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The Torah · Old Testament

Genesis 40

Two dreams are fulfilled, but Joseph is forgotten

General context

Pharaoh imprisons his chief cupbearer and chief baker after they offend him. Joseph is assigned to serve them. Both have dreams on the same night, and Joseph notices their sadness the next morning. He says interpretations belong to God and asks to hear their dreams. The cupbearer dreams of a vine with three branches and of giving Pharaoh his cup. Joseph interprets the three branches as three days until his restoration, then asks him to remember Joseph and speak to Pharaoh about his imprisonment. The baker describes three baskets on his head, with birds eating food from the uppermost one. Joseph interprets this dream as three days until Pharaoh has the baker hanged and birds eat his flesh. On Pharaoh's birthday, the third day, the cupbearer is restored and the baker is hanged, as Joseph interpreted. The cupbearer forgets Joseph.

Cited passages: Genesis 40:1, Genesis 40:2, Genesis 40:3, Genesis 40:4, Genesis 40:5, Genesis 40:6, Genesis 40:7, Genesis 40:8, Genesis 40:9, Genesis 40:10, Genesis 40:11, Genesis 40:12, Genesis 40:13, Genesis 40:14, Genesis 40:15, Genesis 40:16, Genesis 40:17, Genesis 40:18, Genesis 40:19, Genesis 40:20, Genesis 40:21, Genesis 40:22, Genesis 40:23

Genesis 40 (KJV)

1And 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.

2And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.

3And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.

4And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.

5And 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.

6And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.

7And 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?

8And 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.

9And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;

10And 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:

11And 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.

12And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:

13Yet 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.

14But 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:

15For 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.

16When 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:

17And 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.

18And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:

19Yet 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.

20And 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.

21And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:

22But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.

23Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The two prisoners are royal officers, identified by their work with Pharaoh's cup and baked food. The chapter says they offended the king without identifying the offenses. They are held where Joseph is confined, and the captain of the guard assigns Joseph to serve them. Both dreams come on one night; each contains a group of three that Joseph interprets as days. Joseph describes himself as stolen from the land of the Hebrews and as having done nothing to deserve the dungeon. The third day is specifically Pharaoh's birthday, when he holds a feast for his servants. The ruler's name and the length of Joseph's remaining imprisonment are not given here.

Cited passages: Genesis 40:1, Genesis 40:2, Genesis 40:3, Genesis 40:4, Genesis 40:5, Genesis 40:9, Genesis 40:10, Genesis 40:11, Genesis 40:12, Genesis 40:13, Genesis 40:14, Genesis 40:15, Genesis 40:16, Genesis 40:17, Genesis 40:18, Genesis 40:19, Genesis 40:20, Genesis 40:21, Genesis 40:22, Genesis 40:23

Literary context

The paired dreams have parallel forms but opposite outcomes. The cupbearer returns to serving Pharaoh; the baker faces death. The repeated language about lifting the head acquires a grim difference in the second interpretation in the cited King James text. Joseph asks for remembrance between the two interpretations, so the final report that he is forgotten leaves his own situation unresolved even though both dreams have been fulfilled. His ability to interpret the dreams does not itself bring him freedom.

Cited passages: Genesis 40:8, Genesis 40:9, Genesis 40:10, Genesis 40:11, Genesis 40:12, Genesis 40:13, Genesis 40:14, Genesis 40:15, Genesis 40:16, Genesis 40:17, Genesis 40:18, Genesis 40:19, Genesis 40:20, Genesis 40:21, Genesis 40:22, Genesis 40:23

Key moments

  1. Joseph attributes interpretation to God (Genesis 40:8). Joseph asks to hear the dreams after saying that interpretations belong to God.
  2. Joseph asks to be remembered (Genesis 40:14). He asks the cupbearer to speak to Pharaoh and help him leave confinement.
  3. The baker is hanged (Genesis 40:22). The baker dies as Joseph had interpreted.
  4. The cupbearer forgets Joseph (Genesis 40:23). The chapter closes with Joseph unremembered by the restored officer.

For reflection

How does the cupbearer's forgetting change the force of Joseph's earlier request to be remembered?

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