NOTES for Gen 40:1-23
1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. |
2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. |
3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. |
4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward. |
5 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, which were bound in the prison. |
6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. |
7 And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day? |
8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you. |
9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; |
10 And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: |
11 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. |
12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: |
13 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. |
14 But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: |
15 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. |
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head: |
17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. |
18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: |
19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. |
20 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 of the chief baker among his servants. |
21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand: |
22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them. |
23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him. |
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The prison in which Joseph found himself was not an ordinary one. Judging by the fact that Potiphar sent Joseph there by his own authority and personal order, and by the fact that "the king's prisoners" (Gen. 39:20) were held there, that is, especially dangerous or highly placed prisoners, it was apparently under Potiphar's jurisdiction as the captain of Pharaoh's palace guard ("captain of the bodyguard," Gen. 39:1). It is no surprise that Joseph's fellow prisoners turned out to be very high-ranking people, such as the chief cupbearer and the chief baker (vv. 2-4). The story says nothing about their guilt. However, if we keep in mind that these offices were directly connected with the supply of wine and bread to Pharaoh's court, that is, in modern terms, that they involved material responsibility, certain conclusions about the nature of these high-ranking court officials' guilt are not hard to make.
It is no surprise that the dreams they saw disturbed them greatly, for they understood well that this was a sign from above, one that could prove literally vital for each of them (vv. 5-8). Both were undoubtedly glad to receive an interpretation from Joseph. Of course, in ordinary times neither of them would have turned to a slave steward; but now, in a critical situation, they were plainly ready for anything so that at least some certainty might come into their lives. And certainty did come: Joseph interprets both dreams, predicting a quick release for the cupbearer (vv. 9-13) and a quick execution for the baker (vv. 16-19). He asks the cupbearer, who is soon to be released, to put in a word for him; the cupbearer will soon have every opportunity to make such a request, and Joseph is in prison for nothing (vv. 14-15).
But when everything Joseph had promised came true, the cupbearer, once free, forgot Joseph's request (vv. 20-23). Sadly, this is no surprise either: in a critical situation, when the moment of truth comes for each person, relationships between people are seen quite differently than in ordinary times. In ordinary times, too much is determined by secondary things, by questions of prestige, status, social position, and much else that falls away in a boundary situation like husks.
In a critical situation, however, this is natural and happens on its own; it is far harder to preserve this newly opened, proper vision in ordinary life, when the crisis is behind us. The cupbearer, alas, did not manage to do this: considerations of status and career won out. After all, what benefit is there in reminding one's superiors about people sitting in prison, especially if one has just come out of there oneself and wants everyone around to forget that episode of one's biography as quickly as possible?
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