Genesis 40:1-23
Gen. 40:1-23
- Locate the passage
This passage tracks the events that took place while Joseph was in Pharaoh’s prison. Potiphar is now out of the picture and has nothing more to do with the story (though one might wonder what happened between them when Joseph was promoted to second in the country). In this passage, dreams are featured again in the Joseph narrative, but he is not the dreamer, but the dream-interpreter.
- Genre
The passage in narrative. It records the conversations between Joseph and Pharaoh’s officials (the cupbearer and the baker).
- Determine the structure of the passage
40:1-4 – Pharaoh was angry with his officials and imprisoned them
40:5-19 – Joseph interpreted the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker
40:5-8 – Both the cupbearer and the baker had dreams in the night
40:9-15 – Joseph interprets the cupbearer’s dream
40:16-19 – Joseph interprets the baker’s dream
40:20-22 – The interpretations of Joseph come true, but the cupbearer did not remember Joseph
- Exegete the passage
40:1-3 – The specific offences of the cupbearer and the baker are irrelevant to the story and unrecorded.
- “And it happened after these things”
- No amount of time is specified in this phrase.
- The significance of it is that no matter how long the interval was, Joseph was still faithful (40:4, 15)
- Potiphar is also described as an “official” (Hb. “saris”) of Pharaoh (Gen. 37:36; 39:1)
40:4 – Though the cupbearer and baker were put under Joseph’s care (and in the same prison as him), Joseph served them.
- The two officers were in prison with Joseph for some time (lit. “days”)
- The exact amount of time is left unspecified
40:5 – Both the cupbearer and baker had dreams on the same night with specific application to their future.
40:6-7 – Apparently, though they did not understand the dreams, they knew them to be significant
- The observant Joseph asked them why they appeared “sad.” This was the fear of Babylonian official in Dan. 1:10, when Daniel asked to be exempt from eating the king’s food.
- This word is also used of the raging storm in Jonah 1:15; the burning judgment of the Lord in Psalm 11:6; the rage of Asa in 2 Chron. 16:10, Uzziah in 2 Chron. 26:19, and Pekah as described by Oded the prophet in 2 Chron. 28:9.
- The use of this word suggests that this was more than just melancholy. It was a raging inside the cupbearer and baker that disturbed them. That explains why Joseph was able to “see” it.
- Joseph’s question further explains the reactions on the faces of the cupbearer and the baker. He asked them why their faces looked bad (lit. “evil”).
- This word is also used of the raging storm in Jonah 1:15; the burning judgment of the Lord in Psalm 11:6; the rage of Asa in 2 Chron. 16:10, Uzziah in 2 Chron. 26:19, and Pekah as described by Oded the prophet in 2 Chron. 28:9.
40:8 – Interpretations belong to God
- Joseph was unwilling to accept credit for what God had revealed to him.
- In announcing God as the revealer of dreams, he was juxtaposing YHWH against the pagan, false gods of the Egyptians
40:9-11 – The cupbearers dreams seems somewhat straight-forward
- A vine had branches which blossomed with ripened grapes
- The cupbearer saw himself squeezing the grapes into Pharaoh’s cup held in Pharaoh’s hand
40:12-13 – Joseph unpacks the significance of the cupbearer’s dream
- The reader is left to understand the God revealed the interpretation to Joseph
- The 3 branches are 3 days
- The 3 days correspond to Pharaoh’s birthday (40:20)
- After that time, the cupbearer will be restored to his previous position
- Pharaoh will “lift up his head”
- That phrase is also used of the baker’s dream in 40:19
- It likely refers to the adjudication of their cases by the Pharaoh after his anger had subsided
- Pharaoh will “lift up his head”
40:14-15 – When it goes well with you
- “Remember me”
- The phrase foreshadows the forgetfulness of the cupbearer
- Joseph merely asks the cupbearer to mention Joseph to Pharaoh (i.e. “plead his case”) to get him out of prison
- Joseph’s plea to be remembered is on two bases:
- He was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews
- Joseph leaves out the fact here that he was kidnapped by his brothers
- He Hb. is emphatic as in, “I was surely stolen”
- Even in prison, he had done nothing wrong
- His integrity was unaffected, even in prison
- From the land of the Hebrews
- Technically, at this point, the “Hebrews” (i.e. family of Jacob) own very little land. It may be that Joseph is simply referring to the land which they occupy.
40:16-17 – When the baker heard the positive interpretation given to the cupbearer, he also presented his dream to Joseph
- His dream, too, seems straight-forward
- A repeated emphasis of the number 3
- The basket was “on my head”
- He had goods to present to Pharaoh, but the birds kept taking them away
40:18-19 – The interpretation of the dream of the baker was not as pleasant to hear as that for the cupbearer
- The 3 baskets are 3 days
- Though, Pharaoh is not “present” in the baker’s dream as he was in the dream of the cupbearer
- The birds eating the bread symbolized them eating the flesh from his body
- Pharaoh would not eat the food prepared by the baker, thus, the birds were taking it away.
- The head is significant in the interpretation
- The head of the baker will be removed as the bread was removed from the basket on his head.
40:20-22 – Pharaoh’s birthday
- On his birthday, Pharaoh gave a feast for his servants
- No doubt, that occasion caused him to remember his two imprisoned officers
- Pharaoh carried out the interpretation exactly as Joseph had revealed from the dreams
40:23 – The cupbearer did not remember
- He did not intentionally leave Joseph in prison, he thoughtlessly forgot
- Let the structure of the text drive the sermon
- Our character, even in difficult times should be exemplary
- Joseph continued to be trustworthy (40:4, 15)
App. Trouble is no license for transgression
- Joseph continued to be trustworthy (40:4, 15)
- The gifts we have are from the Lord, so the demonstration of them is a sign if His favor, and not our skill (40:8)
- We can use our giftedness for His glory
- Joseph initiates the conversation with the cupbearer and the baker and offers to allow God to interpret their dreams.
App. How can we use the gifts God has given to us for His glory?
- Believers should guard against forgetting those who helped them along the way
- Be a grateful person
- Make sure and “remember” those who have helped you