, not to keep watch over them; for את �קדdoes not mean to appoint as guard, but to place by the side of a person.

CALVI�, "Verse 1

1.And it came to pass after these things. We have already seen, that when Joseph

was in bonds, God cared for him. For whence arose the relaxation afforded him, but

from the divine favor? Therefore, God, before he opened the door for his servant’s

deliverance, entered into the very prison to sustain him with his strength. But a far

more illustrious benefit follows; for he is not only liberated from prison, but exalted

to the highest degree of honor. In the meantime, the providence of God led the holy

man through wonderful and most intricate paths. The butler and baker of the king

are cast into the prison; Joseph expounds to them their dreams. Restoration to his

office having been promised to the butler, some light of hope beams upon the holy

captive; for the butler agreed, after he should have returned to his post, to become

the advocate for Joseph’s pardon. But, again, that hope was speedily cut off, when

the butler failed to speak a word to the king on behalf of the miserable captive.

Joseph, therefore, seemed to himself to be buried in perpetual oblivion, until the

Lord again suddenly rekindles the light which had been smothered, and almost

extinguished. Thus, when he might have delivered the holy man directly from

prison, he chose to lead him around by circuitous paths, the better to prove his

patience, and to manifest, by the mode of his deliverance, that he has wonderful

methods of working, hidden from our view. He does this that we may learn not to

measure, by our own sense, the salvation which he has promised us; but that we

may suffer ourselves to be turned hither or thither by his hand, until he shall have

performed his work. By the butler and the baker we are not to understand any

common person of each rank, but those who presided over the rest; for, soon

afterwards, they are called eunuchs or nobles. Ridiculous is the fiction of the trifler

Gerundensis, who, according to his manner, asserts that they were made eunuchs

for the sake of infamy, because Pharaoh had been enraged against them. They were,

in short, two of the chief men of the court. Moses now more clearly declares that the

prison was under the authority of Potiphar. Whence we learn what I have before

said, that his anger had been mitigated, since without his consent, the jailer could

not have acted with such clemency towards Joseph. Even Moses ascribes such a

measure of humanity to Potiphar, that he committed the butler and baker to the

charge of Joseph. Unless, perhaps, a new successor had been then appointed in

Potiphar’s place; which, however, is easily refuted from the context, because a little

afterwards Moses says that the master of Joseph was the captain of the guard,

(Genesis 40:3.) When Moses says they were kept in prison a season, some

understand by the word, a whole year; but in my judgment they are mistaken; it

rather denotes a long but uncertain time, as appears from other places.

COFFMA�, "Introduction

This is the fourth in the series of narratives that make up the [~toledowth] of Jacob;

and the central theme in all of them is the providence of God in His protection and

guidance of the Holy �ation until the Messiah should at last arrive as the redeemer

of all mankind. We may entitle this chapter:

JOSEPH A�D THE DREAMS OF THE BUTLER A�D THE BAKER

Efforts of those preoccupied with finding evidence of divided sources in Genesis

have no success with this chapter. One may find about as many illogical and

unreasonable "divisions" as there are scholars advocating such things, all of them

being apparently unaware that there are no prior documents! This record before us

is all that has come down through the mists of centuries. And the traditional view

that the great Lawgiver Moses, whatever "sources" he might have consulted or

made use of, has delivered for us, through the inspiration of God, an accurate and

trustworthy account of what happened is absolutely valid. The careful student

should be especially wary of accepting the bizarre and outlandish "translations" of

certain words, phrases, and clauses, because the fundamental purpose of most of

such "emendations" and "corrections" of God's Word is that of trying to aid some

critic in splitting up what he conceives to be Biblical sources. Willis cited three

examples of this type of tampering with the text, as exhibited in the �ew English

Bible, all three of them in the last two chapters. An example is: "Tamar perfumed

herself and sat where the road forks in two directions!" (Genesis 28:18). "Such a

translation flies in the face of the context."[1] In this, and dozens of other places, the

�ew English Bible translators were simply substituting what they imagined

happened for what the Word of God says happened. On that particular verse, one

wonders how the �ew English Bible translators knew so much about how harlots

were supposed to smell. Why did they not also give us the name of the perfume?

Verses 1-3

"And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his

baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth against his two

officers, against the chief of the butlers, and the chief of the bakers. And he put

them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place

where Joseph was bound."

This passage is not the melding of three different "documents," each using a

different designation for the offenders, butler, chief of the butlers, and officer (and

similarly for the baker), but these various terms are for the sake of greater clarity

and more information. "Butler" in this narrative means the chief of the butlers, the

same being called also "an officer." �ote also that three different terms are used for

the ruler of Egypt. He is called "King of Egypt," "Pharaoh," and "their lord." �ow,

if we suppose that each of the six terms here cited belonged exclusively to one of

those imaginary "documents" the scholars are always talking about, it results in no

less than half a dozen "sources" for these three short verses! The refutation of such

nonsense lies in the simple truth that it is a mark of all intelligent writing that

various and synonymous terms are always visible; and it could hardly be otherwise

here.

There have been many speculations about the manner of these men offending

Pharaoh, ranging all the way from the allegation that they had plotted to poison him

to some more trivial offense. From the Jewish writings, we have this:

"The chief baker was put into prison because a pebble had been found in the pastry

he baked for Pharaoh, and he was guilty of a misdemeanor because he had

neglected the sifting of the flour. A fly had happened to fall into the wine that the

chief butler poured for Pharaoh, but that could not be construed as caused by any

negligence on his part. Thus, the butler had not committed a punishable offense."[2]

The distorted value of judgments of that ancient society appear vividly in such a

comment.

�ow, if to the triple designations of the offenders, and of the king, we add the triple

designations of the place where the offenders were incarcerated, namely, (1) the

ward in the house of the captain of the guard; (2) the prison; and (3) the place where

Joseph was kept, we thus find a total of no less than nine possible "sources,"

according to the usual scholarly dictum to that effect. �o wonder there is not any

agreement anywhere on earth today as to what belongs to which "source" in

Genesis. Even the �ew English Bible's gratuitous rendition of (1) as The Round

House is no help! All the scholars we have read confess that the exact meaning of

some of these terms is either unknown or ambiguous, and therein may lie the reason

why the sacred author (singular) used various words.

As it stands, the text rewards us richly. Potiphar was not only the captain of the

guard, but his duties also included the administration of the special prison used for

detaining the king's prisoners. The keeper of the prison is not named, but the keeper

was Potiphar's deputy, and the compound or palace where this establishment lay

also served as Potiphar's residence.

This understanding of the passage clears up everything. Here is the explanation of

how Potiphar was able to cast Joseph into prison without even an examining trial,

and how things were said to be done by Potiphar, the captain of the guard, that

were actually done by the deputy, who is nowhere named in the passage.

"The chief of the butlers ..." This office was also known as "the cupbearer," a

position held by �ehemiah (�ehemiah 1:11) in the court of Persia. It was a highly-

respected position because of the holder's access to the presence of the king.

"Rabshakeh (Aramaic for `chief of the cup-bearers') was in the court of Assyria (2

Kings 18:17)."[3]

"Offended, or gave offense, to their lord ..." Speiser tells us that, "Literally, the

word means proved to be at fault,"[4] Therefore, such a rendition as "sinned

against" is inappropriate, especially in a secular context.

COKE, "Genesis 40:1. Butler—and—baker— This chief butler and chief baker,

Genesis 40:2 were two distinguished officers of the crown; cup-bearer and master of

the household to the king; see �ehemiah 1:11. Diodorus Siculus informs us, that "all

officers who immediately served the ancient kings of AEgypt, were taken from the

most illustrious families of the priests; no mercenaries purchased for money, or

home-born slaves, were ever admitted to this honour." Some writers have assigned

causes for this anger of Pharaoh against these officers; but these can be nothing but

conjecture.

WHEDO�, "1. After these things — After Joseph had been imprisoned, and had

found favour with the keeper.

The butler — Or, cup-bearer. He was the officer who had charge of the king’s

wines; and so important was this office that the chief or prince of the butlers

(Genesis 40:2) found it necessary to employ the services of many others in this

business. How the butler and baker offended we are not told; the Targum of

Jonathan says “they had taken counsel to throw the poison of death into his food

and into his drink, to kill their master.” These officers would be especially subject to

such suspicions.

ELLICOTT, "(1) Butler.—Heb., one who gives to drink, cupbearer. As we learn in

Genesis 40:11 that it was grapewine which he gave the king to drink, this chapter

has been the main dependence of the new critics for their proof that the Book of

Genesis was not written by Moses. For Herod. (i. 77) says, “The Egyptians make use

of wine prepared from barley, because there are no vineyards in their country.” As

Herodotus was thirteen centuries later than the time of Joseph, they argue not only

that the vine could not have been introduced into Egypt at so early a date, but that

the records of Joseph’s life could not have been put together by anyone acquainted

with Egypt, in spite of their exact knowledge in all other respects of Egyptian

customs. But when we turn to Herodotus himself, we find the most complete

refutation of the previous statement. For, in Book ii. 37, speaking of the liberal

treatment of the priests, he says, that they had an allowance of “grape-wine.” Again,

in Genesis 39, he tells us that it was the custom to pour wine on a victim about to be

sacrificed. To one used to the extensive vineyards of Greece and Asia Minor, the

comparative scarcity of the vine, and the use of another ordinary drink in its place,

would be striking; but that he was guilty of gross exaggeration in his statement is

proved by evidence far more trustworthy than his own writings. For, on the tombs

at Beni-hassan, which are anterior to the time of Joseph, on those at Thebes, and on

the Pyramids, are representations of vines grown in every way, except that usual in

Italy, festooned on trees; there is every process of the vintage, grapes in baskets,

men trampling them in vats, various forms of presses for squeezing out the juice,

jars for storing it, and various processes, even of the fermentation, noticed.

�umerous engravings of the sculptures and paintings on these ancient monuments

may be seen in Wilkinson’s Egypt; and most abundant evidence of the culture of the

vine in ancient Egypt has been collected, and an account of the vines grown there

given in Malan’s Philosophy or Truth, pp. 31-39. It neither is nor ever was a great

wine-producing country, but the vine existed from one end of the country to the

other, as it does at this day.

Baker.—Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, ii. 38, 39, gives proof from the monuments,

that they had carried the art of making confectionery to very great perfection.

GUZIK, "A. Joseph meets the butler and the baker in prison.

1. (1-4) The Egyptian royal butler and baker are put into prison.

It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt

offended their lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers,

the chief butler and the chief baker. So he put them in custody in the house of the

captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. And the

captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in

custody for a while.

a. The butler and the baker of the king of Egypt: The butler was in charge of

Pharaohs wine and the baker was in charge of Pharaohs food. They were

imprisoned because they offended their lord, the king of Egypt. It is difficult to tell

if it was in a minor or a major way. Considering how the account will develop, it is

probable there was a plot to murder the Pharaoh (perhaps by poisoning).

i. But we never lose sight of the over-arching reason: whatever external reason they

were sent to prison, in Gods great plan they were really there to meet Joseph.

b. The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: This

favorable treatment of Joseph by the captain of the guard shows that Potiphar did

not really believe the accusations his wife made against Joseph. We know this

because Potiphar himself was the captain of the guard (Genesis 39:1).

c. And he served them: Though Joseph had a position of high authority in the prison

he did not use it to make others serve him. He used his high position to serve others.

LA�GE, "PRELIMI�ARY REMARKS

The contents of this chapter may be denoted, the silent preparation for the great

turning in Joseph’s destiny. In itself considered, however, our narrative shows us

how the religious capacity of suffering for the Lord’s sake develops itself, like a

germ, in the people of God. Joseph’s spiritual life shines resplendent in his prison.

There may be distinguished the following sections: 1. The imprisonment of the two

court-officers, and Joseph’s charge over them ( Genesis 40:1-4); 2. their

dejectedness, and Joseph’s sympathy ( Genesis 40:5-8); 3. the dream of the chief

butler, and its interpretation ( Genesis 40:9-15); 4. the dream of the chief baker, and

its interpretation ( Genesis 40:16-19); 5. the fulfilment of both dreams.

EXEGETICAL A�D CRITICAL

1. Genesis 40:1-4. The imprisonment of the two court-officers, and Joseph’s charge

over them.—The chief of the butlers and the chief of the bakers.—According to

Genesis 40:2 they are the chiefs in their respective departments of service. The

oriental kings, as those of the Persians (Xenoph, Hellenica, viii. i38), had a multitude

of butlers, bakers, and cooks. The office of chief butler was very honorable with the

kings of Persia (Herod, iii34; Xenoph, Cyroped. i3, 8). It was once filled by

�ehemiah ( �ehemiah 1:11; �ehemiah 2:1).—In the house of the captain of the

guard—i. e, in the house of Potiphar. The house of the captain of the guard was

connected with the state-prison, and denotes here the prison itself.—Charged

Joseph with them.—Here Potiphar again mingles himself with Joseph’s fortune

(and that by way of mitigating it) in the recognition of his talents. By this

distinguished charge, he shows favor, at the same time, to Joseph and to his fallen

colleagues.

PULPIT, "Genesis 40:1

And it came to pass (literally, and it was) after these things (literally, words, i.e.

after the transactions just recorded), that the butler— ,שקה the hiph. part. of ,משקה

to drink, signifies one who causes to drink, hence cupbearer (cf. Genesis 40:11 )—of

the king of Egypt and his baker—the אפה (part. of אפה, to cook or bake) was the

officer who prepared the king's food. The monuments show that the Egyptians had

carried the arts of the confectioner and cook to a high degree of perfection—had

offended (or sinned against) their lord (literally, against, the preposition being

repeated) the king of Egypt—whom they had attempted to poison (the Targum of

Jonathan), though this of course is only a conjecture in the absence of specific

information.

PETT, "Verse 1-2

Joseph Comes In Contact With Important Court Officials And Interprets Their

Dreams (Genesis 40:1-23).

Genesis 40:1-2

‘And it happened after these things that the cup-bearer of the king of Egypt, and his

baker, offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry against his

two officers, against the head of the cupbearers and the head of the bakers.’

We note here the old title ‘the king of Egypt’ and the new title ‘Pharaoh’, the latter

probably an updating by Moses. We do not know how the two ‘officers’ (saris as

with Potiphar) offended but it may be that something made Pharaoh ill and the

blame fell equally on the two responsible for his food and drink. Later investigation

may then have vindicated the butler and put the blame on the baker.

“The head of the cup-bearers.” The word ‘masqeh’ (EV ‘butler’) corresponds

approximately to the Egyptian wdpw (which has a wider meaning), and is the exact

equivalent of the later wb’ (c1600 BC onwards). It means cupbearer. The king’s

cupbearer had an extremely important and high ranking position. It was he who

handed the cup to the king after tasting it to check for poison, and he was thus the

only one who could slip something into the drink after it had been tested. He was

therefore a highly trusted officer. In 13th century BC one such was actually called

wb’ dp irp - ‘the cupbearer who tastes the wine’.

“The head of the bakers.” Bakers are well known in Egypt but there is no exact

equivalent to ‘head of the bakers’ as far as we know. However there would clearly

be someone who was in charge of the bakers at the various palaces. He too would be

responsible to guard against the king being poisoned. He may be the equivalent of

‘the Royal Table Scribe’ - ss wdhw nsw.

BI 1-23, "The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them

Light upon Joseph’s destiny

This chapter discovers signs that Joseph was destined to fill an important place in the history of the kingdom of God.This was now the time of his trial and preparation for his great calling as the ruler of the Egyptians, the deliverer of his nation. Some of the indications of his high destiny are these:—

I. THE CONVICTION OF HIS INNOCENCE AND INTEGRITY GAINS GROUND. Joseph was, at first, thrown into a dungeon and laid in irons. Now, this severe discipline is relaxed, and he is appointed to a kind of stewardship over the other prisoners. It is highly probable, that, by this time, Potiphar was convinced of his innocence, though he detained him in custody for prudential reasons. Joseph was everywhere giving the impression of being a good and holy man. The character of Potiphar’s wife could not long be concealed; and as it became more and more known, the belief in Joseph’s innocence would gain ground.

II. HE DISCOVERS SIGNS OF HIS TRUE VOCATION.

1. As a saint of God. Mark how Joseph refers to God in every important crisis of his history. When Pharaoh’s two officers lamented that there was no interpreter of their dreams, he said, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” He was always true to his religion. Mark his temperateness and forbearance, his calmness and simplicity. He does not speak unkindly of his brethren, he does not even name them, but simply states that he was “stolen out of the land of the Hebrews,” and that he had “ done nothing” that they should put him “ into the dungeon” (verse 15). Here was the faith and resignation of a saint, whose life was fit to be recorded in the pages of Revelation as an eminent and worthy example to all ages.

2. As a prophet of God. As such he interprets dreams, which are here to be considered as Divine revelations to men of warning, reproof, and teaching Job_33:14-18).

3. As a kind and just ruler of men. Joseph was clearly a man who was destined to wield a commanding, and even a regal influence over others. He was fitted for this, doubtless, by his intellectual gifts and characteristics, but more especially

(1) by his sympathy. “Wherefore look ye so sadly to-day?” he said to his fellow-prisoners, whose dreams suggested the worst forebodings (verses 6-7). He himself had been in the school of affliction, and he had learned to be tender. Though he had griefs of his own to bear, he felt for others. He cannot be a true ruler of men who has not learned sympathy.

(2) By his uprightness. He was firm and faithful, even when he had to tell unpleasant truths (verses 18-19). Such are the qualities required in a true ruler of men (2Sa_23:3-4).

III. HE RETAINS FAITH AND HOPE IN GOD IN THE MIDST OF ALL. HIS ADVERSITIES. God was with him in the prison. Therefore he does not abandon himself to despair, but still trusts and hopes on. (T. H. Leale.)

Joseph and the two prisoners

I. We cannot but be struck with THE MINUTE PARTICULARITY OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. See at how many critical points Joseph’s life touches the lives of others, and is, thereby, carried so much the farther forward towards the attainment by him of the place which God was preparing for him. When I get to a great railway junction, and find trains coming m together from the east, and the north, and the south, just in time to join another that is starting from that point for the west, I should be regarded as a simpleton if I spoke of that as a wonderful coincidence. And yet on the great Railroad of Life, when I come to such a junction and meet there a train that leads me on to some significant sphere of service, I am supposed to be a simpleton if I refer that to the over-ruling providence of God. But I am not a simpleton—I am only reasoning in that department as I would in the domain of literature or daily travelling; and he who repudiates God’s providence is the fool, according to that scathing utterance of the Psalmist—“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.”

II. We are reminded by this history also that THE CHARACTER OF THE INDIVIDUAL HAS AS MUCH TO DO WITH WHAT I HAVE CALLED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLOT OF HIS LIFE AS THE PLAN OR PURPOSE OF GOD HAS. Providence is not fatalism. Joseph, if he had chosen to act otherwise than he did, might have thrown away all the opportunities which these places of junction in his life afforded him. The men that fail in life do not fail for want of such opportunities as Joseph had, but for want of the character to see these opportunities, and the ability to use them. Keep near to God, therefore, form your character according to His principles, and then, even though you may be in a prison, you will find a way to serve Him, and will feel that somehow you are on the road to your success, and in training for your sphere.

III. We may learn that THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN THEMSELVES UPHELD IN TROUBLE, ARE THE MOST EFFICIENT HELPERS OF OTHERS WHEN THEY ARE IN TRIAL. Young as Joseph was, he had not seen enough sorrow to dispose him to sympathize with others in their affliction. And in the suggestive question which he put to his fellow-prisoners, “do not interpretations belong to God?” he not only expresses his own faith, but in the most delicate and skilful manner indicates to them the source whence alone true consolation comes. More than thirty years ago, just at the beginning of my ministry, I was in the house of a beloved pastor, when he was called to pass through the greatest trial that a man can know, in the death of a truly good and noble wife. Two mornings after, the postman brought in a sheaf of letters. I think there were more than twenty of them, but each was from a brother minister who had been led through the same dark valley, and who was seeking to comfort him with the comfort wherewith himself had been comforted of God. Only a few evenings ago I met a Christian lady, with whom I was comparing notes regarding the experience of the loss of little children, and she said to me, “I never see the death of a little child announced in the newspaper but I have an impulse to write to the parents and speak comfortably to them.” Thus we may console ourselves under our own trials with the thought that God is endowing us thereby with the gift of sympathy, and fitting us to become “ sons of consolation” to others in affliction. The price is costly, but the learning is precious.

IV. THOSE WHOM WE BENEFIT HAVE OFTEN VERY POOR REMEMBRANCE OF KINDNESS. Men too often write the record of grudges in marble, and of favours in water. Nay, such is the perversity of human nature, that not unfrequently men return evil for the good which has been done them. One spoke to an English statesman of the violent enmity which another evinced towards him. “Yes,” was the reply, “and I cannot understand it, for I never did him any kindness that I can remember.” The sarcasm was bitter, but there was enough of truth in it to give it point; and every one who seeks to be a helper of others learns, sooner or later, to give over looking for human gratitude, and

to think mainly of the Lord Jesus Christ and His appreciation. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)

Lessons

1. Let no circumstances ever tempt the children of God to doubt and question the watchful care and kindness of their heavenly Father’s providence. Let them bear in remembrance, that He not only works in His own way, but chooses His own time; and let them rest in the assurance that both His way and His time are always the best. Though He tarry, then, wait for Him. “Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.”

2. The source of true and constant enjoyment of that happiness which all seek and so few find must be within. It lies essentially in a sense of God’s love. This is happiness. This will ever he associated with confidence in His wisdom, and faithfulness, and kindness; and consequently with contentment in all conditions. These are sources of joy of which no power can rob us, and which remain ever the same—amidst all changes unchanging. (R. Wardlaw.)

Joseph ministering to the comfort of others

It may possibly cause momentary surprise, that Joseph, who interpreted others’ dreams, was left in ignorance of his own destiny. Is not this, however, the method ordinarily employed to strengthen faith and produce entire reliance upon God? Indeed, was it not communion with God produced by this sense of dependence which enabled him to interpret mysteries, which fitted him for comforting the sorrowing? It not frequently happens that those whose lives are passed in unrelieved sadness—with whom the present is an enigma, the past a memory of grief, the future a cloud of torturing uncertainty—are nevertheless the instruments in God’s hand of producing joy in others’ hearts. As a block of ice, chiselled into the form of a lens, can be made to concentrate the sun’s rays, kindling a flame, so the believer, by gathering the scattered beams of Heaven’s love, may pour cheerfulness into others’ hearts while his own may remain quite cheerless. (J. S. Van Dyke.)

The same prison is not the same thing to good and bad

Too often it happens to the righteous according to the wish of the wicked. Here we find two men who had sinned against their lord, the king of Egypt, confined in the same prison with Joseph. Yet the same prison is not the same thing to a good and to a bad man. The two offenders trembled in anxious dread of some worse punishment; and the consciousness of their demerit, if they were really guilty, was more painful to them than the irons were to Joseph, although they entered into his soul. Joseph had the testimony of his conscience to cheer him. He not only suffered without cause, but suffered for righteousness’ sake, and trusted that God would bring his sufferings to a comfortable conclusion. In the world you may meet with much distress; but keep consciences void of offence towards God and man, and you shall be preserved from the sting and venom of those troubles that Providence allots you. “Let no man suffer as a thief, as an evil-doer, as a busy-body in other men’s matters. But if any man suffer as a Christian,” or without deserving to suffer, “let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God, who executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.” (G. Lawson, D. D.)

The butler and the baker

I. PRISON OCCUPATIONS. The crime is the disgrace, and not the scaffold or the prison. Good men have often been imprisoned, while many wicked have escaped. Yet, notwithstanding the prison, these sufferers are amongst our heroes and martyrs. Milton said, “there shall one day be a resurrection of names and reputations.” Bunyan, Baxter, &c., are not honoured the less for the dungeons in which they suffered. Next to escaping the prison, the best thing is, like Joseph, to suffer innocently. Joseph in prison. Suffering often hardens the bad and purifies and manifests the good. Joseph’s character could not be hid. Even the keepers saw how different he was from the ordinary criminals committed to their care (see Pr

16:21. The prisoner becomes a keeper (so many of the captive Jews, asDaniel, Nehemiah, Mordecai, were exalted). Is so much trusted as to be freed from supervision (Gen_38:22-23). God, who was with him in Canaan, is with him in Egypt, and in prison. He does not forsake His friends in distresses brought upon them by their fidelity to Him.

II. PRISON COMPANIONS. The butler and baker, two officers of importance in eastern and ancient courts. Yet even these were not spared by a capricious and absolute monarch. “Oh, how wretched is that poor man that hangs on princes’ favours!” In a palace one day, a prison the next. In ancient times a courtier’s office was often like the Bridge of Sighs at Venice, “a palace and a prison on each hand.” These men may have suffered justly; like the malefacters who were crucified with Jesus Luk_23:41). The worst punishment of the good is forced fellowship with the wicked. As providence over-ruled the wrath of Joseph’s brothers, so now he ever-rules the wrath of Pharaoh. One of these degraded officials shall be the instrument of Joseph’s release and exaltation.

III. PRISON DREAMS. That is: the dreams of the butler and baker. The subject was so strange, and the recollection so vivid, that they were troubled. Dreamland, a mysterious region to the ancients. No interpreter of dreams in the prison, they thought. Joseph’s inquiry. Be thinks of his own dreams, doubtless, and the transitory trouble they had brought him into. He gives the praise to God, as the true interpreter of dreams. By the help of divine illumination, he reveals the meaning of their dreams. No doubt he saw that God had sent them those dreams for him to interpret; and that his connection with these men would work out the fulfilment of his own dreams. It is certain that what was foretold by their dreams would have occurred even if they had never dreamed at all. Hence, it was clear that there was a purpose in their dreaming, and in their relating their dreams to Joseph. Probably had not Joseph been in prison, they would not have dreamed as they did. Learn:

I. If we suffer, let it be for righteousness’ sake.

II. When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies, &c, (J. C. Gray.)

Lessons

1. Providence keeps its method in multiplying mercy to His saints in misery.

2. The sins of others God sometimes maketh an occasion of refreshing His own servants.

3. Court officers are very prone to sin, and abuse favours.

4. Kings themselves are not secured from offences by their nearest servants (Gen_40:1).

5. Kings, offended, are apt to swell in wrath and displeasure.

6. Greatest wrath of kings is apt to rise against officers (Gen_40:2).

7. The wrath of kings usually causeth the restraint and imprisonment of their criminal subjects.

8. God orders place where the wrath of man imprisons, and that for His own ends.

9. Innocents and malefactors may lie together in the same prison (Gen_40:3).

10. God inclineth the hearts of chief commanders for imprisonment, more to the innocent than guilty.

11. Innocent prisoners under Providence may have the charge of malefactors.

12. Good souls trusted in any capacity, do execute it faithfully.

13. Set times and seasons of restraint God appoints to His own and others for His own ends.

14. All these Providence orders to be occasions of glorifying His grace in His saints (Gen_40:4). (G. Hughes, B. D.)

2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the

chief cupbearer and the chief baker,

GILL, "And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers,.... The same above mentioned:

against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers; for as there were several butlers and bakers that belonged unto him, who were employed in providing wine and food for him, there was one of each who was over the rest; and as their business was to see that those under them did their work well, when they were faulty the principal officers were answerable for it: wherefore, if in this case they had not been guilty of anything criminal themselves personally, yet they might have neglected to look after those that were under them, and so were culpable, and drew upon them the wrath and resentment of their lord and sovereign.

HAWKER, "Reader! do not overlook in this verse, that this captain of the guard must

have been Potiphar, Gen_39:1. Whether by this time Joseph’s master had begun to believe Joseph was innocent doth not appear, but yet it should seem so, in that he committed to his care those state prisoners.

HE�RY, "

JAMISO�, "

PULPIT, "Genesis 40:2

And Pharaoh was wroth—literally, broke forth (sc. into anger)—against two of his

officers (vide Genesis 37:36) against the chief—sar: the word occurs in one of the

oldest historical documents of ancient Egypt ('Inscription of Una,' line 4, sixth

dynasty), meaning chief or eunuch (vide ' Records of the Past,' 2.3)—of the

butlers,—an office once filled by �ehemiah in the Court of Persia (�ehemiah 1:11),

and Rabshakeh (Aramaic for "chief of the cupbearers") in the Court of Assyria (2

Kings 18:17)—and against the chief of the bakers. Oriental monarchs generally had

a multitude of butlers and bakers, or cupbearers and Court purveyors, the chiefs in

both departments being invested with high honor, and regarded with much trust

(Herod; 3.34; Xenoph; 'Cyrop.,' 1.3, 8).

3 and put them in custody in the house of the

captain of the guard, in the same prison where

Joseph was confined.

CLARKE, "Where Joseph was bound - The place in which Joseph was now confined; this is what is implied in being bound; for, without doubt, he had his personal liberty. As the butler and. the baker were state criminals they were put in the same prison with Joseph, which we learn from the preceding chapter, Gen_39:20, was the king’s prison. 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. As these persons, therefore, were of the most noble families, it is natural to expect they would be put, when accused, into the state prison.

GILL, "And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard,.... Who is generally thought to be Potiphar, since this was the office he was in, Gen_39:1; unless he was dead, and there was another put into his room, or there were more than one in the same office:

into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound; that is, where he had been bound, and where he was still a prisoner, though not fettered and in that close confinement he had been in.

JAMISO�, "Pharaoh put them in ward, etc.— Whatever was their crime, they were committed, until their case could be investigated, to the custody of the captain of the guard, that is, Potiphar, in an outer part of whose house the royal prison was situated.

ELLICOTT, "Verse 3-4

(3, 4) In the house of the captain of the guard.—That is, of Potiphar. As he is said to

have charged Joseph with the care of these two high officials, he must, ere this, have

become aware of his innocence. But as the wife in ancient times in Egypt was

endowed with all the husband’s property, and was a formidable person, as we learn

from many of the records now being translated and published, Potiphar may not

have wished to offend her.

He served them.—Used only of light service. (See �ote on Genesis 39:4.)

PULPIT, "Genesis 40:3

And he put them in ward (or in custody) in the house of the captain of the guard,—

i.e. Potiphar (vide Genesis 37:36)—into the prison,—literally, house of enclosure

(vide Genesis 39:20)—the place where Joseph was bound. The word אסור, from אסר,

to make fast by binding, seems to corroborate the Psalmist's assertion (Psalms

105:18 ) that Joseph had been laid in iron and his feet hurt with fetters; but this

could only have been temporarily (vide Genesis 40:4, Genesis 40:6).

�ISBET, "A �OBLE PRISO�ER

‘The place where Joseph was bound.’

Genesis 40:3

The oldest prison story that has been preserved from the oblivion underneath which

time buries human events is this of Joseph in Egypt. Prisons were then no new thing

in the earth. We are introduced to them as well known and familiar institutions.

They may have existed before the Flood; we can scarcely imagine them not to have

existed. This first mention of them in Egypt, the foremost of the world’s nations in

civilisation and power, reminds us of the twofold use which has been made of them

in most countries and ages, as a means of punishment and as an instrument of

tyranny.

I. Even in prison Joseph prospered. He had prospered in the service of Potiphar.

The Lord was with him, and made all that he did to prosper in his hand. His

reputation no doubt followed him into his prison. And the keeper of his prison soon

discovered that he was worthy of it, and availed himself of his trustworthiness, and

devolved upon him much of his responsibility, and felt his work and charge safe in

the hands of Joseph. There may have been a bit of superstition in the sentiment with

which the Hebrew youth was regarded. There is nothing that tends more to one’s

advancement in the East, we are told, than the opinion that everything prospers in

his hands. In an old translation of the Bible we have the homely words, ‘The Lord

was with Joseph, and he was a lucky fellow.’ The reputation of being ‘lucky’ will, in

the East, perhaps in the West, make a man’s fortune. In the case of Joseph, there

was a pure character and a Divine blessing to account for his prosperity or luck.

Potiphar had already found the purchase of Joseph to be one of the best bargains he

had ever made. And now the keeper of the prison found that this was no common

prisoner who had been committed to his hands.

II. What of his prison thoughts? We have no record of them, but conjecture cannot

lead us far astray. That he felt his imprisonment painfully, we infer from his desire

to escape from it. When he interpreted the butler’s dream as foreshadowing his

restoration to freedom and his former position, he said—‘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 … I have done nothing that they

should put me into the dungeon’ (Genesis 40:14-15). �othing could reconcile him to

being shut up within these prison walls. Honour and trust and work were blessings

which he prized. But bondage was bondage still. His heart wandered to what he

called the land of the Hebrews.

III. With his faith in God there was a source of comfort which never failed the

young man in his Egyptian prison, and that was a good conscience both towards

God and towards man. It was a hard thing, indeed, to bear so foul and false a

charge as that on which he was thrust into prison. To his pure mind the shame of

such a charge was painful as it would not be to others. But the pain of suffering

rightfully would have been far worse than the pain of suffering wrongfully, because

it would have in it the bitterest of all ingredients, the accusations of a guilty

conscience. Had he yielded to temptation, and suffered imprisonment for thus

wronging the master who had trusted him, he would have lost those supports which

his faith in God now brought him, and his conscience would have punished him

more severely than did the fetters of iron. Conscience is a terrible foe or a most

beneficent friend. As it was, Joseph and his conscience were good friends, and his

conscience comforted his heart.

Illustration

(1) ‘Oriental legend commemorated Joseph’s peace and happiness in its own way.

His cell became a pleasant and cheerful abode, for a fountain sprang up in the midst

of it, and a tree grew at his door to afford him shade and refreshing fruit. The

legend indeed says that the fountain dried up and the tree withered when Joseph

asked the butler to remember him and promote his release, because, instead of

trusting in God, he relied on the help of a feeble man. There seems to me no ground

for the notion that Joseph did wrong in seeking the interposition of his fellow

prisoner. But we may accept the legend as a beautiful parable. Within those prison

walls there was a fountain opened whence the young Hebrew drew constant

strength and solace. And there, sunless as the prison was, grew a tree, from which

he derived food that the world knew not of. His God was with him.’

(2) ‘God’s providence works for far distant objects. With a view to Israel’s

settlement in Egypt, Joseph is carried there, sold to Potiphar, cast into prison, has

fellow prisoners, who again get special dreams, with a view to Joseph’s future, and

so God leads through a prison to a throne. Look at your troubles in the bright light

of that to which they lead you.’

(3) ‘Jeremy Taylor says that he must be in love with peevishness who chooses to sit

down upon “his little handful of thorns” when there are so many causes for joy in

this wide world. But this is just what Joseph did not do. He refused to sit down upon

his handful of thorns, but went out of himself in thoughtful ministry to others. He

anointed his head, and washed his face, that he might not appear to men to be

suffering, and devoted himself to alleviate the griefs around him by kindly

sympathy.’

PETT, "Verse 3-4

‘And he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, into the

prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged

Joseph with them and he served them. And they continued for a time in custody.’

Such important prisoners were treated with special dignity, and the captain of the

guard (note not the keeper of the prison) put them in Joseph’s special charge. He

took a personal interest in the care of these important men for he knew their

influence and that they may well be released and be in a position to do him good or

harm.

He ‘served them’. Joseph took his charge seriously and made sure they were well

looked after, often attending to their needs himself. The fact that he is entrusted

with this task by the captain of the guard may point to the fact that the latter had

had second thoughts about his previous guilt. Alternately he may have recognised

the special qualities of Joseph and accepted that he had simply forgotten himself for

a moment with regard to his wife. After all nothing had actually happened to her

and by this time tempers had cooled. Or he may even have forgotten who Joseph

was and relied on the recommendation of the keeper of the prison.

“In the house of the captain of the guard.” �ot his private house but the prison over

which he had responsibility. This may well have been located near his house, which

would be grand and in its own grounds, probably more like a small palace.

4 The captain of the guard assigned them to

Joseph, and he attended them.

After they had been in custody for some time,

CLARKE, "They continued a season - yamim, literally days; how long we ימיםcannot tell. 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.

GILL, "And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them,.... Committed them to his care and custody, he being very probably recommended to him by the keeper of the prison for his prudence and fidelity; and if it was Potiphar, he knew his character full well, and might be now reconciled unto him, as having had a more full and clear account of the affair between him and his wife from the keeper of the prison; and therefore though he might not think fit for his own and his wife's reputation to remove him from prison as yet, nevertheless might be inclined to do him what service he could, as well as honour, as this was, to have two such state prisoners committed to his care. Some render it, "he committed Joseph with them" (x); to be with them, as Jarchi interprets it; they were put together, not merely for the sake of company, but that Joseph might wait upon them, which might be beneficial as well as creditable, as it follows:

and he served them; he ministered unto them, and brought them every thing they wanted:

and they continued a season in ward; or "days" (y); some certain days, many days, a year, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom interpret it, and which is sometimes the use of the word. The story of the butler and baker is told, partly to show the divine faculty of interpreting dreams Joseph was possessed of; and partly to observe the remarkable steps in Providence, though secret, towards his advancement in Pharaoh's court.

JAMISO�, "The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them— not the keeper, though he was most favorably disposed; but Potiphar himself, who, it would

seem, was by this time satisfied of the perfect innocence of the young Hebrew; though, probably, to prevent the exposure of his family, he deemed it prudent to detain him in confinement (see Psa_37:5).

They continued a season in ward— literally, “days,” how long, is uncertain; but as they were called to account on the king’s birthday, it has been supposed that their offense had been committed on the preceding anniversary [Calvin].

COFFMA�, "Verse 4

"And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he ministered unto

them: and they continued a season in ward."

Aalders accurately understood this, pointing out that, "The prison in which the

captain of the guard resided was the house of Potiphar."[5] In regard to the special

arrangements that were made for taking care of the king's prisoners of such high

rank:

"The captain (Potiphar) probably made these arrangements himself, consulting

with his deputy, the `keeper,' with whom, by this time, Joseph had found

considerable favor. This indicates that Potiphar's anger against Joseph had cooled

considerably."[6]

COKE, "Genesis 40:4. A season— They were days, ימים, iamim, the Hebrew has it;

that is, say some, a whole year. It is thought by the generality of commentators, that

the captain of the guard here mentioned, was Potiphar: it is a point of no great

consequence, but I should rather conceive that he was a different person. Houbigant

denies that iamim, singly, ever denotes a year. See his Prolegomena.

REFLECTIO�S.—The favour of princes is an uncertain possession. These two chief

officers of Pharaoh experience a sad reverse of fortune, from a palace to a prison.

They little thought for whose sake they were brought thither: it was for Joseph's,

and into his custody they were committed. The links of the chain of providence are

strangely connected, but in wisdom all.

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.

BAR�ES, "Gen_40:5-8

These prisoners dream, “each according to the interpretation of his dream,” the imagery of which was suited to indicate his future state. They were sad - anxious to know the meaning of these impressive dreams. “Why are your forces bad today?” Joseph keeps up his character of frank composure. “Do not interpretations belong to God?” In his past history he had learned that dreams themselves come from God. And when he adds, “Tell them now to me,” he intimates that God would enable him to interpret their dreams. Here again he uses the general name of God, which was common to him with the pagan.

CLARKE, "Each man according to the interpretation - Not like dreams in general, the disordered workings of the mind, the consequence of disease or repletion; these were dreams that had an interpretation, that is, that were prophetic.

GILL, "And they dreamed a dream both of them,.... Not one and the same dream:

each man his dream in one night; which made it the more remarkable, and the more impressed their minds, concluding from hence there must be something of importance in their dreams:

each man according to the interpretation of his dream; they dreamed each what was suitable to his office and character, and which portended what should hereafter befall them, as the interpretation of them by Joseph afterwards, and the event showed; so that it was not a vain idle dream, but divine and certain:

the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison; this is added for explanation's sake, showing who were the persons spoken of that dreamed the dreams.

HAWKER, "Observe how GOD works in his providences, and by what various means: Job_33:15-16.

HE�RY, "Observe, I. The special providence of God, which filled the heads of these two prisoners with unusual dreams, such as made extraordinary impressions upon them, and carried with them evidences of a divine origin, both in one night. Note, God has immediate access to the spirits of men, which he can make serviceable to his own purposes whenever he pleases, quite beyond the intention of those concerned. To him all hearts are open, and anciently he spoke not only to his own people, but to others, in dreams, Job_33:15. Things to come were thus foretold, but very obscurely.

JAMISO�, "they dreamed a dream— Joseph, influenced by the spirit of true religion, could feel for others (Ecc_4:1; Rom_12:15; Phi_2:4). Observing them one day extremely depressed, he inquired the cause of their melancholy; and being informed it was owing to a dream they had respectively dreamed during the previous night, after piously directing them to God (Dan_2:30; Isa_26:10), he volunteered to aid them, through the divine help, in discovering the import of their vision. The influence of Providence must be seen in the remarkable fact of both officers dreaming such dreams in one night. He moves the spirits of men.

K&D, "After some time (“days,” Gen_40:4, as in Gen_4:3), and on the same night, these two prisoners had each a peculiar dream, “each one according to the interpretation of his dream;” i.e., each one had a dream corresponding to the interpretation which specially applied to him. On account of these dreams, which seemed to them to have some bearing upon their fate, and, as the issue proved, were really true omens of it, Joseph found them the next morning looking anxious, and asked them the reason of the trouble which was depicted upon their countenances.

CALVI�, "5.And they dreamed a dream. What I have before alluded to respecting

dreams must be recalled to memory; namely, that many frivolous things are

presented to us, which pass away and are forgotten; (150) some, however, have the

force and significance of prophecy. Of this kind were these two dreams, by which

God made known the hidden result of a future matter. For unless the mark of a

celestial oracle had been engraven upon then, the butler and the baker would not

have been in such consternation of mind. I acknowledge, indeed, that men are

sometimes vehemently agitated by vain and rashly conceived dreams; yet their

terror and anxiety gradually subsides; but God had fixed an arrow in the minds of

the butler and the baker, which would not suffer them to rest; and by this means,

each was rendered more attentive to the interpretation of his dream. Moses,

therefore, expressly declares that it was a presage of something certain.

COFFMA�, "Verses 5-8

"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. And Joseph came in unto them in the

morning, and saw them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's

officers that were with him in ward in his master's house, saying, Wherefore look ye

so sad today? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is none

than can interpret it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to

God? tell it me, I pray you."

The mention of "the butler and the baker (Genesis 40:5)" was understood by

Skinner to be a "contradiction" with the meaning that the king of Egypt "had only

one servant of each class!"[7] We cite it here merely to show what ridiculous

conclusions result from that "multiple sources" fantasy which often engages critical

scholars. In context, of course, "the butler" means the "chief of the butlers." Even

today, "Mr. Secretary," as addressed to any of the President's cabinet, cannot imply

that the President has only "one secretary."

The mention of dreams in this and the following chapters is, of course, alleged as

proof that the narrative of dreams pertained exclusively to this or that "source,"

and that therefore we are here dealing with a different imaginary document! As

Leupold truly stated it, however, "Moses wrote of dreams as they had bearing upon

his subject, and, therefore, as they actually occurred."[8]

Speaking of dreams, the Egyptians, especially, believed in the prophetic nature of

dreams, and perhaps that is the reason that God used such a device again, and

again, in his dealings with Egyptians. Leupold also commented that, "Persons who

stand on a lower spiritual level were the ones to whom revelation came through

dreams."[9]

"There is none that can interpret ..." These officials of Pharaoh's court were

dismayed that they, in prison, did not have access to their favorite interpreter of

dreams, but Joseph promptly discounted the services of such professional

interpreters, his words having the effect of saying that, "Such professionals were

charlatans,"[10] and that only GOD could interpret dreams. His subsequent actions

showed that Joseph believed that God would reveal the meaning of the dreams to

him, as certainly proved to be true.

COKE, "Genesis 40:5. According to the interpretation, &c.— That is, each man

dreamed a significative dream, according to the explanation which Joseph

afterwards gave of it. Houbigant would render it, after the Samaritan, each man his

dream, according to the interpretation of it, i.e.. each of whose dreams had its

proper and particular interpretation. That they understood their dreams to be

significative, to express something respecting themselves and their state, is evident

from the sadness which Joseph discerned in their countenances, Genesis 40:6 and

from the cause which they assigned for that sadness, Genesis 40:8. We have

dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it; that is, the usual interpreters of

dreams fail here, they cannot give us satisfaction; see note on Genesis 40:8 ch. 41: or

it may be, Here in the prison, we have it not in our power to consult those who are

skilled in dreams, and who are divinely instructed to interpret them. It was a

general opinion in the ancient pagan world, that dreams, or at least certain dreams,

proceeded from the gods, and that particular persons were enabled by these gods to

interpret them. Hence the large train of priests, prophets, diviners, &c. Bishop

Warburton, who has treated largely on this subject in the third volume of his Divine

Legation of Moses, observes, that, "the interpretation of dreams made a very

considerable part of ancient pagan religion. The AEgyptian priests, the first

interpreters of dreams, took their rules for this species of divination, from the

symbolic learning in which they were so deeply read: a ground of interpretation

which would give the strongest credit to the art, and equally satisfy the diviner and

consulter; for by this time it was generally believed, that their gods had given them

hieroglyphic writing; so that nothing was more natural than to imagine that these

gods, who, in their opinions gave dreams likewise, had employed the same mode of

expression in both revelations. This was probably the true original of the

interpretation of those dreams called allegorical; that is, of dreams in general; for

the wildness of an unbridled fancy will make all natural dreams to be of that kind.

If this account of the original of this art stood in need of farther evidence, I might

urge the rules of interpretation given from Artemidorus, and a great many more

which might be given; all of them conformable to the symbolic hieroglyphics in

Horapollo. As hieroglyphics were become sacred, by being made the cloudy vehicle

of the AEgyptian theology, and as none but the priests preserved these sacred

mysteries, the butler and baker might well be uneasy for want of an interpreter, as

none could be gotten in the dreary abode where they were confined."

GUZIK, " (5-7) Joseph shows concern for the butler and baker.

Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the

prison, had a dream, both of them, each mans dream in one night and each mans

dream with its own interpretation. And Joseph came in to them in the morning and

looked at them, and saw that they were sad. So he asked Pharaohs officers who were

with him in the custody of his lords house, saying, Why do you look so sad today?

a. Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they

were sad: This is a window into the heart of Joseph. Men who are consumed with

anger and bitterness do not often take a concern for the personal problems of others

like this.

b. Why do you look so sad today? It would be easy - perhaps technically true - for

Joseph to think that because of all the wrong done against him, everything should

center on his own feelings and hurts. Instead, he cared that the butler and the baker

looked so sad one day.

i. This is one of the keys to living like Jesus: being an others-centered person. Joseph

could have justified certain self-centeredness in his life (I have to take care of myself

right now), but he did not.

3. (8) Joseph invites them to tell him their disturbing dreams.

And they said to him, We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.

So Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me,

please.

a. Tell them to me, please: This was not a case of mere discussion of dreams for the

sake of curiosity or a form of fortune telling. Joseph saw these men were clearly

disturbed by their dreams, and approached the dreams from a desire to speak to

their troubled souls.

b. Do not interpretations belong to God? Joseph had experience with dreams. His

two dreams about his future greatness antagonized his family (Genesis 37:5-11), and

he was mocked as the dreamer (Genesis 37:19-20).

i. Joseph was confident that God knew what the dream was about. He was like the

one boy who told another, My father and I know everything. When the other boy

asked a hard question, the boy just said, Thats one for my dad. Joseph knew he and

his Father together knew everything.

c. Do not interpretations belong to God? God may certainly speak through dreams

and many passages of Scripture show this (Genesis 20:3; 28:12; 31:11; 31:24;

�umbers 12:6; 1 Samuel 28:6; Joel 2:28; Matthew 1:20; 2:13; 2:22). However, not

every dream is a revelation from God. We must be careful about putting too much

weight on dreams.

i. Dreams can come just because our minds are busy: A dream comes through much

activityFor in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity.

(Ecclesiastes 5:3, 5:7)

ii. The Bible warns that false prophets might use dreams to give weight to their

message (Deuteronomy 13:1-5, Jeremiah 23:25-28).

LA�GE, " Genesis 40:5-8. Their dejectedness and Joseph’s sympathy.—According

to the interpretation.—Both had dreamed—each one a different dream—each one a

significant dream, according to the anticipated occurrence upon which it was

founded, and also according to its interpretation. Joseph’s conversation with the sad

and dejected prisoners, proves his sagacity as well as his kindly sympathy. It shows,

too, how misfortune equalizes rank, and makes the great dependent on the

sympathy of those who are lower in position.—And there is no interpreter of it.—An

expression showing that the interpretation of dreams was much in vogue, and that it

was one of the wants of persons of rank to have their dreams interpreted.—Do not

interpretations belong to God?—He admits that there are significant dreams, and

that God could bestow on men the gift of interpretation when they are referred back

to him. He rejects, indirectly, the heathen art of interpreting dreams, whilst, at the

same time, giving them to understand that it was, perhaps, imparted to himself.

First, however, he is to hear their dreams. Knobel is inexact when he speaks in

general terms of “the ancient view concerning dreams.” Doubtless the field of

revelation admits dreams as sent by God, but these coincide with dreams in general

just as little as the prophetic mode of interpreting them coincided with that of the

heathen, though, according to Egyptian views, all prophetic art comes from the gods

(Herod, ii83), Knobel.

PULPIT, "Genesis 40:5

And they dreamed a dream both of them (on dreams cf. Genesis 20:3), each man his

dream in one night (this was the first remarkable circumstance connected with these

dreams—they both happened the same night), each man according to the

interpretation of his dream (i.e. each dream corresponded exactly, as the event

proved, to the interpretation put on it by Joseph, which was a second remarkable

circumstance, inasmuch as it showed the dreams to be no vain hallucinations of the

mind, but Divinely-sent foreshadowings of the future fortunes of the dreamers), the

butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.

PETT, "Verse 5

‘And they dreamed a dream, both of them, each man his dream, in one night, each

man a dream with its own interpretation, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of

Egypt who were bound in prison.’

The scene is now set. Both officers have dreams on the same night, dreams which,

we are informed, were significant for they had their own meaning. It would appear

that they both discussed them in the morning and were deeply troubled by them, for

they both knew that such dreams could be a portent of something serious and could

have an important meaning. The interpretation of dreams was a ‘science’. Men

studied and learned the techniques for interpreting them and much had been

written on the subject. But because they were in prison they could not consult them.

6 When Joseph came to them the next morning,

he saw that they were dejected.

CLARKE, "They were sad - They concluded that their dreams portended something of great importance, but they could not tell what.

GILL, "And Joseph came in unto them in the morning,.... For though Joseph and they were in the same prison, yet not in the same ward. Aben Ezra thinks that Joseph lodged in the dungeon in the night, Gen_40:15; and was let out in the morning to wait on these prisoners; but the great interest he had in the keeper of the prison, and the favour shown him by the captain of the guard, in putting such prisoners under his care, will easily make one conclude, that Joseph now had a better lodging than that; though it had been his case, he was now provided with a better apartment in the prison; and when he arose in the morning, like a careful and faithful servant, he came to the ward where the prisoners under his care were, to see that they were safe, and what they wanted:

and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad; they looked sorrowful, dejected, and uneasy.

HAWKER, "If we spiritualize this question and apply it to soul-distresses, that verse of David will be the enquiry, Psa_42:11.

HE�RY, " The impression which was made upon these prisoners by their dreams

(Gen_40:6): They were sad. It was not the prison that made them sad (they were pretty

well used to that, and perhaps lived jovially there), but the dream. Note, God has more

ways than one to sadden the spirits of those that are to be made sad. Those sinners that

are hardy enough under outward troubles, and will not yield to them, yet God can find

out a way to punish; he can take off their wheels, by wounding their spirits, and laying

loads upon them.

CALVI�, "6.And Joseph came in unto them, in the morning. As I have lately said,

we ought here to behold, with the eyes of faith, the wonderful providence of God.

For, although the butler and baker are certainly informed of their own fate; yet this

was not done so much out of regard to them, as in favor of Joseph; whom God

designed, by this method, to make known to the king. Therefore, by a secret instinct

he had rendered them sad and astonished, as if he would lead them by the hand to

his servant Joseph. It is, however, to be observed, that by a new inspiration of the

Spirit, the gift of prophecy, which he had not before possessed, was imparted to him

in the prison. When he had previously dreamed himself, he remained, for a while, in

suspense and doubt respecting the divine revelation; but now he is a certain

interpreter to others. And though, when he was inquiring into the cause of their

sadness, he perhaps did not think of dreams; yet, from the next verse it appears that

he was conscious to himself of having received the gift of the Spirit; and, in this

confidence, he exhorts them to relate the dreams, of which he was about to be the

interpreter. Do not interpretations (he says) belong to God ? Certainly he does not

arrogantly transfer to himself what he acknowledges to be peculiar to God; but

according to the means which his vocation supplied, he offers them his service. This

must be noted, in order that no one may undesignedly usurp more to himself than

he knows that God has granted him. For, on this account, Paul so diligently teaches

that the gifts of the Spirit are variously distributed, (1 Corinthians 12:4,) and that

God has assigned to each a certain post, in order that no one may act ambitiously, or

intrude himself into another’s office; but rather that each should keep himself

within the bounds of his own calling. Unless this degree of moderation shall prevail,

all things will necessarily be thrown into confusion; because the truth of God will be

distorted by the foolish temerity of many; peace and concord will be disturbed, and,

in short, no good order will be maintained. Let us learn, therefore, that Joseph

confidently promised an interpretation of the dreams, because he knew that he was

furnished and adorned with this gift by God. The same remark applies to his

interrogation respecting the dreams. For he does not attempt to proceed beyond

what his own power authorized him to do: he does not, therefore, divine what they

had dreamed, but confesses it was hidden from him. The method pursued by Daniel

was different, for he was enabled, by a direct revelation, to state and interpret the

dream which had entirely escaped the memory of the king of Babylon. (Daniel 2:28.)

He, therefore, relying upon a larger measure of the Spirit, does not hesitate to

profess that he can both divine and interpret dreams. But Joseph, to whom the half

only of these gifts was imparted, keeps himself within legitimate bounds. Besides, he

not only guards himself against presumption; but, by declaring that whatever he has

received is from God, he ingenuously testifies that he has nothing from himself. He

does not, therefore, boast of his own quickness or clear-sightedness, but wishes only

to be known as the servant of God. Let those who excel, follow this rule; lest, by

ascribing too much to themselves, (which commonly happens,) they obscure the

grace of God. Moreover, this vanity is to be restrained, not only that God alone may

be glorified, and may not be robbed of his right; but that prophets, and teachers,

and all others who are indued with heavenly grace, may humbly submit themselves

to the direction of the Spirit. What Moses says is also to be observed, that Joseph

was concerned at the sadness of those who were with him in prison. For thus men

become softened by their own afflictions, so that they do not despise others who are

in misery; and, in this way, common sufferings generate sympathy. Wherefore it is

not wonderful that God should exercise us with various sorrows; since nothing is

more becoming than humanity towards our brethren, who, being weighed down

with trials, lie under contempt. This humanity, however, must be learned by

experience; because our innate ferocity is more and more inflated by prosperity.

PULPIT, "Genesis 40:6, Genesis 40:7

And Joseph came in unto them in the morning (a proof that Joseph at this time

enjoyed comparative freedom from corporeal restraint in the prison), and looked

upon them, and, behold, they were sad. The word זעפים from זעף, to be angry,

originally signifying irate, wrathful, τεταραγµένοι (LXX.), is obviously intended

rather to convey the idea of dejection, tristes (Vulgate). And he asked Pharaoh's

officers that were With him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Wherefore look

ye so sadly today?—literally, knowing what ( מה ידוע —מדוע —τί µαθών) are your

faces evil, or bad (πρόσωπα σκυθρωπὰ, LXX.; tristier solito, Vulgate), today?

PETT, "Verses 6-8

‘And Joseph came in to them in the morning and saw them, and behold, they were

sad. And he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were in custody with him in his master’s

house, “Why are you looking so sad today?” ’

When Joseph saw them it was clear to him that something was wrong. And he

recognised that it was his responsibility to cheer them up. So he asked them what it

was.

We note in the narrative the constant reminders that all this was taking place in

prison. These accounts would be read out and it was necessary to keep in the

hearer’s mind the solemnity of the situation. It may also be that the writer is trying

to bring home to us emphatically what Joseph’s position was.

Genesis 40:8 a

‘And they said to him, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can

interpret it.” ’

Their reply demonstrates the confidence they had built up in Joseph. They felt he

was important enough and friendly enough to discuss the matter with (you do not

tell such important things to just anyone). Thus they explained that they had had

dreams which appeared to be important but that they had no means of obtaining

their interpretation. They were no doubt filled with a sense of foreboding. Such

portents were often a warning.

Genesis 40:8 b

‘And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me

please.’

To speak of Yahweh would have been meaningless to the men. Thus Joseph speaks

of God. Let them tell him the dreams and the implication is that his God will help

him to interpret them.

7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in

custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do

you look so sad today?”

GILL, "And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him,.... The chief butler and baker that were committed to his care, and with whom he now was:

in the ward of the lord's house; this seems to confirm what is before observed, that the captain of the guard that charged Joseph with them was Potiphar his master; though indeed the keeper of the prison that was under Potiphar, the captain of the guard, might be called Joseph's lord or master, but the house could not with so much propriety be called his:

saying, wherefore look ye so sadly today? as they were officers, who had been in lucrative places, they lived well and merrily, and expected very probably they should be released in a short time, nothing appearing against them; but now there was a strange alteration in them, which was very visible to Joseph, and for which he expresses a concern, being of a kind, tender, and benevolent disposition, as the question he puts to them shows.

HE�RY, " Joseph's great tenderness and compassion towards them. He enquired with concern, Wherefore look you so sadly today? Gen_40:7. Joseph was their keeper, and in that office he was mild. Note, It becomes us to take cognizance of the sorrows even of those that are under our check. Joseph was their companion in tribulation, he was now a prisoner with them, and had been a dreamer too. Note, Communion in sufferings helps to work compassion towards those that do suffer. Let us learn hence, 1. To concern ourselves in the sorrows and troubles of others, and to enquire into the reason of the sadness of our brethren's countenances; we should be often considering the tears of the oppressed, Ecc_4:1. It is some relief to those that are in trouble to be taken notice of. 2. To enquire into the causes of our own sorrow, “Wherefore do I look so sadly? Is there a reason? Is it a good reason? Is there not a reason for comfort sufficient to balance it, whatever it is? Why art thou cast down, O my soul?”

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.”

CLARKE, "There is no interpreter - They either had access to none, or those to whom they applied could give them no consistent, satisfactory meaning.

Do not interpretations belong to God? - God alone, the Supreme Being, knows what is in futurity; and if he have sent a significant dream, he alone can give the solution.

GILL, "And they said unto him, we have dreamed a dream,.... Each of them:

and there is no interpreter of it; in that place in which they were, the prison; otherwise there were persons enough in the land that pretended to the interpretation of dreams, Gen_41:8; but they could not come at them, being in prison:

and Joseph said unto them, do not interpretations belong to God? that is, of dreams, and to him only, meaning the true God whom he worshipped; for as dreams themselves, which are of importance, and predict things to come, are of God; for none can foretell future events but he, and such to whom he imparts the gift of prophecy; so none can interpret dreams with any certainty but God himself, and those to whom he gives the faculty of interpretation of them; this Joseph said to take off their minds from the magicians and wise men, and interpreters of dreams among the Egyptians, these officers were hankering after, and wished they had them with them to interpret their dreams to them; and to suggest unto them, that though he did not arrogate such a power to himself, as having it of himself, yet intimates that he doubted not, but upon an address to his God, he would favour him with the interpretation of their dreams, and therefore encourages them to relate them to him:

tell me them, I pray you; or "now" (z), directly, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; signifying, that he would immediately interpret them to them; no doubt Joseph said this under a divine impulse.

HAWKER, "How piously Joseph refers all wisdom unto GOD! Isa_41:22-23; Dan_2:28-30.

HE�RY, " The dreams themselves, and the interpretation of them. That which troubled these prisoners was that being confined they could not have recourse to the diviners of Egypt who pretended to interpret dreams: There is no interpreter here in the prison, Gen_40:8. Note, There are interpreters which those that are in prison and sorrow should wish to have with them, to instruct them in the meaning and design of Providence (Elihu alludes to such, when he says, If there be an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness, Job_33:23, Job_33:24), interpreters to guide their consciences, not to satisfy their curiosity. Joseph hereupon directed them which way to look: Do not interpretations belong to God? He means the God whom he

worshipped, to the knowledge of whom he endeavours hereby to lead them. Note, It is God's prerogative to foretel things to come, Isa_46:10. He must therefore have the praise of all the gifts of foresight which men have, ordinary or extraordinary. Joseph premises a caveat against his own praise, and is careful to transmit the glory to God, as Daniel, Dan_2:30. Joseph suggests, “If interpretations belong to God, he is a free agent, and may communicate the power to whom he pleases, and therefore tell me your dreams.” Now, 1. The chief butler's dream was a happy presage of his enlargement, and re-advancement, within three days; and so Joseph explained it to him, Gen_40:12, Gen_40:13. Probably it had been usual with him to press the full-ripe grapes immediately into Pharaoh's cup, the simplicity of that age not being acquainted with the modern arts of making the wine fine. Observe, Joseph foretold the chief butler's deliverance, but he did not foresee his own. He had long before dreamt of his own honour, and the obeisance which his brethren should do to him, with the remembrance of which he must now support himself, without any new or fresh discoveries. The visions that are for the comfort of God's saints are for a great while to come, and relate to things that are very far off, while the foresights of others, like this recorded there, look but three days before them. 2. The chief baker's dream portended his ignominious death, Gen_40:18, Gen_40:19. The happy interpretation of the other's dream encouraged him to relate his. Thus hypocrites, when they hear good things promised to good Christians, would put in for a share, though they have no part nor lot in the matter. It was not Joseph's fault that he brought him no better tidings. Ministers are but interpreters, they cannot make the thing otherwise than it is; if therefore they deal faithfully, and their message prove unpleasing, it is not their fault. Bad dreams cannot expect a good interpretation.

K&D, "On their replying that they had dreamed, and there was no one to interpret the dream, Joseph reminded them first of all that “interpretations are God's,” come from God, are His gift; at the same time he bade them tell him their dreams, from a consciousness, no doubt, that he was endowed with this divine gift.

COKE, "Genesis 40:8. Do not interpretations, &c.— That is, says Calmet, "the

explanation of your dreams depends not on a diviner; it is God who reveals it to the

diviner himself, [if it be revealed] and who can reveal it to me as well as to him, if he

think proper." Joseph reasons here upon a principle universally allowed, that God

alone has the knowledge of future events, and consequently that he alone can reveal

such events, whatever instruments he may think fit to use for that purpose. See

Daniel 4:8-9. and Herod. l. ii. c. 83.

PULPIT, "Genesis 40:8

And they said unto him, We hays dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of

it—literally, a dream have we dreamt, and interpreting it there is none. This must

be noted as a third peculiarity connected with these dreams, that both of their

recipients were similarly affected by them, though there was much in the butler's

dream to inspire hope rather than dejection. And Joseph said unto them, Do not

interpretations belong to God?—literally, Are not interpretations to Elohim? i.e. the

Supreme Being (cf. Genesis 41:16; Daniel 2:11, Daniel 2:28, Daniel 2:47). The

Egyptians believed ὅτι ἀνθρώπων µὲν οὐδενὶ προσκέεται ἡ τέχνη µαντικὴ τῶν δὲ

θεῶν µετεξετέροισε (Herod; 2:83). Tell me them, I pray you. Joseph's request

implies that the consciousness of his Divine calling to be a prophet had begun to

dawn upon him, and that he was now speaking from an inward conviction,

doubtless produced within his mind by Elohim, that he could unfold the true

significance of the dreams.

9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream.

He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in

front of me,

BAR�ES, "Gen_40:9-15

The chief butler now recites his dream. “Pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup.” The imagery of the dream is not intended to intimate that Pharaoh drank only the fresh juice of the grape. It only expresses by a natural figure the source of wine, and possibly the duty of the chief butler to understand and superintend the whole process of its formation. Egypt was not only a corn, but a vine country. The interpretation of this dream was very obvious and natural; yet not without a divine intimation could it be known that the “three branches were three days.” Joseph, in the quiet confidence that his interpretation would prove correct, begs the chief butler to remember him and endeavor to procure his release. “Stolen, stolen was I.” He assures him that he was not a criminal, and that his enslavement was an act of wrongful violence - a robbery by the strong hand. “From the land of the Hebrews;” a very remarkable expression, as it strongly favors the presumption that the Hebrews inhabited the country before Kenaan took possession of it. “I have not done aught.” Joseph pleads innocence, and claims liberation, not as an unmerited favor, but as a right. “The pit.” The pit without water seems to have been the primitive place of confinement for culprits.

GILL, "And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph,.... He listened to what Joseph said, and paid a regard to it, and began to think he might be able to interpret his dream, and therefore was forward, and the first to tell him it at once; whereas the chief baker did not seem disposed to do it, until he observed the good interpretation given of the butler's dream, Gen_40:16,

and said unto him, in my dream, behold, a vine was before me; it appeared to him in his dream, as if a vine sprung up at once, and stood before him; which was very suitable to his office as a butler, wine being the fruit of the vine, which he provided for the king his master, and presented to him at table.

JAMISO�, "Gen_40:9-15. The butler’s dream.

In my dream, behold, a vine was before me— The visionary scene described seems to represent the king as taking exercise and attended by his butler, who gave him a cooling draught. On all occasions, the kings of ancient Egypt were required to practice temperance in the use of wine [Wilkinson]; but in this scene, it is a prepared beverage he is drinking, probably the sherbet of the present day. Everything was done in the king’s presence - the cup was washed, the juice of the grapes pressed into it; and it was then handed to him - not grasped; but lightly resting on the tips of the fingers.

K&D 9-11, "The cup-bearer gave this account: “In my dream, behold there was a vine before me, and on the vine three branches; and it was as though blossoming, it

shot forth its blossom (��נ either from the hapax l. .with the fem נ�ה or from ,נ�ה = נץtermination resolved into the 3 pers. suff.: Ewald, §257d), its clusters ripened into grapes. And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.” In this dream the office and duty of the royal cup-bearer were represented in an unmistakeable manner, though the particular details must not be so forced as to lead to the conclusion, that the kings of ancient Egypt drank only the fresh juice of the grape, and not fermented wine as well. The cultivation of the vine, and the making and drinking of wine, among the Egyptians, are established beyond question by ancient testimony and the earliest monuments, notwithstanding the statement of Herodotus (2, 77) to the contrary (see Hengstenberg, Egypt and the Books of Moses, pp. 13ff.).

COFFMA�, "Verses 9-13

"And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream,

behold, a vine was before me; and in the vine were three branches: and it was as

though it budded, and its blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth

ripe grapes: 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. And Joseph said

unto him, This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; within

yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head, and restore thee unto thine office: and

thou shalt give Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou

wast his butler."

It has been widely supposed, that since the ancient Pharaohs drank only "wine,"

then some kind of an anachronism was here committed by the author of Genesis,

but as Dummelow pointed out:

"Among the inscriptions on the temple of Edfu is one in which the king is seen with

a cup in his hand, and underneath are the words, "They press grapes into the water,

and the king drinks."[11]

"Pharaoh will lift up thy head ..." Again we are face to face with an example of

God's use of the same words or expressions with multiple, or even opposite

meanings, as in the case of "seed" in the promise of Abraham, which we have

repeatedly cited. This expression to the butler meant his restoration to his former

office, and for the baker (Genesis 40:19), it meant he would be executed, probably

by hanging. There are many such examples of this usage of one term with multiple

meanings in the Bible. As Kline expressed it: "Joseph used a key expression with

opposite meanings to describe the cupbearer's restoration, and secondly, to describe

the decapitation (or hanging) of the baker."[12]

Some have supposed that, with the example before us, the interpretation of dreams

may be attempted now; but, it is still true that "interpretations belong to God."

Despite some implications of the dream seeming to be rather obvious, the key

element is absolutely inscrutable. The three branches ... the three baskets - these

could have signified three weeks, three years, three months, or nearly anything else.

As a matter of fact, they represented three days.

WHEDO�, "9. Behold, a vine — �otably the butler dreams of vines, and the baker

of the food (Genesis 40:17) he was wont to prepare for the king. “Herodotus denies

the existence of vines in ancient Egypt, and says that the Egyptian wine was made of

barley. 2:77. Yet Herodotus himself, (ii, 42, 48:144,) and Diodorus, (i, 11,) identify

Osiris with the Greek Bacchus, the discoverer of the vine, and Diodorus (i, 15)

expressly ascribes to Osiris the first cultivation of the vine. But it now appears from

the monuments, that both the cultivation of grapes and the art of making wine were

well known in Egypt from the time of the Pyramids.” — Speaker’s Commentary.

GUZIK, "B. Joseph interprets their dreams.

1. (9-11) The butler explains his dream.

Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, Behold, in my

dream a vine was before me, and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it

budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. Then

Pharaohs cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into

Pharaohs cup, and placed the cup in Pharaohs hand.

a. In my dream a vine was before me, and in the vine were three branches: Though

this dream was from God, God used figures and pictures that made sense to the

butler (a vine, grapes, and serving the Pharaoh wine).

b. Pharaohs cup was in my hand: In his dream, the butler saw himself serve the

Pharaoh again, restored to his former position.

LA�GE, " Genesis 40:9-15. The dream of the chief butler and its interpretation.—

In my dream, behold a vine.—A lively description of a lively dream. The first

picture is the vine, and the rapid development of its branches to the maturity of the

grapes. On the vine in Egypt, see Knobel, p307. In the second picture, the chief

butler beholds himself in the service of Pharaoh, preparing and presenting to him

the juice of the grapes. “The vine was referred to Osiris, and was already well

known in Egypt. See Psalm 78:47; Psalm 105:33; �umbers 20:5. The statement,

Herod, ii77, Isaiah, therefore, to be taken with limitations. �or is it true that in the

time of Psammeticus fresh must only was drank, while fermented wine was

prohibited. Knobel has shown that Plutarch, De Iside, vi6, says just the contrary.

The people drank wine unrestrained; the kings, because they were priests, only so

much as was allowed by the sacred books; but from the time of Psammeticus even

this restriction was abolished. The old monuments show great variety of wine-

utensils, wine-presses at work, topers tired of drinking, even intoxicated women.”

Delitzsch. “Wine had been prohibited before the time of Mohammed (Sharastani, ii.

p346). The grapes he allowed (Koran, xvi11, 69). They evaded his prohibition by

pressing the grapes and drinking the juice of the berries (Schultz, Leitungen, v.

p286). Such juice of grapes the Egyptian king drank also in Joseph’s time. He was a

ruler of the Hyksos (?), who were an Arabian tribe.” Knobel. The same: The dream-

interpreter Artemidorus classes the vine with plants that grow rapidly, and regards

dreams concerning it as having a quick fulfilment. Joseph’s interpretation.—Three

branches, three days.—Since Pharaoh’s birth-day was at hand, and was known,

perhaps, as a day of pardon, this presentiment may, to some degree, have been

affected by it.—Lift up thine head.—To replace, again, in prosperity and honor,

especially to bring out of prison ( 2 Kings 25:27).—And show kindness, I pray thee,

unto me.—Joseph is so sure of his interpretation that he employs the opportunity to

plead for his own right and liberty.—I was stolen.—An expression of innocence.

They took him away from his father, but how it was done, his feelings do not allow

him to relate; enough that he came to Egypt neither as a criminal, nor as a slave,

rightly sold. With the same caution he speaks about his imprisonment without

exposing the house of Potiphar.

PULPIT, "Genesis 40:9-11

And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream,

behold, a vine was before me—literally, in my dream (sc. I was), and behold a vine

(gephen, from the unused root gaphan, to be bent, a twig, hence a plant which has

twigs, especially a vine; cf. 9:13; Isaiah 7:1-25 :43; Isaiah 24:7) before me. The

introduction of the vine into the narrative, which has been pronounced (Bohlen) an

important factor in proof of its recent composition, since, according to Herodotus (ii.

77), the vine was not cultivated in Egypt, and, according to Plutarch ('De Is. et

Osir.,' 6), it was not till after Psammetichus, i.e. about the time of Josiah, that the

Egyptians began to drink wine, has now by more accurate study been ascertained to

be in exact accordance, not only with Biblical statements (�umbers 20:5; Psalms

78:47; Psalms 105:33), but likewise with the testimony of Herodotus, who affirms

(2:37) that wine (οι}noj a)mpe&lenoj) was a privilege of the priestly order, and with

the representations on the monuments of vines and grapes, and of the entire process

of wine-making. And in the vine were three branches:—sarigim, tendrils of a vine,

from sarag, to intertwine (Genesis 40:12; Joel 1:7)—and it was as though it budded,

and her blossoms shot forth;—literally, as it budded (Murphy); or, as though

blossoming (Rosenmüller, Keil, Kalisch); it shot forth its blossom (Keil); or, its

blossoms shot forth (Rosenmüller, Kalisch, Murphy)—and the clusters thereof

brought forth ripe grapes:—more correctly, its stems caused to ripen, or matured,

clusters, the אשכל being the stalk of a cluster, as distinguished from the עגבים, or

clusters themselves, though interpreters generally (Kalisch, Keil, Murphy) regard

the first as the unripe, and the second as the ripe, cluster—and Pharaoh's cup — כזס

, a receptacle or vessel, either contracted from כגס, like איש for אגש (Gesenius), or

derived from כוא, to conceal, to receive, to keep, connected with the idea of bringing

together, collecting into a thing (Furst)—was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and

pressed them —ἐξέθλιψα (LXX.), expressi (Vulgate), a translation adopted by the

most competent authorities (Gesenius, Furst, Rosenmüller, Keil, Kalisch, et alii),

though the sense of diluting with water is advocated by Dathe, Havernick ('Introd.,'

§ 21), and others as the most appropriate signification of שחט, which occurs only

here. That Pharaoh is represented as drinking the expressed juice of grapes is no

proof that the Egyptians were not acquainted with fermentation, and did not drink

fermented liquors. In numerous frescoes the process of fermentation is distinctly

represented, and Herodotus testifies that though the use of grape wine was

comparatively limited, the common people drank a wine made from barley: οἵνῳ δ

ἐκ κριθέων πεποιηµένῳ (2:77)—into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into

Pharaoh's hand —literally, I placed the cup upon Pharaoh's palm, כף , used of

Jacob's thigh-socket (Genesis 32:26), meaning something hollowed out.

10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon

as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened

into grapes.

GILL, "And in the vine were three branches,.... Which shot out from the root or

body of it:

and it was as though it budded; the branches seemed to sprout out:

and her blossoms shot forth; it knotted, and the flowers of the vine appeared, which blowing off, the tender grapes were seen:

and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes; all which is agreeably to the order nature observes, from the first putting forth of the vine, to its producing ripe fruit; and which in this dream immediately followed one another, as it seemed according to the representation of things to the, mind of the butler, and which he perfectly remembered, it having made a strong impression upon him.

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.”

CLARKE, "And I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup -From this we find that wine anciently was the mere expressed juice of the grape, without fermentation. The saky, or cup-bearer, took the bunch, pressed the juice into the cup,

and instantly delivered it into the hands of his master. This was anciently the יין yain of

the Hebrews, the οινος of the Greeks, and the mustum of the ancient Latins.

GILL, "And Pharaoh's cup was in his hand,.... So it seemed to him in his dream, as it often had been when in his office:

and I took the grapes; from off the vine that was before him:

and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup; which some think was the custom of those times, to take a bunch of grapes and squeeze them into a cup, especially when they would make trial of what sort of wine they would produce; for it can hardly be thought that this was usually done, or that it was customary to drink such new wine; but it is

more probable that the grapes were first pressed into another vessel, and so made wine of, and then poured into Pharaoh's cup, or mixed in it, though this circumstance is omitted. Indeed Herodotus (a) relates of the Egyptian priests, that wine pressed out of the vine is given them:

and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand; as he had used to do.

ELLICOTT, "(11) And pressed them.—Plutarch, Is. et Osir. § 6, says that before

the time of Psammetichus the Egyptians did not drink wine, nor make libations of it

to the gods. This statement has been abundantly disproved, and probably arose

from the writer supposing that the custom of, possibly, one district was the universal

rule. �evertheless, the king’s drink here does not seem to have been fermented wine,

but a sort of sherbet made of fresh grape-juice and water. It is a pleasant beverage,

still much used in the East, but sometimes the grape juice is left till fermentation has

just begun when it acquires a pleasant briskness, and is less cloying.

Into Pharaoh’s hand.—Heb., I placed the cup upon Pharaoh’s palm. The word is

used in Genesis 32:25 of the hollow of Jacob’s thigh (see �ote there). Here it means

the hollow produced by bending the fingers inwards. �ow the Hebrews always

spoke of placing the cup in a person’s hand (Ezekiel 23:31, and see Psalms 75:8;

Jeremiah 51:7); and even here Joseph, though probably speaking the Egyptian

language, nevertheless used the Hebrew idiom, saying, thou wilt give Pharaoh’s cup

into his hand. It is the Egyptian cup-bearer, who, using the idiom of his own

country, speaks of placing the cup upon Pharaoh’s palm, the reason being that

Egyptian cups had no stems, but were flat bowls or saucers, held in the very way

which the cup-bearer describes.

12 “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him.

“The three branches are three days.

CLARKE, "The three branches are three days - That is, The three branches signify three days; so, this Is my body, that is, this bread signifies or represents my body; this cup is my blood, Represents my blood; a form of speech frequently used in the sacred writings, for the Hebrew has no proper word by which our terms signifies, represents, etc., are expressed; therefore it says such a thing Is, for represents, points out, etc. And because several of our ancestors would understand such words in their true, genuine, critical, and sole meaning, Queen Mary, Bishops Gardiner, Bonner, and the rest of that demoniacal crew, reduced them to ashes in Smithfield and elsewhere!

GILL, "And Joseph said unto him, this is the interpretation of it,.... Of the dream:

the three branches are three days; signify three days, or, as Jarchi expresses it, are a sign of three days; which Joseph could know only by divine revelation; for there is no more likeness between branches and days, than between them and months or years, and bid as fair to signify one as the other, if the interpretation depended on similarity, or bare conjecture.

HAWKER, "Doth not this lead the pious heart to the remembrance of him, who ought to be endeared indeed to our remembrance?

HE�RY, "Now, 1. The chief butler's dream was a happy presage of his enlargement, and re-advancement, within three days; and so Joseph explained it to him, Gen_40:12, Gen_40:13. Probably it had been usual with him to press the full-ripe grapes immediately into Pharaoh's cup, the simplicity of that age not being acquainted with the modern arts of making the wine fine. Observe, Joseph foretold the chief butler's deliverance, but he did not foresee his own. He had long before dreamt of his own honour, and the obeisance which his brethren should do to him, with the remembrance of which he must now support himself, without any new or fresh discoveries. The visions that are for the comfort of God's saints are for a great while to come, and relate to things that are very far off, while the foresights of others, like this recorded there, look but three days before them. 2. The chief baker's dream portended his ignominious death, Gen_40:18, Gen_40:19. The happy interpretation of the other's dream encouraged him to relate his. Thus hypocrites, when they hear good things promised to good Christians, would put in for a share, though they have no part nor lot in the matter. It was not Joseph's fault that he brought him no better tidings. Ministers are but interpreters, they cannot make the thing otherwise than it is; if therefore they deal faithfully, and their message prove unpleasing, it is not their fault. Bad dreams cannot expect a good interpretation.

JAMISO� 12-15, "Joseph said, ... This is the interpretation— Speaking as an inspired interpreter, he told the butler that within three days he would be restored to all the honors and privileges of his office; and while making that joyful announcement, he earnestly bespoke the officer’s influence for his own liberation. Nothing has hitherto met

us in the record indicative of Joseph’s feelings; but this earnest appeal reveals a sadness and impatient longing for release, which not all his piety and faith in God could dispel.

K&D 12-15, "Joseph then gave this interpretation: The three branches were three days, in which time Pharaoh would restore him to his post again (“lift up his head,” i.e., raise him from his degradation, send and fetch him from prison, 2Ki_25:27). And he added this request (Gen_40:14): “Only think of me, as it goes well with thee, and show favour to me...for I was stolen (i.e., carried away secretly and by force; I did not abscond because of any crime) out of the land of the Hebrews (the land where the Ibrim live); and here also I have done nothing (committed no crime) for which they should put me

into the hole.” ור(: the cell, applied to a prison as a miserable hole, because often dry cess-pools were used as prisons.

CALVI�, "12.The three branches are three days. Joseph does not here offer what

he thought to be probable, like some ambiguous conjecturer; but asserts, by the

revelation of the Spirit, the meaning of the dream. For why does he say, that by the

three branches, three days rather than years are signified, unless because the Spirit

of God had suggested it? Joseph, therefore, proceeds, by a special impulse above

nature, to expound the dream; and by immediately commending himself to the

butler, as if he was already restored, shows how certain and indubitable was the

truth of his interpretation: as if he had said, “Be convinced that what thou hast

heard of me has come from God.” Where also he shows how honorably he thinks of

the oracles of God, seeing that he pronounces concerning the future effect with as

much confidence as if it had already taken place. But it may be deemed absurd, that

Joseph asks for a reward of his prophecy. I answer, that he did not speak as one

who would set the gift of God to sale: but it came into his mind, that a method of

deliverance was now set before him by God, which it was not lawful for him to

reject. Indeed, I do not doubt that a hope of better fortune had been divinely

imparted to him. For God, who, even from his childhood, had twice promised him

dominion, did not leave him, amidst so many straits, entirely destitute of all

consolation. �ow this opportunity of seeking deliverance was offered to him by none

but God. Wherefore, it is not surprising that Joseph should thus make use of it.

With respect to the expression, Lift up thine head; it signifies to raise any one from

a low and contemptible condition, to one of some reputation. Therefore, “Pharaoh

will lift up thine head,” means, he will bring thee forth from the darkness of the

prisons, or he will raise thee who art fallen, and restore thee to thy former rank. For

I take the word to mean simply place or rank, and not basis (151)

GUZIK, "(12-15) Joseph interprets the butlers dream and asks a favor.

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

three days. �ow within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to

your place, and you will put Pharaohs cup in his hand according to the former

manner, when you were his butler. But remember me when it is well with you, and

please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this

house. For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have

done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.

a. The three branches are three days. �ow within three days Pharaoh will lift up

your head and restore you to your place: There were aspects to this dream that

could not have been guessed, such as the three branches representing three days.

Josephs interpretation of this dream came from God, not from his own wisdom.

i. Joseph was bold enough to give an interpretation that could be proved right or

wrong within three days. In only three days, everyone knew if Joseph was correct or

not.

b. Remember me when it is well with you: Joseph asked the butler to work for his

release. Though Joseph showed godly character in the Egyptian prison by not

becoming angry and bitter in his heart, he wasnt stupid either. He wanted to get out,

and used appropriate means to do so.

i. Joseph could have had fatalistic faith saying, Well, if the Lord wants me out of

prison, He will do it, and I wont have to do anything. It is true that Joseph would

not get out of prison until the Lord wanted it, but none of that said that Joseph

should not take wise and good steps to accomplish what he thought to be Gods will.

In any regard, the butler would not remember until God wanted him to remember.

Josephs action did not take the matter out from Gods supervision and guidance.

PULPIT, "Genesis 40:12-15

And Joseph (acting no doubt under a Divine impulse) said unto him, This is the

interpretation of it (cf. Genesis 40:18; Genesis 41:12, Genesis 41:25; 7:14; Daniel

2:36; Daniel 4:19): The three branches (vide supra, Genesis 40:10) are three days:—

literally, three days these (cf. Genesis 41:26)—yet within three days (literally, in yet

three days, i.e. within three more days, before the third day is over) shall Pharaoh

lift up thine head,—not µνησθήσεται τῆς ἀρχῆς σου (LXX.), recordabitur ministerii

tui (Vulgate), a rendering which has the sanction of Onkelos, Samaritan, Jarchi,

Rosenmüller, and others; but shall promote thee from the depths of thy humiliation

(Gesenius, Furst, Keil, Kalisch, &c.), to which there is an assonance, and upon

which there is an intentional play, in the opposite phrase employed to depict the

fortunes of the baker (vide infra, Genesis 40:19) and restore thee unto thy place:—

epexegetic of the preceding clause, the כן (or pedestal, from כגן, unused, to stand

upright, or stand fast as a base) upon which the butler was to be set being his

former dignity and office, as is next explained—and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's

cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. After which

Joseph adds a request for himself. But think on me when it shall be well with thee

(literally, but, or only, thou shalt remember me with thee, according as, or when, it

goes well with thee), and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me (cf. Joshua 2:12; 1

Samuel 20:14, 1 Samuel 20:15; 2 Samuel 9:1; 1 Kings 2:7), and make mention of me

unto Pharaoh,—literally, bring me to remembrance before Pharaoh (cf. 1 Kings

17:18; Jeremiah 4:16; Ezekiel 21:28)—and bring me out of this house: for indeed I

was stolen (literally, for stolen I was stolen, i.e. I was furtively abducted, without my

knowledge or consent, and did not voluntarily abscond in consequence of having

perpetrated any crime) away out (literally, from) of the land of the Hebrews:—i.e.

the land where the labrum live (Keil); an expression which Joseph never could have

used, since the Hebrews were strangers and sojourners in the land, and had no

settled possession in it, and therefore a certain index of the lateness of the

composition of this portion of the narrative (Block, 'Introd.,' § 80); but if Abram,

nearly two centuries earlier, was recognized as a Hebrew (Genesis 14:13), and if

Potiphar's wife could, in speaking to her Egyptian husband and domestics, describe

Joseph as an Hebrew (Genesis 39:14, Genesis 39:17), there does not appear

sufficient reason why Joseph should not be able to characterize his country as the

land of the Hebrews. The Hebrews had through Abraham become known at least to

Pharaoh and his Court as belonging to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:15-20); and

it is not a violent supposition that in Joseph's time "the land of the Hebrews" was a

phrase quite intelligible to an Egyptian, as signifying not perhaps the entire extent

of Palestine, but the region round about Hebron and Mamre (�achmanides,

Clericus, Rosenmüller)—scarcely as suggesting that the Hebrews had possession of

the land prior to the Canaanites (Murphy). And here also have I done nothing (i.e.

committed no crime) that they should (literally, that they have) put me into the

dungeon. The term בור is here used to describe Joseph's place of confinement,

because pits or cisterns or cesspools, when empty, were frequently employed in

primitive times for the incarceration of offenders (el. Jeremiah 38:6; Zechariah

9:11).

PETT, "Verses 12-15

‘And Joseph said, “This is the interpretation of it. The three branches are three

days. Within yet three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your

office, and you will give Pharaoh’s cup into his hand in the same way as when you

were his cupbearer. But remember me when it is well with you, and show me

kindness and mention me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. For indeed I

was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing

that warrants them putting me into prison.”

Joseph gives the king’s cupbearer good news. He is to be restored to favour in three

days time. And this gives Joseph himself hope. He knows how influential this great

man is and he asks him to act to secure his relief. His suggestion that Pharaoh may

be approached on the matter is possibly naive, but he may well have been right that

the Chief Cupbearer himself was influential enough to be able to do it.

“Will lift up your head.” This simply means that he will be brought out of prison to

face Pharaoh (the head of the chief baker is also lifted up (Genesis 40:20). Then he is

to be restored to his duties again.

“For I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews.” It is somewhat naive to suggest

that Joseph should have given a full explanation. It would certainly not help his case

to suggest that his brothers had actually chosen to sell him, for that would imply

some kind of guilt, and his statement was factually correct. He had not been sold

legitimately, but dishonestly. His statement said all that needed to be said, and gave

the right indication of innocence and misfortune.

“From the land of the Hebrews.” As we saw on Genesis 39:17 Joseph was seen in

Egypt as ‘a Habiru’, for he came from no identified people In the Amarna letters

(two hundred years or so later) the king of Jerusalem refers to ‘the Habiru’ as

enemies of his and of Pharaoh, clearly expecting Pharaoh to understand. Others in

the same letters refer to the SA.GAZ who are the equivalent (see article,

"Hebrews"). In both cases the idea they are trying to express is of a wild,

unidentified people. Thus Canaan, being made up of a multiplicity of tribes and city

states, was looked on in Egypt as a land full of many unidentified and lawless

people, and was thus thought of as ‘the land of the Habiru’. There is no reason to

doubt that his also applied earlier. Besides Potiphar may well have said to them that

Joseph was ‘a Hebrew’. Thus Joseph uses the phrase they will understand.

“Here also I have done nothing --”. He adds to the plea that he is imprisoned

unjustly.

So Joseph, having given this powerful man good news, hopes that it may contribute

to his being freed.

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.

GILL, "Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head,.... The Targum of Jonathan adds, with glory; and the sense is, either that Pharaoh would raise him up from the low estate in which he now was, to the same exalted station in which he had been before; or that he would reckon and number him among his servants, when he should take a catalogue of them, or make a new list, so Jarchi and Aben Ezra; and this phrase is used of taking the sum of persons, or the number of them, and is so rendered, Exo_30:12; the allusion is thought to be to a custom used by great personages, to have the names of their servants called over on a certain day, as Pharaoh perhaps used to do on his birthday, Gen_40:20; when they struck out of the list or put into it whom they

pleased, and pardoned or punished such as had offended; and this sense is the rather inclined to, because Pharaoh is said to lift up the head of both the butler and the baker, Gen_40:20; yet it may be observed, that the phrases used by Joseph concerning them differ; for of the baker he says, "Pharaoh shall lift up thy head from off thee", Gen_40:19; wherefore, though the heads of them both were lift up, yet in a different sense: the one was lifted up to the gallows, and the other to his former dignity, as follows:

and restore thee unto thy place: to his office in ministering: to Pharaoh as his cup bearer:

and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler; which was signified in the dream, by squeezing the grapes into Pharaoh's cup he had in his hand, and gave unto him.

COKE, "Genesis 40:13. Lift up thine head— To lift up the head of another, is to

shew him honour and respect; to raise him from the downcast state in which he is,

and so to give him confidence and encouragement. See Parkhurst and Stockius on

the word נשא . Grief or adversity is expressed by hanging down the head; and

therefore a contrary state is well expressed by the contrary phrase, which is very

significative and beautiful. Pharaoh, Genesis 40:20 lifted up the head, i.e.. called

from prison, and encouraged to a justification of themselves, both the chief butler

and chief baker; the one vindicated himself, and was restored to his place; the other

could not do so, and was therefore punished.

BE�SO�, "Genesis 40:13. Lift up thy head — Raise thee from thy state of dejection

and sorrow, and advance thee to thy former dignity; for in this sense, the same

phrase is used, 2 Kings 25:27, and <19B007>Psalms 110:7. The expression, however,

may be rendered, shall reckon thy head, that is, thy name or person, namely, among

his servants, which interpretation seems to agree better with the verse where the

same phrase is used also of the chief baker who was hanged. It is supposed to refer

to a custom which the kings of Egypt, and probably other governors observed, of

having the names of all their servants called over on their birthdays, and at other set

times; when such as were judged to be guilty of great crimes were struck off the list

and punished, and the less guilty were pardoned, and if they had been imprisoned,

were released and restored to their former trusts and offices.

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.

CLARKE, "Make mention of me unto Pharaoh - One would have supposed that the very circumstance of his restoration, according to the prediction of Joseph, would have almost necessarily prevented him from forgetting so extraordinary a person. But what have mere courtiers to do either with gratitude or kindness?

GILL, "But think on me, when it shall be well with thee,.... He desires no reward for the interpretation of his dream, only that he would remember him in adversity, when he should be in prosperity in Pharaoh's court, and speak a good word for him, which was the least he could do; and though Joseph knew by his own dreams that he should be raised from his low estate to a very high and advanced one, yet he thought proper, in a dependence on God, to make use of all lawful means for his deliverance; nor is he to be blamed, as if he sought help of man and not of God, as he is by some writers, both Christian and Jewish, particularly by the Targum of Jonathan,"Joseph lost his superior confidence, and retained the confidence of men;''whereas means are always to be used in order to the end, in subordination to the divine will; and what Joseph asked of the butler was but reasonable, and what he ought to have done for him, and was prudently moved by Joseph, as a rational method of his deliverance, and in which he was, no doubt, guided and directed by the providence of God, as the event shows:

and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me; he pleads no merit for what he had done in interpreting his dream, but puts the good office he desires him to do for him upon the foot of kindness to a man in distress, and asks it as a favour, by way of entreaty and request:

and make mention of me and bring me out of this house: the prison in which he was; for though he had much favour shown him, and had more liberty granted him than other prisoners had, yet a prisoner he was, and a prison he dwelt in, and deliverance from it was desirable, could it be had; and this was a likely way to obtain it, if the butler would speak a good word for him to Pharaoh, which he would have an opportunity to do, being often in his presence, and frequently when cheerful.

HE�RY, " The improvement Joseph made of this opportunity to get a friend at court, Gen_40:14, Gen_40:15. He modestly bespoke the favour of the chief butler, whose preferment he foretold: But think of me when it shall be well with thee. Though the

respect paid to Joseph made the prison as easy to him as a prison could be, yet none can blame him for being desirous of liberty. See here, 1. What a modest representation he makes of his own case, Gen_40:15. He does not reflect upon his brethren that sold him; he only says, I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, that is, unjustly sent thence, no matter where the fault was. Nor does he reflect on the wrong done him in this imprisonment by his mistress that was his prosecutrix, and his master that was his judge; but mildly avers his own innocence: Here have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. Note, When we are called to vindicate ourselves we should carefully avoid, as much as may be, speaking ill of others. Let us be content to prove ourselves innocent, and not be fond of upbraiding others with their guilt. 2. What a modest request he makes to the chief butler: “Only, think of me. Pray do me a kindness, if it lie in your way.” And his particular petition is, Bring me out of this house. He does not say, “Bring me into Pharaoh's house, get me a place at court.” No, he begs for enlargement, not preferment. Note, Providence sometimes designs the greatest honours for those that least covet or expect them.

JAMISO�, "

CALVI�, "14.Show kindness I pray thee unto me (152) Although the expression

show kindness is used among the Hebrews to describe the common exercise of

humanity; there is yet no doubt that Joseph spoke simply as his own sad and

afflicted condition suggested, for the purpose of inclining the mind of the butler to

procure him help. He insists, however, chiefly on this, that he had been thrust into

prison for no crime, in order that the butler might not refuse his assistance to an

innocent man. For although they who are most wicked find patrons; yet

commendation elicited by importunity, which rescues a wicked man from deserved

punishment, is in itself an odious and infamous thing. It is, however, probable that

Joseph explained his whole cause, so that he fully convinced the butler of his

innocence.

COFFMA�, "Verse 14-15

"But have me in thy remembrance 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: 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."

Joseph accurately discerned that this prospective contact with Pharaoh was

providentially designed to trigger his release; and, the butler's tardy remembrance

of Joseph indeed led to that very thing, but the providence of God would again

intervene before it actually occurred. Otherwise, Joseph might have concluded that

his release was due in a critical measure to his own actions. However, as it actually

occurred, the hand of God Himself was unmistakably apparent in it. We cannot find

fault with Joseph for making such a request of the butler.

"I was stolen away ..." What a nit-picking picayune criticism is it that makes this

"contradict" the fact of Joseph's actually being "sold by his brothers? ... If a great

injustice was done to me by selling me into slavery (and that at the paltry sum of

twenty pieces of silver!) I am fully justified in referring to that as stealing me, for

that is what it amounts to; and anyone should be able to see that."[13]

"Out of the land of the Hebrews ..." This cannot be viewed as an anachronism.

Although it is true that Canaan, or Palestine, did not actually become the "land of

the Hebrews," until centuries later, the promise to Abraham was already at this

time centuries old, and the area was continuously claimed by the Hebrews dating

from the times of Abraham. There is also the simple truth that Joseph himself was a

Hebrew (Genesis 39:14), and that it was out of his homeland that he had been, in

effect, stolen; and, therefore, no fault whatever can be alleged against this statement.

In fact, there is marvelous thoughtfulness and restraint in Joseph's words here, in

that he concealed the dastardly crimes of his brothers against his person. Peake

remarked: "Observe the unsuitable designation of Palestine here as the land of the

Hebrews."[14] Such criticisms are apparently blind to the fact that Joseph did not

mention "Palestine" or "Canaan" either, but merely his homeland, from which

indeed he had been removed, and he spoke in exactly the same terminology that any

Hebrew would have used of his homeland. Additionally, as Leupold stated,

"Hebrews were all the inhabitants of Palestine, of whatever race."[15]

The further critical allegation, based on those fantastic "sources," and placing

Joseph, not as a prisoner, but as a slave, in Potiphar's house, are frustrated by

Joseph's using in the same breath, "this house," and the "dungeon"

interchangeably (Genesis 40:15). Thus, Joseph was both slave and a prisoner of

Potiphar.

COKE, "Genesis 40:14. But think on me, &c.— The confidence which Joseph had in

the certainty of the event which the dream foretold, is manifest from hence; nor can

he be blamed for this application to human means, in order to clear himself and be

delivered from confinement. He most probably informed the butler of his whole

history; as we read, Genesis 40:15 that he told him he was stolen away, that is,

secretly and by force sold for a slave to strangers; a crime which the Romans

distinguished by the name of plagiary. Qui hominem liberum vendit, plagiarius est;

"he who sells a freeman, is guilty of plagiary." I was stolen away out of the land of

the Hebrews, i.e.. that land in which the Hebrews sojourned, in which they were

become very considerable, and well known to the AEgyptians, and which they were

afterwards entirely to possess. See ch. Genesis 14:13.

BE�SO�, "Genesis 40:14-15. Think on me — Though the respect paid to Joseph

made the prison as easy to him as a prison could be, yet none can blame him for

being desirous of liberty. See what a modest representation he makes of his own

case. He doth not reflect upon his brethren that sold him, he only saith, I was stolen

out of the land of the Hebrews. �or doth he reflect on the wrong done him in this

imprisonment by his mistress, that was his prosecutor, and his master, that was his

judge, but mildly avers his own innocence. Here have I done nothing, that they

should put me into the dungeon — When we are called to vindicate ourselves, we

should carefully avoid, as much as may be, speaking ill of others. Let us be content

to prove ourselves innocent, and not fond of upbraiding others with their guilt.

15 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.”

CLARKE, "For indeed I was stolen - gunnob+gunnobti, stolen, I have been גנב+גנבתיstolen - most assuredly I was stolen; and here also have I done nothing. These were simple assertions, into the proof of which he was ready to enter if called on.

GILL, "For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews,.... Not the whole land of Canaan, so called, either from the Hebrews sojourning: in it, or from its being given unto them by God; neither of which could be a reason why Joseph, when talking with an Egyptian, should give it this name, and which, it must be supposed, was known to him; but that part of the land of Canaan where the Hebrews had sojourned for three generations, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had lived, even at or near Hebron; and being persons of great note, and having done great exploits, their names were well known, and the country where they lived, and particularly among the Egyptians: now Joseph does not expose the sin of his brethren in selling him to the Ishmaelites, by whom he was brought into Egypt and sold there; only relates that he was stolen out of his native country, being taken from it without his own or his father's consent:

and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon; since he had been in the land of Egypt, he had not been guilty of any criminal action wherefore he should be put into a prison, and especially into a dungeon, a dark and filthy place under ground, as dungeons usually were, and into which Joseph was put when first in confinement, though since took out of it: he makes no mention of the wickedness of his mistress, and of her false accusation of him, nor of the injustice of his master in putting him into prison without hearing him; only asserts his own innocence, which was necessary to recommend himself to the butler, that he might not think he was some loose fellow that was committed to prison for some capital crime, and so it would have, been a disgrace to him to have spoken for him.

HAWKER, "Observe in all this Joseph drops not a word of complaint against any, not a syllable either of his brethren’s cruelty or his mistress’s injustice. Would the Reader know the cause why he did not, I refer him to Joseph’s sentiment: Gen_45:7-8.

ELLICOTT, "(15) I was stolen.—Joseph here speaks only generally, as his purpose

was to arouse the sympathy of the Egyptian by making him know that he was free

born, and reduced to slavery by fraud. It would have done harm rather than good to

have said that his sale was owing to family feuds; and, moreover, noble-minded men

do not willingly reveal that which is to the discredit of their relatives.

Land of the Hebrews.—Jacob and his race had settled possessions in Canaan at

Hebron, Shechem, Beer-sheba, &c. The term Hebrew, moreover, was an old one; for

in the ancient record of the invasion of Palestine by Chedorlaomer, we saw that

Abram was described as “the Hebrew” (Genesis 14:13). But Joseph did not mean

that the land of Canaan belonged to them, but that he was stolen from the

settlements of these “immigrants,” and from the land wherein they sojourned.

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.[a]

BAR�ES, "Gen_40:16-19

The chief baker is encouraged by this interpretation to tell his dream. “I also.” He anticipates a favorable answer, from the remarkable likeness of the dreams. “On my head.” It appears from the monuments of Egypt that it was the custom for men to carry articles on their heads. “All manner of baked meats” were also characteristic of a corn country. “Lift up thy head from upon thee.” This part of the interpretation proves its divine origin. And hang thee - thy body, after being beheaded. This was a constant warning to all beholders.

GILL, "When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good,.... Meaning not that it was right and just, though it was; but that it was agreeable and pleasing, and portended good in the event; and therefore hoped a like interpretation would be given of his dream, and this encouraged him to tell it, which perhaps otherwise he would not have done:

he said unto Joseph, I also was in a dream; or had a dream, and in it things were represented to his mind as follows:

and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head; which were made of wicker,

of rods that had the bark pulled off, and so were white; or which had holes in them,

baskets wrought with holes, after the manner of network; though some think this

denotes not the colour or form of the basket, but of the bread in them, and interpret the

words, baskets of white bread, as Saadiah Gaon, and so the Targum of Jonathan, baskets

of most pure bread, and the Targum of Jerusalem, baskets of hot bread; this dream was

very agreeable to his office and business as a baker.

JAMISO�, "Gen_40:16-23. The baker’s dream.

I had three white baskets— The circumstances mentioned exactly describe his duties, which, notwithstanding numerous assistants, he performed with his own hands.

white— literally, “full of holes”; that is, wicker baskets. The meats were carried to table upon the head in three baskets, one piled upon the other; and in the uppermost, the bakemeats. And in crossing the open courts, from the kitchen to the dining rooms, the removal of the viands by a vulture, eagle, ibis, or other rapacious bird, was a frequent occurrence in the palaces of Egypt, as it is an everyday incident in the hot countries of the East still. The risk from these carnivorous birds was the greater in the cities of Egypt, where being held sacred, it was unlawful to destroy them; and they swarmed in such numbers as to be a great annoyance to the people.

K&D, "Encouraged by this favourable interpretation, the chief baker also told his dream: “I too,...in my dream: behold, baskets of white bread upon my head, and in the top basket all kinds of food for Pharaoh, pastry; and the birds ate it out of the basket from my head.” In this dream, the carrying of the baskets upon the head is thoroughly Egyptian; for, according to Herod. 2, 35, the men in Egypt carry burdens upon the head, the women upon the shoulders. And, according to the monuments, the variety of confectionary was very extensive (cf. Hengst. p. 27). In the opening words, “I too,” the baker points to the resemblance between his dream and the cup-bearer's. The resemblance was not confined to the sameness of the numbers-three baskets of white bread, and three branches of the vine-but was also seen in the fact that his official duty at the court was represented in the dream. But instead of Pharaoh taking the bread from his hand, the birds of heaven ate it out of the basket upon his head. And Joseph gave this interpretation: “The three baskets signify three days: within that time Pharaoh will

take away thy head from thee (“lift up thy head,” as in Gen_40:13, but with +מעליך “away from thee,” i.e., behead thee), and hang thee on the stake (thy body after execution; vid., Deu_21:22-23), and the birds will eat thy flesh from off thee.” However simple and close this interpretation of the two dreams may appear, the exact accordance with the fulfilment was a miracle wrought by God, and showed that as the dreams originated in the instigation of God, the interpretation was His inspiration also.

CALVI�, "16.When the chief baker saw (153) He does not care respecting the skill

and fidelity of Joseph as an interpreter; but because Joseph had brought good and

useful tidings to his companion, he also desires an interpretation, which he hopes

will prove according to his mind. So, many, with ardor and alacrity, desire the word

of God, not because they simply wish to be governed by the Lord, and to know what

is right, but because they dream of mere enjoyment. When, however, the doctrine

does not correspond with their wishes, they depart sorrowful and wounded. �ow,

although the explanation of the dream was about to prove unpleasant and severe;

yet Joseph, by declaring, without ambiguity, what had been revealed unto him,

executed with fidelity the office divinely committed to him. This freedom must be

maintained by prophets and teachers, that they may not hesitate, by their teaching,

to inflict a wound on those whom God has sentenced to death. All love to be

flattered. Hence the majority of teachers, in desiring to yield to the corrupt wishes of

the world, adulterate the word of God. Wherefore, no one is a sincere minister of

God’s word, but he, who despising reproach, and being ready, as often as it may be

necessary, to attack various offenses, will frame his method of teaching according to

the command of God. Joseph would, indeed, have preferred to augur well

concerning both; but since it is not in his power to give a prosperous fortune to any

one, nothing remains for him but frankly to pronounce whatever he has received

from the Lord. So, formerly, although the people chose for themselves prophets who

would promise them abundance of wine and oil and corn, while they exclaimed

loudly against the holy prophets, because they let fall nothing but threatening, (for

these complaints are related in Micah,) yet it was the duty of the servants of the

Lord, who had been sent to denounce vengeance, to proceed with severity, although

they brought upon themselves hatred and danger.

COFFMA�, "Verses 16-19

"When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I

also was in my dream, and, behold, three baskets of white bread were on my hand:

and in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of baked food for Pharaoh;

and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. And Joseph answered

and said, This is the interpretation thereof: the three baskets are three days; within

yet 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."

Of special interest is the opposite use of "lift up thy head" which we discussed under

Genesis 40:13.

A great deal of uncertainty focuses upon the exact manner of the baker's execution,

some supposing that he was first beheaded, and then impaled. And others taking the

position that he was simply hanged. Since either method would answer perfectly to

the tenor of Joseph's interpretation of the baker's dream, it cannot be a very

important question. "The verb for hang (as used here) may then refer to the mode

of execution, and not merely to the exposure of a decapitated corpse ... Hanging was

not then unknown in Egypt."[16]

Dummelow commented that hanging is nowhere (else) mentioned in the Bible,

except in the Book of Esther,[17] but this might well be an additional instance.

ELLICOTT, "Verse 16-17

(16, 17) Three white baskets.—Rashi explains the phrase of baskets of wicker-work,

but most commentators agree in rendering it “baskets of white bread.” The

“bakemeats” were all preparations of pastry and confectionery, as throughout the

Bible meat does not mean flesh, but food. (Comp. Luke 24:41; John 21:5.)

On my head.—The Egyptian men carried Burdens on their heads; the women on

their shoulders (Herod. ii. 35).

Bakemeats.—Heb., All sorts of work for Pharaoh the work of a baker.

GUZIK, " (16-19) The baker tells his dream and Joseph interprets it.

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, I also

was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head. In the uppermost

basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the

basket on my head. So Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation of it:

The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head

from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.

a. When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good: The baker was

encouraged that his companion had a good interpretation of his dream, and hoped

for the same regarding his own dream.

b. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a

tree: Joseph was just as faithful to deliver the message of judgment, as he was to

deliver the message of deliverance. This is the mark of a godly messenger, who does

not fail to bring the whole message of God.

i. How many there are who are willing to preach the cupbearers sermon but are

unwilling to preach the bakers sermon! (Boice)

c. The birds will eat your flesh from you: This was a disgraceful way to die, but

Joseph must have understood that the fate of the butler and the baker was each

according to justice. Whatever crimes they were suspected of, the butler was

innocent but the baker was guilty.

LA�GE, " Genesis 40:16-19. The dream of the chief of the bakers, and its

interpretation. The striking resemblance of his dream to the one previously

interpreted, caused the baker to overlook its ominous difference; Hebrews,

therefore, hopes also for a favorable interpretation. The interpreter, however, shows

his discernment in recognizing the birds that did not eat the bakemeats out of the

basket upon his head, as the main point. He differs also from the heathen

interpreters in announcing the unfavorable meaning plainly and distinctly. Knobel:

“In Egypt men were accustomed to carry on their heads, women upon their

shoulders. In modern Egypt women bear burdens upon their heads.” “Even at this

day in Egypt kites and hawks seize upon articles of food carried upon the head.”

The criminal to be put to death was fastened to a stake, to increase thereby the

severity of the punishment ( Deuteronomy 21:22; Joshua 10:26; 2 Samuel 4:12). This

custom was also prevalent among other nations, especially the Persians and

Carthaginians.

5. Genesis 40:20-23. The fulfilment of both these dreams. The kings of antiquity

were accustomed to celebrate their birth-days. “According to Herodotus, this was

the only day on which the kings of the Persians anointed themselves, and gave

presents to their subjects. In like manner the Hebrew kings, on joyous occasions,

exercised mercy ( 1 Samuel 11:13).” Knobel. Joseph is forgotten by the butler,

apparently for ever; God, however, has provided for his exaltation, not only through

the destiny denoted in the dreams, but also by the clearing up of the truthfulness of

the interpreter.

PULPIT, "Genesis 40:16, Genesis 40:17

When (literally, and) the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he

(literally, and he, encouraged by the good fortune predicted to his fellow-prisoner)

said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three (literally, and

behold three) white baskets—literally, baskets of white bread; LXX; κανᾶ

χονδριτῶν; Vulgate, canistra farince; Aquila, κόφινοι γύρεως (Onkolos, Pererius,

Gesenius, Furst, Keil, Kalisch, Murphy, et alii); though the rendering "baskets of

holes," i.e. wicker baskets, is preferred by some (Symmachus Datbius, Rosenmüller,

and others), and accords with the evidence of the monuments, which frequently

exhibit baskets of wickerwork—on my head. According to Herodotus (2.35),

Egyptian men commonly carried on their heads, and Egyptian women, like Hagar

(Genesis 21:14), on their shoulders. And in the uppermost basket (whose contents

alone are described, since it alone was exposed to the depredations of the birds)

there was of all manner of bake-meats for Pharaoh—literally, all kinds of food for

Pharaoh, the work of a baker. The monuments show that the variety of

confectionery used in Egypt was exceedingly extensive. And the birds—literally, the

bird; a collective, as in Genesis 1:21, Genesis 1:30 (cf. Genesis 1:19)—did eat them

out of the basket upon my head.

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.”

GILL, "And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh,.... All sorts of pastry, as tarts, pies, &c. Josephus (b) says, two of the baskets were full of bread, and the third had various sorts of food, such as is usually, prepared for kings:

and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head; all the three baskets were upon his head, but this seems to be the uppermost, which the birds could more easily come at; though if the baskets were full of holes, they might through them peck the bread with their bills.

18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The

three baskets are three days.

GILL, "And Joseph answered and said,.... Immediately, directly, without any further thought and meditation, being divinely instructed:

this is the interpretation thereof; of the above dream:

the three baskets are three days; signify three days.

JAMISO�, "Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation— The purport was that in three days his execution should be ordered. The language of Joseph describes minutely one form of capital punishment that prevailed in Egypt; namely, that the criminal was decapitated and then his headless body gibbeted on a tree by the highway till it was gradually devoured by the ravenous birds.

PULPIT, "Genesis 40:18, Genesis 40:19

And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof (the exposition

was supplied by God, and, however willing or anxious Joseph might be to soften its

meaning to his auditor, he could not deviate a hair's-breadth from what he knew to

be the mind of God): The three baskets are three days: yet within three days—

literally, in three days more (ut supra, Genesis 40:13)—shall Pharaoh lift up thy

head from off thee (i.e. deprive thee of life, the phrase containing a resemblance to

that employed in Genesis 40:13, and finding its explanation in the words that

follow), and shall hang thee on a tree—i.e. after decapitation (cf. Deuteronomy

21:22, Deuteronomy 21:23; Joshua 10:26; 2 Samuel 4:12), which was probably the

mode of execution at that time practiced in Egypt (Michaelis, Clarke, Keil, Murphy,

Alford, Inglis, Bush), though some regard the clause as a description of the way in

which the baker's life was to be taken from him, viz; either by crucifixion (Onkelos,

Rosenmüller, Ainsworth) or by hanging (Willst, Patrick, T. Lewis), and others view

it as simply pointing to capital punishment, without indicating the instrument or

method (Piscator, Lapide, Mercerus, 'Speaker's Commentary'). And the birds shall

eat thy flesh from off thee. "The terror of approaching death would be aggravated

to the poor man by the prospect of the indignity with which his body was to be

treated" (Lawson).

PETT, "Verse 18-19

‘And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation. The three baskets are

three days. Within yet three days will Pharaoh lift off your head from you and will

hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh from off you.” ’

Will Pharaoh lift off your head.’ There is a play on words here contrasting this

lifting off of the head with the lifting up of the head of the cupbearer. ‘And will

hang you on a tree and the birds will eat your flesh.’ The death described is

probably an indication that the baker is to be seen as guilty of a heinous crime

(compare Deuteronomy 21:22 for a similar death).

In interpreting the dreams Joseph was probably well aware that in three days time

it was Pharaoh’s birthday. Thus with God’s guidance he recognised the significance

of the threes. The remainder of the dreams he was able to work out fairly easily, and

the writer certainly intends us to recognise that again he enjoyed the guidance of

God (verse 8). The answers may seem obvious once explained but it is not something

on which Joseph could afford to be wrong.

19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your

head and impale your body on a pole. And the

birds will eat away your flesh.”

CLARKE, "Lift up thy head from off thee - Thus we find that beheading, hanging, and gibbeting, were modes of punishment among the ancient Egyptians; but the criminal was beheaded before he was hanged, and then either hanged on hooks, or by the hands. See Lam_5:12.

GILL, "Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head from off thee,.... Order thee to be beheaded; so the Targum of Jonathan and Ben Melech interpret it,"Pharaoh shall remove thy head from thy body with a sword:"

and shall hang thee on a tree; his body after his head was severed from it, this should be hung upon a gallows or gibbet, and there continue:

and the birds shall eat the flesh from off thee; as they usually do when bodies are thus hung up, see 2Sa_21:9; this was signified by the birds eating the bakemeats out of the uppermost basket when upon his head, as it seemed to him in his dream.

CALVI�, "19.Pharaoh shall lift up thy head from off thee. This phrase (in the

original) is ambiguous without some addition; and may be taken in a good or a bad

sense; just as we say, “With regard to any one,” or “With respect to him;” here the

expression is added “from thee.” Yet there seems to be an allusion of this kind, as if

Joseph had said, “Pharaoh will lift up thy head, that he may take it off.” �ow, when

Moses relates, that what Joseph had predicted happened to both of them, he proves

by this sign that Joseph was a true prophet of God, as it is written in Jeremiah.

(Jeremiah 28:9.) For that the prophets sometimes threatened punishments, which

God abstained from inflicting, was done for this reason, because to such prophecies

a condition was annexed. But when the Lord speaks positively by his servants, it is

necessary that whatever he predicts should be confirmed by the result. Therefore,

Moses expressly commends in Joseph, his confidence in the heavenly oracle. With

regard to what Moses records, that Pharaoh celebrated his birthday by a great feast,

we know that this custom has always been in use, not only among kings, but also

among plebeian men. �or is the custom to be condemned, if only men would keep

the right end in view; namely, that of giving thanks unto God by whom they were

created and brought up, and whom they have found, in innumerable ways, to be a

beneficent Father. But such is the depravity of the world, that it greatly distorts

those things which formerly were honestly instituted by their fathers, into contrary

corruptions. Thus, by a vicious practice, it has become common for nearly all to

abandon themselves to luxury and wantonness on their birthday. In short, they keep

up the memory of God, as the Author of their life, in such a manner as if it were

their set purpose to forget Him.

COKE, "Genesis 40:19. Lift up thy head— It is added, from off thee: shall take off

thy head, and shall hang thee (thy carcase afterwards) on a tree; for it was usual

first to behead the criminal, and then to hang him up: hence Jeremiah says, princes

were hanged up by their hands, Lamentations 5:12 intimating, that their heads were

first cut off. See 1 Samuel 31:9-10. and more examples in Calmet.

REFLECTIO�S.—We have here,

1. Two extraordinary dreams, which happened to two of the prisoners under

Joseph's care. Much affected with the visions on their bed, their countenances bore

the deep impression, and Joseph in the morning, with kind solicitude, could not but

inquire into the cause of their dejection. �ote; (1.) God has arrows in his quiver,

which, without a visible cause, can damp the spirits of the mighty. Could we look

into sinners' hearts, we should find distresses there, which only themselves know.

(2.) It is kind to be solicitous about our neighbours' happiness; and, especially when

they appear dejected, to reach out the tender hand of comfort.

2. They relate their dreams, and Joseph interprets them. The butler's dream is the

happy presage of his restoration; the baker's, of an ignominious death. �ote;

Communications of our griefs to godly men, is the ready way to receive solution of

our doubts, or comfort in our afflictions.

3. Joseph's modest request to the butler. As he was innocently a prisoner, he wishes

for an enlargement, and, without reflecting on his persecutors, begs only a

remembrance of him, when the butler should be restored to his lost dignity. �ote;

(1.) Though we may be content with servitude, yet, if we can be free, we may choose

it rather. (2.) In exculpating ourselves, we cannot be too careful to avoid reflecting

upon those who have injured us.

20 �ow 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:

BAR�ES, "Gen_40:20-23

The interpretations prove correct. “The birthday of Pharaoh.” It is natural and proper for men to celebrate with thanksgiving the day of their birth, as life is a pure and positive blessing. The benign Creator gives only a happy and precious form of existence to those whom he endows with the capacity of estimating its value. A birthday feast cannot be without a chief butler and a chief baker, and hence, the fate of these criminals must be promptly decided. “Lifted up the head;” a phrase of double meaning. The chief butler remembers not Joseph. This is a case of frequent occurrence in this nether world. But there is One above who does not forget him. He will deliver him at the proper time.

CLARKE, "Pharaoh’s birthday - The distinguishing a birthday by a feast appears from this place to have been a very ancient custom. It probably had its origin from a correct notion of the immortality of the soul, as the commencement of life must appear of great consequence to that person who believed he was to live for ever. St. Matthew (Mat_14:6) mentions Herod’s keeping his birthday; and examples of this kind are frequent to the present time in most nations.

Lifted up the head of the chief butler, etc. - By lifting up the head, probably no more is meant than bringing them to trial, tantamount to what was done by Jezebel and the nobles of Israel to Naboth: Set Naboth on high among the people; and set two men, sons of Belial, to bear witness against him, etc.; 1Ki_21:9, etc. The issue of the trial was, the baker alone was found guilty and hanged; and the butler, being acquitted, was restored to his office.

GILL, "And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday,.... The third day from the time the dreams were told, and the interpretation of them given, was the birthday of Pharaoh; either the day in which a son of his was born, or in which he himself was born, as Ben Melech observes; but the latter is more probable, since the former could not with propriety be called Pharaoh's birthday; and this might be either the day of his natural birth, or of his political birth, the time of his accession to the

throne, which with the Romans was called "natalis imperii", and was observed with feasting and rejoicing (c), as well as the former, both among them and other nations: it is most likely this was Pharaoh's natural birthday, which was observed among the Egyptians as birthdays were among the Persians (d), and as Herod's was at his court in the days of Christ, Mat_14:6; and as is usual in our times in most countries:

that he made a feast unto all his servants; his ministers of state, his courtiers, and all in his palace:

and he lifted up the head of his chief butler and of his chief baker,

among his servants; that is, among his servants, when their names were called over; or at this festival, these two were taken notice of, as being charged with crimes, and their cases were looked into and examined, and their heads were lifted up in a different sense: they were both lifted out of prison, but the one was lifted up to his former post and place in Pharaoh's court, and the other was lifted up to a gallows or gibbet, as follows; though perhaps this lifting of them both may only signify the trial of them, when they were set on high to be seen by the judge and all the court, see 1Ki_21:9.

HE�RY 20-23, "Here is, 1. The verifying of Joseph's interpretation of the dreams, on the very day prefixed. The chief butler and baker were both advanced, one to his office, the other to the gallows, and both at the three days' end. Note, Very great changes, both for the better and for the worse, often happen in a very little time, so sudden are the revolutions of the wheel of nature. The occasion of giving judgement severally upon their case was the solemnizing of Pharaoh's birthday, on which, all his servants being obliged by custom to attend him, these two came to be enquired after, and the cause of their commitment looked into. The solemnizing of the birthday of princes has been an ancient piece of respect done them; and if it be not abused, as Jeroboam's was (Hos_7:5), and Herod's (Mar_6:21), is a usage innocent enough: and we may all profitably take notice of our birthdays, with thankfulness for the mercies of our birth, sorrow for the sinfulness of it, and an expectation of the day of our death as better than the day of our birth. On Pharaoh's birthday he lifted up the head of these two prisoners, that is, arraigned and tried them (when Naboth was tried he was set on high among the people, 1Ki_21:9), and he restored the chief butler, and hanged the chief baker. If the butler was innocent and the baker guilty, we must own the equity of Providence in clearing up the innocency of the innocent, and making the sin of the guilty to find him out. If both were either equally innocent or equally guilty, it is an instance of the arbitrariness of such great princes as pride themselves in that power which Nebuchadnezzar set up for (Dan_5:19, whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive), forgetting that there is a higher than they, to whom they are accountable. 2. The disappointing of Joseph's expectation from the chief butler: He remembered not Joseph, but forgot him, Gen_40:23. (1.) See here an instance of base ingratitude; Joseph had deserved well at his hands, had ministered to him, sympathized with him, helped him to a favourable interpretation of his dream, had recommended himself to him as an extraordinary person upon all accounts; and yet he forgot him. We must not think it strange if in this world we have hatred shown us for our love, and slights for our respects. (2.) See how apt those that are themselves at ease are to forget others in distress. Perhaps it is in allusion to this story that the prophet speaks of those that drink wine in bowls, and are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph, Amo_6:6. Let us learn hence to cease from man. Joseph perhaps depended too

much upon his interest in the chief butler, and promised himself too much from him; he learned by his disappointment to trust in God only. We cannot expect too little from man nor too much from God.

Some observe the resemblance between Joseph and Christ in this story. Joseph's fellow-sufferers were like the two thieves that were crucified with Christ - the one saved, the other condemned. (It is Dr. Lightfoot's remark, from Mr. Broughton.) One of these, when Joseph said to him, Remember me when it shall be well with thee, forget him; but one of those, when he said to Christ, Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom, was not forgotten. We justly blame the chief butler's ingratitude to Joseph, yet we conduct ourselves much more disingenuously towards the Lord Jesus. Joseph had but foretold the chief butler's enlargement, but Christ wrought out ours, mediated with the King of kings for us; yet we forget him, though often reminded of him, though we have promised never to forget him: thus ill do we requite him, like foolish people and unwise.

JAMISO�, "it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday—This was a holiday season, celebrated at court with great magnificence and honored by a free pardon to prisoners. Accordingly, the issue happened to the butler and baker, as Joseph had foretold. Doubtless, he felt it painful to communicate such dismal tidings to the baker; but he could not help announcing what God had revealed to him; and it was for the honor of the true God that he should speak plainly.

K&D, "Joseph's interpretations were fulfilled three days afterwards, on the king's

birth-day. ה4דת the day of being born; the inf. Hoph. is construed as a passive with :יוםthe accus. obj., as in Gen_4:18, etc. Pharaoh gave his servants a feast, and lifted up the heads of both the prisoners, but in very different ways. The cup-bearer was pardoned, and reinstated in his office; the baker, on the other hand, was executed.

COFFMA�, "Verses 20-23

"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 the head

of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his

butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand; but he hanged the chief

baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler remember

Joseph, but forgat him."

Such events demonstrated conclusively the standing that Joseph had in the eyes of

God. The events here related could hardly have been unknown to others in the

prison. And later, when the butler "remembered," there is no evidence that he was

in any kind of private audience with the king, rather being in a public, or semi-

public situation, where there would have been the most widespread publication of

all the essentials of this event. What a new endowment of respect and appreciation

must have accrued to Joseph as a result!

"But forgat him ..." This must have been a sore disappointment for Joseph. He

would have to wait further upon the arm of Providence to deliver him. The butler's

conduct was probably deliberate. His fortuitous remembrance of Joseph came at a

time when the butler might have thought to profit by it, indicating that his previous

"forgetfulness" was probably due to the same self-seeking attitude. And what a sin

it was against Joseph!

�ow comes another injury (to Joseph), less malicious but hardly less disillusioning

than the others. Here is a man he had befriended and helped. The chief butler did

not set out to do him any harm; he simply did nothing at all. He just went off

casually, and forgot. But to Joseph in prison, that was as hurtful as if it had been a

deliberate wrong.[18]

This must have been the period in Joseph's life, "When the iron entered into his

soul." Such a statement is an alternate reading of Psalms 105:18, but it is a very

expressive comment on Joseph's experience. The full bitterness of life's unjust and

vicious blows made its full impact upon the heart of this noble man; but his faith did

not fail. We feel somewhat apologetic for such frequent mention in this chapter of

the false criticism current in today's Biblical literature, but the doing so has been

founded upon the conviction that to understand those criticisms is to destroy them.

Leupold said that our attention to such criticisms affords a wonderful illustration of

the "presumption, not the scholarship, of the critics."[19]

COKE, "Genesis 40:20. Pharaoh's birth-day— The antiquity of celebrating birth-

days is hence observable. Some think that the phrase lifted up the head, as applied

to the elevation of one officer and the destruction of the other, is ambiguous, like the

word tollo in the Latin tongue, under which Cicero is said to have concealed his

advice for putting Augustus to death, writing to his friend, tollendum esse juvenem.

ELLICOTT, "(20) He lifted up the head.—From its use in this verse some have

supposed that the phrase must mean “to put them on their trial,” or “take account

of them” (whence the margin reckon). More probably the words are used to point

out the exact fulfilment of Joseph’s interpretation of their dreams.

GUZIK, " (20-23) The dreams come to pass exactly according to Josephs

interpretations.

�ow it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaohs birthday, that he made a

feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief

baker among his servants. Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again,

and he placed the cup in Pharaohs hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph

had interpreted to them. Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot

him.

a. �ow it came to pass on the third day: The three days until Joseph was proved

right must have been agonizing for the butler and the baker (though more so for the

baker), yet Joseph was found to be a true messenger of God.

b. Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him: Here Joseph was

wronged again. He thought that butlers kindness might mean his release from

prison, but it was not to be. God had another purpose.

i. All men God uses greatly, He first prepares greatly. Few are willing to endure the

greatness of Gods preparation. God orders both our steps and stops.

PULPIT, "Genesis 40:20

And it came to pass (literally, and it was, as Joseph had predicted) the third day

(literally, in, or on, the third day), which was Pharaoh's birthday,—literally, the day

of Pharaoh's being born, the inf. hophal being construed with an accusative—that

he made a feast—a mishteh, i.e. a drinking or banquet (vide Genesis 19:3)—unto all

his servants. "The birthdays of the kings of Egypt were considered holy, and were

celebrated with great joy and rejoicing. All business was suspended, and the people

generally took part in the festivities'. And he lifted up the head—here the one

phrase applies equally, though in different senses, to both. A similar expression

occurs in the annals of Assur-nasir-pal (Sardanapalus), column 2 line 43: "Their

heads on the high places of the mountain I lifted up"—of the chief butler and of the

chief baker among his servants—literally, in their midst, as a public example.

PETT, "Verses 20-23

‘And it happened on the third day, being Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast

for all his servants and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of

the chief baker among his servants, and he restored the chief cupbearer to his

cupbearing again and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. But he hanged the chief

baker as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember

Joseph, but forgot him.’

It was commonplace for prisoners to be released on the birthday of some great

monarch. It was thus a time of much hope for many prisoners. But Joseph was in

prison for a private ‘crime’ and may thus have been unknown to those who decided

such things. However, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker were taken from the

prison and brought before the king. The one was fully restored, suggesting either

that his innocence had been proved or that his offence had been a minor one, but the

chief baker was hung, possibly after being decapitated. ‘Hung’ may be a shortened

form to cover the whole of what Joseph had forecast.

“His servants.” These would be the highest officials in the land who were ‘the slaves

of Pharaoh’.

Joseph probably lived in hope for some time but eventually his hopes died. He was

not to know that God yet had a purpose in it. It would be another two years before

anything further happened, and meanwhile he went on with his life in prison

without much hope of release. The darkest hour often comes before the dawn.

21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position,

so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s

hand—

GILL, "And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again,.... Put him into the same office he was in before:

and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand; ministered to him in his office the same day, according to his dream and the interpretation of it: the Targum of Jonathan adds this as a reason of his being restored,"because he found that he was not in that counsel,''in which it was consulted to poison Pharaoh; see Gill on Gen_40:1.

COKE, "Genesis 40:21-22. And he restored, &c.— Calmet and Chais both observe,

that as Joseph was an illustrious type of our Saviour, so these two officers of

Pharaoh clearly mark out the two thieves, between whom our Lord was crucified;

the Saviour pardoned one, and condemned the other, as Joseph predicted the

butler's re-establishment, and the baker's death. See ch. Genesis 41:13. the mode of

expression in which verse is to be noted and remembered: Joseph is said to have

done that which he only predicted. Me he restored—him he hanged.

22 but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph

had said to them in his interpretation.

GILL, "But he hanged the chief baker,.... The is, he ordered him to be hanged; because, as the same Targum says, he consulted to kill him (Pharaoh):

as Joseph had interpreted to them; the events as to both answered to the interpretation Joseph had given of their several dreams.

23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not

remember Joseph; he forgot him.

CLARKE, "Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph - Had he mentioned the circumstance to Pharaoh, there is no doubt that Joseph’s case would have been examined into, and he would in consequence have been restored to his liberty; but, owing to the ingratitude of the chief butler, he was left two years longer in prison.

Many commentators have seen in every circumstance in the history of Joseph a parallel between him and our blessed Lord. So, “Joseph in prison represents Christ in the custody of the Jews; the chief butler and the chief baker represent the two thieves which were crucified with our Lord; and as one thief was pardoned, and the other left to perish, so the chief butler was restored to his office, and the chief baker hanged.” I believe God never designed such parallels; and I am astonished to find comparatively grave and judicious men trifling in this way, and forcing the features of truth into the most distorted anamorphosis, so that even her friends blush to acknowledge her. This is not a light matter; we should beware how we attribute designs to God that he never had, and employ the Holy Spirit in forming trifling and unimportant similitudes. Of plain, direct truth we shall find as much in the sacred writings as we can receive and comprehend; let us not therefore hew out unto ourselves broken cisterns that can hold no water. Interpretations of this kind only tend to render the sacred writings uncertain; to expose to ridicule all the solemn types and figures which it really contains; and to furnish pretexts to infidels and irreligious people to scoff at all spirituality, and lead them to reject the word of God entirely, as incapable of being interpreted on any fixed or rational plan. The mischief done by this system is really incalculable. See the observations on Genesis 37 (note).

GILL, "Genesis 40:23Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph,.... To speak of him to Pharaoh, neither on that day in which he was restored, nor for a long time after, even for the space of two years, as seems from the following chapter:

but forgot him; never more thought of him, of the favour he had done him in interpreting his dream; of the request he made to him, and of the promise which he had probably given him; which was an instance of great ingratitude, and is frequently the case and character of courtiers, who being in high places themselves, neglect others, their petitions to them, and their own promises to do all they can for them.

HAWKER, "

REFLECTIONS

Reader! mark this down in the memorandums of your life, that whether in a prison or a palace, the faithful have GOD for their portion. And what a sweet thought is it, that, as no walls can confine the souls of GOD’S people; so neither can bolts or bars shut the LORD out. If you are the LORD’S prisoner, this is preferable to being the world’s freeman. And when we recollect how precious the enjoyments some have found in those seasons, very evident it is that the Comforter is with them, and that to bless them. But even here in Joseph’s history, let me not lose sight of the LORD JESUS, who was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? Blessed LORD! let me never forget the afflictions of my spiritual and almighty Joseph, nor the cause of them; but in all events of life as well prosperous as distressing, cease not to remember thee!

JAMISO�, "yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph— This was human nature. How prone are men to forget and neglect in prosperity, those who have been their companions in adversity (Amo_6:6)! But although reflecting no credit on the butler, it was wisely ordered in the providence of God that he should forget him. The divine purposes required that Joseph should obtain his deliverance in another way, and by other means.

CALVI�, "23.Yet did not the chief butler remember. This was the most severe trial

of Joseph’s patience, as we have before intimated. For since he had obtained an

advocate who, without trouble, was able to extricate him from prison, especially as

the opportunity of doing so had been granted to him by God, he felt a certain

assurance of deliverance, and earnestly waited for it every hour. But when he had

remained to the end of the second year in suspense, not only did this hope vanish,

but greater despair than ever rested upon his mind. Therefore, we are all taught, in

his person, that nothing is more improper, than to prescribe the time in which God

shall help us; since he purposely, for a long season, keeps his own people in anxious

suspense, that, by this very experiment, they may truly know what it is to trust in

Him. Besides, in this manner he designed openly to claim for himself the glory of

Joseph’s liberation. For, if liberty had been granted to him through the entreaty of

the butler, it would have been generally believed that this benefit was from man and

not from God. Moreover, when Moses says, that the butler was forgetful of Joseph,

let it be so understood, that he did not dare to make any mention of him, lest he

should be subjected to reproach, or should be troublesome to the king himself. For it

is common with courtiers perfidiously to betray the innocent, and to deliver them to

be slain, rather than to offend those of whom they themselves are afraid.

BE�SO�, "Genesis 40:23. But forgat him — Being again possessed of the

emoluments of his office, and enjoying the pleasures of the court, the kindness which

Joseph had shown him in interpreting his dreams, as well as all the instruction and

advice he had received from him respecting the true God and religion, vanished

from his recollection: a specimen this of the friendship of the world, and a true

sample of the disappointment which they will meet with who rely on it!

SIMEO�, "I�GRATITUDE OF PHARAOH’S BUTLER

Genesis 40:23. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

IT was a wise and prudent choice which David made, “Let me fall into the hands of

God, and not into the hands of man.” Man, when intent on evil, knows no bounds,

except those which are prescribed by his ability to execute his wishes. He is easily

incensed, but with difficulty appeased. The ties of blood and relationship are not

sufficient to bind persons in amity with each other, when once any ground of

discord arises between them. It might have been hoped that in such a family as

Jacob’s, love and harmony would prevail: but to such a degree had envy inflamed

his whole family against their younger brother, that they conspired against his life,

and only adopted the milder alternative of selling him for a slave, through a horror

which they felt at the thought of shedding his blood. �or will the most amiable

conduct always ensure regard, or protect a person from the most cruel injuries. The

holy, chaste, and conscientious deportment of Joseph should have exalted his

character in the eyes of his mistress: but when she failed in her attempts to ensnare

his virtue, her passionate desire after him was converted into rage; and she

procured the imprisonment of him whom she had just before solicited to be her

paramour. During his confinement, he had opportunities of shewing kindness to his

fellow-prisoners. To two of them he interpreted their dreams, which proved to be

prophetic intimations of their respective fates. Of Pharaoh’s chief butler, whose

speedy restoration he foretold, he made a most reasonable request: he told him, that

he had been stolen out of the land of the Hebrews; and that there existed no just

cause for his imprisonment: and he entreated, that he would make known his case to

Pharaoh, and intercede for his deliverance. In making this request, he never once

criminated either his brethren who had sold him, or his mistress who had falsely

accused him: he cast a veil of love over their faults, and sought for nothing but the

liberty of which he had been unjustly deprived. Who would conceive that so

reasonable a request, presented to one who had such opportunities of knowing his

excellent character, to one too on whom he had conferred such great obligations,

should fail? Lord, what is man? how base, how selfish, how ungrateful! Let us fix

our attention upon this incident in the history of Joseph, and make some suitable

reflections upon it—

We observe then,

I. That gratitude is but a feeble principle in the human mind—

[Corrupt and sinful principles are, alas! too strong in the heart of man; but those

which are more worthy of cultivation, are weak indeed. To what a degree are men

actuated by pride—ambition—covetousness—envy—wrath—revenge!—To what

exertions will they not be stimulated by hope or fear! — — — But the motions of

gratitude are exceeding faint: in the general, they are scarcely perceptible: and

though on some extraordinary occasions, like that of Israel’s deliverance at the Red

Sea, the heart may glow with a sense of the mercies vouchsafed unto us, we soon

forget them, even as the Israelites did, and return to our former coldness and

indifference.]

II. That its operations are rather weakened than promoted by prosperity—

[Pharaoh’s butler, when restored to his master’s service, thought no more of the

friend whom he had left in prison. This is the general effect of prosperity, which

steels the heart against the wants and miseries of others, and indisposes it for the

exercise of sympathy and compassion. It is usually found too that the more we

abound in temporal blessings, the more unmindful we are of Him who gave them.

That is a true description of us all; “Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked.” On the other

hand, adversity tends to bring us to consideration: when we have suffered

bereavements of any kind, we begin to feel the value of the things we have lost; and

to regret, that we were not more thankful for them while they were continued to us.

The loss of a part of our blessings often renders us more thankful for those that

remain: and it is no uncommon sight to behold a sick person more thankful for an

hour’s sleep, or a small intermission of pain, or the services of his attendants, than

he ever was for all the ease and sleep that he enjoyed, or the services that were

rendered him, in the days of his health. We have a very striking instance of the

different effects of prosperity and adversity in the history of Hezekiah. In his

sickness he exclaimed, “The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day:”

but when restored to health, he forgat his Benefactor, and “rendered not again

according to the benefits that had been done unto him.” In this, I say, he is an

example of the ingratitude which obtains in the world at large; for we are told, that

“God left him to try him, and that he might know all that was in his heart.”]

III. That the want of it is hateful in proportion to the obligations conferred upon

us—

[We suppose that no man ever read attentively the words of our text without

exclaiming (in thought at least, if not in words), What base ingratitude was this!

Whether we consider his obligations to Joseph, who had been to him a messenger of

such glad tidings, or his obligations to God, who had overruled the heart of Pharaoh

to restore him to his place, he surely was bound to render that small service to his

fellow-prisoner, and to interpose in behalf of oppressed innocence. And we cannot

but feel a detestation of his character on account of his unfeeling and ungrateful

conduct. Indeed it is thus that we are invariably affected towards all persons; and

more especially those who have received favours at our hands. If we receive an

injury or an insult, or are treated with neglect by persons whom we have greatly

benefited, we fix immediately on their ingratitude, as the most aggravating

circumstance of their guilt: it is that which pains us, and which makes them appear

most odious in our eyes. And though this sentiment may be easily carried to excess,

yet, if kept within due bounds, it forms a just criterion of the enormity of any

offence that is committed against us. It was this which in God’s estimation so greatly

aggravated the guilt of the Jewish nation; “They forgat God who had done so great

things for them [�ote: Psalms 106:7; Psalms 106:13; Psalms 106:21.].” And we shall

do well to bear it in mind, as the means of awakening in our own minds a just sense

of our condition before God: for ingratitude, above all things, subjects us to his

displeasure [�ote: Romans 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:2; Isaiah 1:3; Deuteronomy 28:45;

Deuteronomy 28:47.].]

This subject may be fitly improved—

1. To fill us with shame and confusion before God—

[If we think of our temporal mercies only, they call for incessant songs of praise and

thanksgiving: but what do we owe to God for the gift of his dear Son—and of his

Holy Spirit—and of a preached Gospel?—What do we owe to God if he has

rendered his word in any measure effectual for the enlightening of our minds, and

the quickening of our souls? “What manner of persons then ought we to be?” How

should our hearts glow with love, and our mouths be filled with his praise! Let us

prosecute these thoughts, and we shall soon blush and be confounded before God,

and lie low before him in dust and ashes.]

2. To keep us from putting our trust in man—

[Many years had Joseph been confined in prison, and now he thought he should

have an advocate at court, who would speedily liberate him from his confinement.

But God would not let him owe his deliverance to an arm of flesh: yea, he left him

two years longer in prison, that he might learn to put his trust in God only: and then

he wrought his deliverance by his own arm. “Till his time was come, the word of the

Lord tried him.” At last, God suggested to Pharaoh dreams, which no magicians

could expound; and thus brought to the butler’s recollection the oppressed youth

who had interpreted his dreams, and who was the only person that could render

similar service to the affrighted monarch. �ow we also, like Joseph, are but too apt

to lean on an arm of flesh, instead of looking simply to the Lord our God: but we

shall always find in the issue, that the creature is only a broken reed, which will

pierce the hand that leans upon it; and that none but God can render us any

effectual assistance. Let us then trust in him only, and with all our heart, and then

we shall never be confounded.]

3. To make us admire and adore the Lord Jesus—

[That blessed Saviour is not less mindful of us in his exalted state, than he was in the

days of his flesh. Yea, though not at all indebted to us, though, on the contrary, he

has all possible reason to abandon us for ever, yet is he mindful of us day and night;

he makes intercession for us continually at the right hand of God; he considers this

as the very end of his exaltation; and he improves every moment in protecting,

comforting, and strengthening those who depend upon him. We challenge any one

to say, When did the blessed Saviour forget him? We may have been ready to say

indeed, “He hath forsaken and forgotten us;” but “He can no more forget us than a

woman can forget her sucking child.” Let us then bless his name, and magnify it

with thanksgiving. And let us from time to time offer to Him the petition of the

dying thief, “Lord, remember me now thou art in thy kingdom:” and not all the

glory and felicity of heaven shall divert his attention from us for a single moment.]

PULPIT HASTI�GS, "Genesis 40:23; Genesis 41:9

Pharaoh's forgetful butler.

"Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him." "I do remember

my faults this day." Good men have sometimes had to bear painful imprisonments.

Think of Bunyan and Baxter shivering behind the bars of a narrow cell, where light

and air were almost excluded, and where disease and death held sway. How much

brightness, however, has broken at times from behind prison bars! We might not

have had the 'Pilgrim's Progress,' unless Bunyan had been incarcerated on the

banks of the Ouse. �or might the patience and kindness of Joseph's disposition have

shone out so brilliantly but for his prison life. In a work entitled ' Five Years' Penal

Servitude' a most vivid description is given of how the criminals of the clever and

cultured class have to mingle and work with those of ignorant and most sensual

type. Defaulting cashiers have to undergo the same treatment as cowardly garrotters

and desperate burglars. Breaking the law brings any under its rigorous clutches,

and levels all distinctions of class or education. Thus Joseph, a Hebrew slave,

although not a criminal, would be despised by the chief butler of Pharaoh, but the

butler had to associate with him. Indeed the former became his superior in prison,

and was in a position to render to a State official certain kindness.

I. THE FORGETFUL I�GRATE. This man was a courtier, a permitted adviser of

the Pharaoh of Egypt, but he is sent to the common prison. Joseph gives him much

cheer, attention, and kindness. He seeks in every way to relieve the monotony of

prison life, and becomes a prophet and religious helper. He sees the butler one day

sad of countenance, and learns the reason. Readily he, by Divine help, interpreted

the perplexing dream. His words are verified. The chief butler was doubtless

profuse in his thanks and promises, but we see how he kept them. Perhaps the

forgetfulness was convenient. He did not wish, after his restoration, to remind his

monarch—even by making a request—of his having been formerly in disfavor. He

possibly never intended to make any effort, unless it should be a gain to himself. He

is a very different man in prison and out. This is the way of men in life. Favors slip

from the memory like floods from a smoothly-worn rock. We might here possibly

find out certain things in our own conduct which would indicate a similar

forgetfulness of favors. For example, Christ came as the good Joseph to share our

captive state. Think of what love he showed in bearing so much suffering for us. Do

not put aside the thought of it as not being definitely for you. It was for each one, as

if there were none other for whom to suffer. Some have not believed, have not come

out from prison, but have preferred the darkness to light, have thought that the

atonement was all unnecessary. They cannot understand how evil is their state until

brought out of it. A beggar would not be troubled about his patches and rags in the

common lodging-house; but let him be taken into a room of decently-arrayed

people, and he then feels the difference, and shudders at his degraded appearance.

When once brought into Christ's light we see from what we have been saved, and

should be grateful to him. Some have been brought into union with him, and

afterwards have declined from his way. Dangerous state. We should blame others

who were ungrateful; what if we have been! The longer action is postponed, the

deeper the ingratitude, and the less likelihood is there that the favor will he felt. The

longer postponed, the harder to acknowledge. Thus the butler may have hesitated to

speak of Joseph because he would have to reveal his own ingratitude. Possibly he

hoped Joseph was dead. �ot so; Joseph lives. Forgotten by man, he is not forgotten

by God. God will yet bring the forgetful one and his benefactor face to face.

II. AROUSED MEMORIES. Wonderful is that faculty of the mind whereby we can

imagine ourselves to exist in the past. Some have weak memories, others strong.

Some have memories for places and thoughts, others for dates, figures, and words.

Whether memory be strong or weak, the power of association is such that at times

facts long past will be brought back most vividly. Revisiting places of interest,

traversing certain countries, will bring to memory past friendships, and perhaps

even subjects of conversation formerly held there. A house in which one has been

born or trained becomes a complete history in time. Certain seasons arouse

memories of the past, as birthdays, wedding days, Christmas time, or Easter.

Certain circumstances also arouse memory. Pharaoh's perplexity concerning his

dream forcibly reminded the butler of his morning of sadness in the prison. "I do

remember," &c. The butler implied that he repented of his sins and of his

forgetfulness. He may not have been very sincere, but as a courtier he introduces a

subject in that way. Let us remember our faults, our inconsistencies as Christians,

our hesitation to confess Christ, our excusing ourselves on the ground of the doings

of others. Let us be plain with ourselves. Let us not see the motes in the eyes of

others, and forget the beams in our own. Let us remember them that we may be

humbled, may gain experience of how to avoid them in the future, may gain strength

to resist, may gain pardon for past faults, and learn thereby more of the infinite

forbearance and love of God, who is so willing to blot out our transgressions, and

even the memory of our sins.—H.

HOEZEE, "

Here in Grand Rapids most of us have at one time or another heard of "The

Forgotten Man Ministries." Because some of us have heard that phrase for so long,

it's possible that some of its punch gets lost on us. But when you stop to think about

it, there are few phrases so searingly sad as "forgotten people." In life there are any

number of things you may forget sooner or later. Often we forget (temporarily)

where we put our car keys or what we did with that folder of old letters and

postcards. It's frustrating! Like some of you, I've now and again spent a few hours

rummaging around in file cabinets, closets, and the like searching for something I

just know I put somewhere some while ago but now I cannot for the life of me

remember where it was! Often we forget such things because probably we weren't

paying that much attention to what we were doing in the first place.

As time goes on, we may forget also old phone numbers, addresses, maybe even

people's names. Upon running into an old acquaintance at the mall, you can usually

tell if he or she just can't come up with your name. Often there is just a little bit too

much gusto when the other person says, "Well, hey there!" and you sense that the

high-decibel level given to that "Hey!" is covering for the fact that he can't say,

"Hey, Scott!" But if forgetting someone's name is a bit embarrassing (for both

parties usually!), forgetting that someone even existed is a vastly more serious

matter. It hurts to be forgotten. Perhaps you run into someone you admire and

respect, someone you had a college class with once or who lived in the same dorm as

you. You'd never forget this person because he or she is important to you. You've

been glad to tell people over the years that you know him or her. But then one day

you come up to this other person but see no glint of recognition at all. If they ever

noted your existence to begin with, they long since forgot about you--not your name,

but you. You didn't register high enough on the horizons of their consciousness to

be worth taking more permanent note of. And that hurts.

It hurts no less, and maybe more, when the cause of such forgetfulness is something

like Alzheimer's Disease. Few things wound us more than looking into the eyes of a

parent or a spouse but seeing no hint of recognition. It ought never have to be that

we say to a loved one, "Do you remember me?" Some questions should never have

to be asked, and so if as a matter of fact you do need to pose that most precarious of

all questions, you sense that your world has shifted into a frightening new territory.

If ever there were a biblical figure who knew the pain of other people's

forgetfulness, it was Joseph. After successfully interpreting the cupbearer's dream

by assuring him that in three days' time he'd have his old life back again, Joseph all-

but begged to be remembered. "When you're back on top of things again, remember

me! Show me lovingkindness by mentioning my name to the Pharaoh! Please!" Yet

chapter 40 ends with three devastating words: "he forgot him." Who knows why.

Was the cupbearer merely distracted? Did he deem it beneath his restored dignity to

mention that some grungy Hebrew dungeon denizen had predicted these turns of

events? Or did he conclude that although Joseph had interpreted the dream

correctly, nevertheless Joseph could hardly be credited with getting him out of jail

and so didn't warrant mention to the Pharaoh after all?

Whatever the reason, the cupbearer rather quickly slotted Joseph into a back closet

of his memory. It would be two whole years before he'd tumble to recall that wise

fellow in the dungeon. Two years! For the first few weeks or so, maybe Joseph

watched his cell door expectantly, just waiting for the warden to come fetch him.

Surely the cupbearer would not forget him! True, Joseph himself neither gave the

cupbearer his dream nor did Joseph execute the predicted fulfillment of that same

dream. But if you told someone a weird dream only to have that other person tell

you the future meaning of that dream--and then if precisely that prediction came to

pass in your life in pretty short order--don't you think you'd remember that dream

master!? How could you even forget such a striking incident?!

So Joseph waited expectantly for some time until finally he was crushed by the

dawning awareness that he had been forgotten after all. Despite the unlikelihood of

it, the cupbearer to the king had forgotten Joseph. Some of you have perhaps seen

the film The Shawshank Redemption in which an innocent man, Andy Dufrain, is

sent to a state penitentiary for life on a charge of murder. At one point in the film a

new prisoner arrives who, as it turns out, has the knowledge that could at long last

set Andy free. But that prison's warden is an evil and corrupt man. He does not

want Andy to go free. And so when Andy insists that the warden pursue this matter,

he gets sunk into a hole of solitary confinement for an entire month. Meanwhile, the

warden arranges the death of that prisoner who alone spelled Andy's hope. When in

solitary Andy learns of this new act of babarism, the look of despair and dejection

on his face is searing.

Surely Joseph must have had such a look at some point as his best, fondest hope for

release fails to pan out. He had been forgotten. Joseph had asked the cupbearer for

"kindness." In the Hebrew of verse 14 that is the loaded word chesed, which as I

have pointed out numerous times over the years, is a word I think is the Old

Testament's equivalent of "grace." Chesed is that key characteristic of God that

refers to God's abiding mercy, his everlasting love, his core disposition to be kind

toward needy sinners such as ourselves. Over and again in the Book of Psalms, the

psalmists say that when they go up to the Temple to worship, it is the shining chesed

of Yahweh that is their chief focus, their pious pre-occupation, their number one

reason for giving Yahweh the glory forever and ever.

Joseph hopes to see a glimmer of this same kindness in the cupbearer, but as is so

often the case on the human plane of existence, we are disappointed to find so little

grace in other people. In this case, a little chesed would have been what led to the

cupbearer's keeping Joseph in mind: remembering him instead of forgetting him. It

is, after all, a kindness to be remembered. A few moments ago I mentioned how

much it can hurt to run into an old acquaintance only to see that while you

remember this other person, he has clearly long since blotted you out of his mind.

But conversely, suppose you run into someone whom you don't necessarily think

will remember you. But then suppose you discover that not only does she remember

you, she can even still tell a certain story of a fine thing you did once. How do you

feel then? What is a typical reaction to this rather surprising development? Don't

you often walk away from this happy encounter only to say something like, "Well

now, that was just so nice that she remembered that!" Holding certain things in

memory does not happen automatically. Often remembering something is indeed an

intentional act--there was some nurturing of memory going on there and so it's no

exaggeration to say that, indeed, someone's recalling this or that about you is a nice

thing, a kind thing, a chesed type of thing.

It's what God does. He remembers us. God is the Great Remembrancer, and this

facet to God's character, surely borne of God's chesed, is itself a frequent cause of

praise and joy in the Bible. In a famous line from Isaiah 49, the prophet asks

rhetorically at one point, "Can a mother forget the child sucking at her breast?"

Well, yes, as a matter of fact parents do forget their own children sometimes. �ot

always, but sometimes. So the deep comfort for Isaiah lies in the fact that even if a

mother were to forget her own child, yet will Yahweh remember us forever.

Particularly in the Old Testament there is frequent solace found in the fact that

Yahweh remembers us, remembers that we are but dust, remembers his promises to

Abraham and his descendants. At the outset of the single grandest narrative in the

Old Testament, the Exodus from Egypt, we are told that when God heard the

groans of his people as they languished in slavery, "he remembered his covenant

with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob . . ." And through that act of divine

memory, the whole sequence of saving events was set into motion.

For God, and also for us, memory is a lively, living thing. It is even capable of giving

life. That's why one of the single most famous phrases of the Christian gospel--"Do

this in remembrance of me"--is by no means a dry or dead summoning to mind of

things long past. Memory at the Lord's holy table is a living encounter with the

living God, imparting yet more life into our souls.

To be remembered by God, and in turn to remember this God ourselves, assures us

that we have a future, that even death cannot be our end. That thief on the cross

knew what he was doing when he said to Jesus, languishing on his own spit of wood,

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom!" What that man had in

mind was not that one day Jesus would be riding some white stallion in his kingdom

only to say to someone, "Say, do you remember that other fellow who died with me

at Golgotha that day? I remember him. �ot a bad fellow in the end. Too bad he's

gone now." Of course not! When the Lord Jesus Christ remembers you, what

happens is not the summoning up of a piece of data but the re-enlivening of your

very existence.

In this divine capacity for memory we do indeed find the chesed or grace of God at

work. And it lends not just hope but also meaning to our lives. John Updike once

wrote poignantly about how staggering it is to consider the sheer number of people

who have lived and died in history, not to mention the billions who still live right

now (some of whom have died even since we gathered here for worship 40 or so

minutes ago). Untold millions of consciousnesses silt history full to nearly the brim.

Each person was unique. Each had a story. Yet each passed away, and with the

relatively rare exceptions of historically famous people--Julius Caesar, Alexander

the Great, Abraham Lincoln--something like 99% of the human race has come and

gone without a single blessed soul still alive to this day to recall them. We all die

twice, the old adage says: first we die physically and they bury us in the ground, but

then we die a second time when at some future point the last relative or friend who

can recall us also passes away, and then our very memory is buried into the

inaccessible reaches of history.

This study by an unknown author makes an interesting conclusion to this chapter.

Joseph's Prison

Genesis 40:1-23

Introduction

Do you know which country has the largest inmate population in the world? The

United States of America. With over 1 million inmates the United States leads the

world in inmates. Some people are in prison unjustly. I recently talked to a woman

who is serving a life sentence in an Ohio correctional facility. She was sentenced on

six counts of child sexual assualt, rape and a number of other charges. �ow evidence

has emerged that 3 of the children have signed sworn affadavits that they fabricated

the charges after being pressured to confess and then charge this woman with the

molestations. There seems to be a good chance that she's innocent. She has already

served 11 years for a crime that she may not have committed.

Just a little aside. A Warden of a Midwest prison sent a note around to the inmates

asking for suggestions on the kind of party they should have to celbrate its 25

anniversary. The prisoners all had the same idea--OPE� HOUSE.

Some of us have a prejudice and predisposition to reject people that we know who

have spent time in prison. The fact that a person has or has not spent time in prison

is not an indicator that he is any better or worse than anyone else. Jesus seems to

have a special place in his heart for prisoners. Many of his choice servants did hard

time: Joseph, Moses, Jeremiah and John the Baptist. There was a recent memorial

of the death of one great man during WWII. Dietrich Bonheiffer. He said that when

they came for the communists he did not care because he was not a communist,

when they came for the Jew he did not care because he was not a Jew. When they

came for the sick, the infirmed and the rejects he did not care. When they came for

him, there was no one left to care. On Sunday April 8, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer

held a little service which reached the hearts of all. He had hardly finished his

prayer when the door opened. Two evil looking soldiers came in and barked:

Prisoner Bonhoeffer, come with us! The words meant only one thing! He would soon

be hanging from one of the scaffolds. As he bid his fellow prisoners goodby, he said,

"for me this is the beginning of new life, eternal life."

Imprisoned By Man

1. vv. 1-3: The Butler and the Baker were high positions in the Pharoh's houselhold.

Both men had to be trusted and loyal. Many ancient rulers were poisened and killed

in their own houses. Some scholars believe Titus was poisened by his brother

Domition so that he could have the throne. The baker made the food, and the Butler

or the Cup-bearer was to eat and drink for the Monarch.

2. I read of a lady in Oklahoma who was sentenced to life in prison for poisening 5

husbannds for the insurance money. Her name was �annie Doss. She killed 4 of the

5 husbands with rat poisen. Mrs. Doss was planning a 6th marriage when she was

arrested for the murder of husband #5.

Husband #1 was the lone survivor. Charles Braggs, married �annie in Blue

Mountain Ala. and divorced her when he said he thought the food he was eating

"just didn't taste right."

Husband#2: Frank Harreleson: Jacksonville Ala. was poisened simply because

�annie said she heard he made arrangement to leave and to run around. She used

rat poisen in his corn liquor.

Husband #3: Harley Lanning. Lexington �.C. and died afterwards. �annie said she

married him while still in deep mourning over Harrelson. Later she wanted to be

through with romance because "the Lord had already taken away two of my

husbands".

Husband #4: Richard Lewis Morton of Emporoia Kansas. was the result of a mail

order courtship (sort of the great expectations or equally yoked of the 50's). He died

suddenly, a few months after he refused to let her visit relatives in �orth Carolina.

Husband #5 Doss, was dying at Tulsa when �annie started corresponding with

prosepective husband #6, James H. Keel of Goldsboro �.C.; through a lonely hearts

club.

Keel said after learning that �annie had been charged with the murder of her

husband; "I'm sure mighty proud that he didn't come to my part of the country."

She escaped the electric chair; because Judge Elmer Adams of Tulsa said it would

be a poor precedent to make her the first woman sentenced to death in Oklahoma.

3. The Butler and the Baker are going to be used by God to fulfill the destiny of

Joseph. God holds even the heart of the King in his hand. The appearance of these

two men are no accident.

The Reality of Abuse

Abuse is such a harsh word. Whatever you call it mistreatment, ill treatment,

persecution or garden variety torment. Joseph did what was right and suffered for

it. We do not know whether we will treated fairly in the present or the future. I

know of many families that have been falsely accused of child abuse simply because

they spank their child. We do not know if we will be treated fairly by family, by

friends, by the government, at work. Victor Frankel wrote: "Everything can be

taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's

attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." We are not

pawns of circumstance. We can get better or bitter because of being treated unfairly

or unjustly. I Peter 2:20: "For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly

treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for

it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God."

Joseph did what was right and suffered for it. He refused the immoral suggestions

of another man's wife and was accused of rape. They sent him to prison. He went

from slave to prisoner. Joseph's freedom was stripped away. Everything about his

circumstances seemed to indicate he had been forgotten by God and Man. �ow

Joseph faced the most difficult thing about being treated unfairly! That is what

about my attitude? How am I going to respond now that things don't seem

altogether fair!

Joseph's Prison Ministry

1. v. 4 Who is the Captain of the Guard? �one other than Potipher. Again here is

evidence that Potiphar believed Joseph.

It is apparent that Joseph's attitude in prison is to make the best he can with what

he has. Joseph does not use his horrible circumstances to let off a little steam. After

all, who would't expect a little tantrum in light of the circumstances? �o he

continues to remain faithful to the Lord.

When Prisoner's Dream

1. v.5 Does God use dreams? Are dreams the royal road of the unconsciounce?

Should we use dreams as a primary or even secondary source for revelation and

inspiration? Whatever else it means, God used the dreams of the unregenerate to

bring about his plans and purposes.

Jospeh's Personal Concern

1. vv. 6-7. Joseph does not doubt the sovereignty or authority of God. One day a

little boy was speaking to another little boy. He said "My father and I know

everything". The little boy asked the other little boy a very hard question. The little

boy said "that's one for my father".

2. Joseph has hit rock bottom and yet look at the concern he has for others! In

prison he is still sensitive to the problems and issues of others. Please note: It is this

concern for others that will eventually lead to release from his prison. When we are

trapped in some prison of bitterness or hatred, or abuse or some other self-

appointed prison, concern for others can be the first step on our way out.

Dream Interpretation Belongs to the Lord

1.v. 8 Joseph has such a close relationship with God, he is the Lord's rep in Egypt

and here in prison. If Joseph were trusting his own wisdom his statement would be

an insult to God.

2. Joseph is no stranger to dreams. He knew that God had spoken to him via his

dreams. Earlier when he had heard from God via dreams, it caused a great deal of

trouble. The same will be true again. When he hears these men are upset because no

one could interpret their dreams, he offers to help.

The Butler's Dream

1. vv. 9-11

Joseph's Interpretation

1. vv. 12-13 Few things are more powerful than a person who knows that that they

know that they know that Jesus is the Lord.

2. Today we are to speak as the oracles of God (See I Peter 4:11).

Joseph's Plea:

1.v. 14-15 Deliverance was not to come from the memory of a butler. Deliverance

was to come from the intervention of the Holy and Divine God.

2. Joseph is a real person. He cries real tears and feels real pain. Yes he wants out.

The Baker's �ighmare

1.vv. 16-17:

2.

Joseph's Bad �ews

1. vv.18-19

2. The prison experience can make us bitter or better. Just like abuse. Alexander

Solzhentsyn accepted Christ in a Soviet gulag. Charles Colson's prison experience

made him better not bitter, so much so that he has perhaps the most influential

prison ministry in the world. For some, their hellish and nightmarish experience in

the prisons reduce them to hopelessness and despair. Elie Wiesel was one such man.

For him, faith is not what he reached out for, but blotted out hope: "�ever shall I

forget that night, the first night in camp, which as turned my life into one long night,

seven times cursed, seven times sealed. �ever shall I forget the smoke. �ever shall I

forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of

smoke beneath a silent blue sky. �ever shall I forget those flames which consumed

my faith forever. �ever shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for

all eternity, of the desire to live. �ever shall I forget those moments which murdered

my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. �ever shall I forget these

things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. �ever."

Chuck Swindoll writes: "The pain of suffering unjustly is one of the severest trials

we can enter into. It is a sanctuary of flames from which some emerge with a

tempered, unshakeable faith; while others only ashes".

Life will bring some tragedy. It is not just a clever saying. Into every life some rain

must fall. But some lives are like torrential down pours. There is not a day that goes

by that some child dies, others are kidnapped, beaten, disgarded, aborted. Wives are

beaten, kicked, neglected, ignored. Spouses are dumped and abandoned by

unfaithful partners who desire to graze on greener pasturs. Drunk drivers maim

and kill. Gossip and slander ruin reputations. Well meaning and not so well

meaning therapists herd people into a psychological pen of false memories where

people are accused of false deeds and forced to live lives haunted by the accusations

of children who falsely accuse their parents.

The Fulfillment of the Dreams

1. vv.20-22

Joseph Forgotten

1. vv.23 (41:1): One problem the cupbearer had a short memory. There are a couple

of key observations we should make here. One Joseph is abandoned by a friend. If

an enemy abandons you, who cares? But what about a friend? That cuts deep.

Sometimes we get upset when we are left alone even for a minuet. But Joseph was

abandoned for two years. Sometimes we confuse abandonment by friends as

abandoment by God. Our natural response is to feel somewhat disillusioned. If we

allow our feelings to fester in can turn into cynicsim and bitterness.

2. Abuse and ill treatment abound. There are at least three basic kinds of

mistreatment:

Undeserved Abuse from family: Even the best families have some sorrow. I am sure

that Wally and Beaver did not get along every day. Even on Father Know's Best and

the Brady Bunch their was occasional tragedy. Parent's and children are still

depraved human beings. �one of are perfect.

Unexpected restrictions from circumstances: Abuse or mistreatment can confine us

physically or emotionally. Have you ever been in a situation where you simply

couldn't fight back pr change things? When I worked for the Department of Social

Services I was appalled at how people where using abortion as a means of birth

control. It was bad enough that they were killing children, but now they wanted me

to issue the death warrant.

Untrue accusations from people: "Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts

great things. See how great a forrest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a

world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole

body, and sets on fire the course nature; and it is set on fire by hell." Wow! In one

day careless and untrue statements can destroy a life's reputation.

Joseph in Jail: In only two chapters we have seen that Joseph has experienced all

the categories. His brothers hated him and sold him into slavery; he was confined as

someone else's slave. He was falsely accused by his master's wife. He is back in the

pit. Instead of a dry well in Dothan, it is a dark dungeon in Pharoah's palace.

Where's God?

It's easy to see God's hand when everything is going good. But when something

unfair happens have you ever said (or heard someone else say) this is not fair! It

would have been so easy for Joseph to become bitter and say this is unfair! Where is

God? Well earlier we saw: "That the Lord was with Joseph" and "Whatever he did

the Lord made it to prosper.

How do we deal with Abuse?

Your relationship with God. Even when Joseph was placed in prison, he did not

abandon his relationship with the Lord. When you are in trouble that is not the time

to turn your back on God. Joseph did not argue with God or take it personally. He

also did not blame himself (maybe I did something to offend God, or maybe I don't

have enough faith). Instead he knew that it was God's sovereign right to allow

anything God wanted.

Two years in prison just so he could be used in the lives of two men? That man

would play an important role in Joseph becoming the chief steward in the court of

the most powerful man on the earth.

DISSILLUSIO�ME�T: CAUSE A�D CURE

Disillusionment comes from putting your complete hope and confidence in people.

Pedestal syndrome. It happens when we place people on a pedestal and allow them

to take the place of God in our lives.