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Genesis Chapter
Forty
Genesis 40
Outlines
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
GENESIS 40
The history of this chapter
is
the imprisonment of two of Pharaoh's officers
his chief butler and chief
baker
who by the captain of the guard were made the charge of Joseph
Genesis 40:1; they
both dreamed in prison
which made them sad; Joseph taking notice of their
sadness
asked the reason of it
and encouraged them to tell him their dreams
Genesis 40:5; the
chief butler told his dream of the vine and three branches
which Joseph
interpreted of his restoration to his office within three days
and desired him
to remember him unto Pharaoh when he stood before him
telling him his case
Genesis 40:9; then
the chief baker told his dream of three white baskets of food on his head
which the birds ate
and this Joseph interpreted of his being hanged within
three days
Genesis 40:16; and
the events answered to the interpretation
but Joseph was forgot by the chief
butler
Genesis 40:20.
Genesis 40:1. 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.
YLT 1And it cometh to pass
after these things -- the butler of the king of Egypt and the baker have sinned
against their lord
against the king of Egypt;
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.
Genesis 40:2. 2 And
Pharaoh was angry with his two officers
the chief butler and the chief baker.
YLT 2and Pharaoh is wroth
against his two eunuchs
against the chief of the butlers
and against the
chief of the bakers
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.
Genesis 40:3. 3 So
he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard
in the prison
the place where Joseph was confined.
YLT 3and giveth them in charge
in the house of the chief of the executioners
unto the round-house
the place
where Joseph [is] a prisoner
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
Genesis 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.
Genesis 40:4. 4 And
the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them
and he served them; so they
were in custody for a while.
YLT 4and the chief of the
executioners chargeth Joseph with them
and he serveth them; and they are days
in charge.
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"F24ויפקד־את
יוסף א־תאם "et
commisit Josephum cum eis"
Junius & Tremellius. ; 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"F25ימים "per annum"
Pagninus
Vatablus
Schmidt. ;
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.
Genesis 40:5. 5 Then
the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt
who were confined in the
prison
had a dream
both of them
each man’s dream in one night and
each man’s dream with its own interpretation.
YLT 5And they dream a dream both
of them
each his dream in one night
each according to the interpretation of
his dream
the butler and the baker whom the king of Egypt hath
who [are]
prisoners in the round-house.
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.
Genesis 40:6. 6 And
Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them
and saw that they were
sad.
YLT 6And Joseph cometh in unto
them in the morning
and seeth them
and lo
they [are] morose;
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
Genesis 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.
Genesis 40:7. 7 So
he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his
lord’s house
saying
“Why do you look so sad today?”
YLT 7and he asketh Pharaoh's
eunuchs who [are] with him in charge in the house of his lord
saying
`Wherefore [are] your faces sad to-day?'
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.
Genesis 40:8. 8 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.”
YLT 8And they say unto him
`A
dream we have dreamed
and there is no interpreter of it;' and Joseph saith
unto them
`Are not interpretations with God? recount
I pray you
to me.'
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
Genesis 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"F26נא "nunc"
Drusius.
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.
Genesis 40:9. 9 Then
the chief butler told his dream to Joseph
and said to him
“Behold
in my
dream a vine was before me
YLT 9And the chief of the
butlers recounteth his dream to Joseph
and saith to him
`In my dream
then
lo
a vine [is] before me!
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
Genesis 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.
Genesis 40:10. 10 and
in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded
its
blossoms shot forth
and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes.
YLT 10and in the vine [are] three
branches
and it [is] as it were flourishing; gone up hath its blossom
its
clusters have ripened grapes;
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.
Genesis 40:11. 11 Then Pharaoh’s cup was
in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup
and
placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
YLT 11and Pharaoh's cup [is] in
my hand
and I take the grapes and press them into the cup of Pharaoh
and I
give the cup into the hand of Pharaoh.'
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
HerodotusF1Euterpe sive
l. 2. c. 37. 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.
Genesis 40:12. 12 And
Joseph said to him
“This is the interpretation of it: The three
branches are three days.
YLT 12And Joseph saith to him
`This [is] its interpretation: the three branches are three days;
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.
Genesis 40:13. 13 Now
within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place
and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner
when
you were his butler.
YLT 13yet
within three days doth
Pharaoh lift up thy head
and hath put thee back on thy station
and thou hast
given the cup of Pharaoh into his hand
according to the former custom when
thou wast his butler.
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
Exodus 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
Genesis 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
Genesis 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"
Genesis 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.
Genesis 40:14. 14 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.
YLT 14`Surely if thou hast
remembered me with thee
when it is well with thee
and hast done (I pray thee)
kindness with me
and hast made mention of me unto Pharaoh
then hast thou
brought me out from this house
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.
Genesis 40:15. 15 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.”
YLT 15for I was really stolen
from the land of the Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that they have
put me in the pit.'
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.
Genesis 40:16. 16 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.
YLT 16And the chief of the bakers
seeth that he hath interpreted good
and he saith unto Joseph
`I also [am] in
a dream
and lo
three baskets of white bread [are] on my head
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.
Genesis 40:17. 17 In
the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh
and the
birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”
YLT 17and in the uppermost basket
[are] of all [kinds] of Pharaoh's food
work of a baker; and the birds are
eating them out of the basket
from off my head.'
And in the
uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh
....
All sorts of pastry
as
tarts
pies
&c. JosephusF2Antiqu. l. 2. c. 5. sect. 3. 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.
Genesis 40:18. 18 So
Joseph answered and said
“This is the interpretation of it: The three
baskets are three days.
YLT 18And Joseph answereth and
saith
`This [is] its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;
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.
Genesis 40:19. 19 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.”
YLT 19yet
within three days doth
Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee
and hath hanged thee on a tree
and the
birds have eaten thy flesh from off thee.'
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 2 Samuel 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.
Genesis 40:20. 20 Now
it came to pass on the third day
which was Pharaoh’s 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.
YLT 20And it cometh to pass
on
the third day
Pharaoh's birthday
that he maketh a banquet to all his
servants
and lifteth up the head of the chief of the butlers
and the head of
the chief of the bakers among his servants
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 rejoicingF3Plin.
Ep. l. 1. ep. 61. Herodot. Calliope
sive
l. 9. c. 109.
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 PersiansF4Herodot. Clio
sive
l. 1. c. 133.
and as
Herod's was at his court in the days of Christ
Matthew 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 1 Kings 21:9.
Genesis 40:21. 21 Then he restored the chief
butler to his butlership again
and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.
YLT 21and he putteth back the
chief of the butlers to his butlership
and he giveth the cup into the hand of
Pharaoh;
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 Genesis 40:1.
Genesis 40:22. 22 But
he hanged the chief baker
as Joseph had interpreted to them.
YLT 22and the chief of the bakers
he hath hanged
as Joseph hath interpreted to them;
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.
Genesis 40:23. 23 Yet
the chief butler did not remember Joseph
but forgot him.
YLT 23and the chief of the
butlers hath not remembered Joseph
but forgetteth him.
Yet 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.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》