Genesis 40
Young's Literal Translation
40 And 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;
2 and Pharaoh is wroth against his two eunuchs, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers,
3 and giveth them in charge in the house of the chief of the executioners, unto the round-house, the place where Joseph [is] a prisoner,
4 and the chief of the executioners chargeth Joseph with them, and he serveth them; and they are days in charge.
5 And 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.
6 And Joseph cometh in unto them in the morning, and seeth them, and lo, they [are] morose;
7 and 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?'
8 And 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.'
9 And the chief of the butlers recounteth his dream to Joseph, and saith to him, `In my dream, then lo, a vine [is] before me!
10 and in the vine [are] three branches, and it [is] as it were flourishing; gone up hath its blossom, its clusters have ripened grapes;
11 and 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.'
12 And Joseph saith to him, `This [is] its interpretation: the three branches are three days;
13 yet, 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.
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,
15 for 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.'
16 And 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,
17 and 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.'
18 And Joseph answereth and saith, `This [is] its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;
19 yet, 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.'
20 And 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,
21 and he putteth back the chief of the butlers to his butlership, and he giveth the cup into the hand of Pharaoh;
22 and the chief of the bakers he hath hanged, as Joseph hath interpreted to them;
23 and the chief of the butlers hath not remembered Joseph, but forgetteth him.
Genesis 40
New English Translation
The Cupbearer and the Baker
40 After these things happened, the cupbearer[a] to the king of Egypt and the royal baker[b] offended[c] their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was enraged with his two officials,[d] the cupbearer and the baker, 3 so he imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard in the same facility where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be their attendant, and he served them.[e]
They spent some time in custody.[f] 5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream[g] the same night.[h] Each man’s dream had its own meaning.[i] 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were looking depressed.[j] 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”[k] 8 They told him, “We both had dreams,[l] but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them[m] to me.”
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph:[n] “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me. 10 On the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, squeezed them into his[o] cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”[p]
12 “This is its meaning,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches represent[q] three days. 13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you[r] and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before[s] when you were cupbearer. 14 But remember me[t] when it goes well for you, and show[u] me kindness.[v] Make mention[w] of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison,[x] 15 for I really was kidnapped[y] from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable,[z] he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread[aa] on my head. 17 In the top basket there were baked goods of every kind for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket that was on my head.”
18 Joseph replied, “This is its meaning: The three baskets represent[ab] three days. 19 In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you[ac] and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up”[ad] the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his former position[ae] so that he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand, 22 but the chief baker he impaled, just as Joseph had predicted.[af] 23 But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph—he forgot him.[ag]
Footnotes
- Genesis 40:1 sn The Hebrew term cupbearer corresponds to the Egyptian wb’, an official (frequently a foreigner) who often became a confidant of the king and wielded political power (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD3 248). Nehemiah held this post in Persia.
- Genesis 40:1 sn The baker may be the Egyptian retehti, the head of the bakers, who had privileges in the royal court.
- Genesis 40:1 sn The Hebrew verb translated offended here is the same one translated “sin” in 39:9. Perhaps there is an intended contrast between these officials, who deserve to be imprisoned, and Joseph, who refused to sin against God, but was thrown into prison in spite of his innocence.
- Genesis 40:2 tn The Hebrew word סָרִיס (saris), used here of these two men and of Potiphar (see 39:1), normally means “eunuch.” But evidence from Akkadian texts shows that in early times the title was used of a court official in general. Only later did it become more specialized in its use.
- Genesis 40:4 sn He served them. This is the same Hebrew verb, meaning “to serve as a personal attendant,” that was translated “became [his] servant” in 39:4.
- Genesis 40:4 tn Heb “they were days in custody.”
- Genesis 40:5 tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”
- Genesis 40:5 tn Heb “a man his dream in one night.”
- Genesis 40:5 tn Heb “a man according to the interpretation of his dream.”
- Genesis 40:6 tn The verb זָעַף (zaʿaf) only occurs here and Dan 1:10. It means “to be sick, to be emaciated,” probably in this case because of depression.
- Genesis 40:7 tn Heb “why are your faces sad today?”
- Genesis 40:8 tn Heb “a dream we dreamed.”
- Genesis 40:8 tn The word “them” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 40:9 tn The Hebrew text adds “and he said to him.” This has not been translated because it is redundant in English.
- Genesis 40:11 tn Heb “the cup of Pharaoh.” The pronoun “his” has been used here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 40:11 sn The cupbearer’s dream is dominated by sets of three: three branches, three stages of growth, and three actions of the cupbearer.
- Genesis 40:12 tn Heb “the three branches [are].”
- Genesis 40:13 tn Heb “Pharaoh will lift up your head.” This Hebrew idiom usually refers to restoring dignity, office, or power. It is comparable to the modern saying “someone can hold his head up high.”
- Genesis 40:13 tn Heb “according to the former custom.”
- Genesis 40:14 tn Heb “but you have remembered me with you.” The perfect verbal form may be used rhetorically here to emphasize Joseph’s desire to be remembered. He speaks of the action as already being accomplished in order to make it clear that he expects it to be done. The form can be translated as volitional, expressing a plea or a request.
- Genesis 40:14 tn This perfect verbal form with the prefixed conjunction (and the two that immediately follow) carry the same force as the preceding perfect.
- Genesis 40:14 tn Heb “deal with me [in] kindness.”
- Genesis 40:14 tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar) in the Hiphil stem means “to cause to remember, to make mention, to boast.” The implication is that Joseph would be pleased for them to tell his story and give him the credit due him so that Pharaoh would release him. Since Pharaoh had never met Joseph, the simple translation of “cause him to remember me” would mean little.
- Genesis 40:14 tn Heb “house.” The word “prison” has been substituted in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 40:15 tn The verb גָּנַב (ganav) means “to steal,” but in the Piel/Pual stem “to steal away.” The idea of “kidnap” would be closer to the sense, meaning he was stolen and carried off. The preceding infinitive absolute underscores the point Joseph is making.
- Genesis 40:16 tn Heb “that [the] interpretation [was] good.” The words “the first dream” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 40:16 tn Or “three wicker baskets.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun חֹרִי (khori, “white bread, cake”) is uncertain; some have suggested the meaning “wicker” instead. Comparison with texts from Ebla suggests the meaning “pastries made with white flour” (M. Dahood, “Eblaite ḫa-rí and Genesis 40, 16 ḥōrî,” BN 13 [1980]: 14-16).
- Genesis 40:18 tn Heb “the three baskets [are].”
- Genesis 40:19 tn Heb “Pharaoh will lift up your head from upon you.” Joseph repeats the same expression from the first interpretation (see v. 13), but with the added words “from upon you,” which allow the statement to have a more literal and ominous meaning—the baker will be decapitated.
- Genesis 40:20 tn The translation puts the verb in quotation marks because it is used rhetorically here and has a double meaning. With respect to the cupbearer it means “reinstate” (see v. 13), but with respect to the baker it means “decapitate” (see v. 19).
- Genesis 40:21 tn Heb “his cupbearing.”
- Genesis 40:22 tn Heb “had interpreted for them.”sn The dreams were fulfilled exactly as Joseph had predicted, down to the very detail. Here was confirmation that Joseph could interpret dreams and that his own dreams were still valid. It would have been a tremendous encouragement to his faith, but it would also have been a great disappointment to spend two more years in jail.
- Genesis 40:23 tn The wayyiqtol verbal form here has a reiterative or emphasizing function.
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