After these things, the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt.
Parallel Translations
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After these things, the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt.
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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.
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And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Genesis 40:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 40:13 Within three more days, Pharaoh will lift up your head, and restore you to your office. You will give Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, the way you did when you were his cup bearer.
- Nehemiah 1:11–2:2 Lord, I beg you, let your ear be attentive now to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants, who delight to fear your name; and please prosper your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cup bearer to the king. In the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, I picked up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad before in his presence. The king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
- Esther 6:1 On that night, the king couldn’t sleep. He commanded the book of records of the chronicles to be brought, and they were read to the king.
- Genesis 39:20-23 Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were bound, and he was there in custody. But Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. The keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever they did there, he was responsible for it. The keeper of the prison didn’t look after anything that was under his hand, because Yahweh was with him; and that which he did, Yahweh made it prosper.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 1. And it came to pass after these things.…
1. And it came to pass after these things. We have already seen, that when Joseph was in bonds, God cared for him. For whence arose the relaxation afforded him, but from the divine favor? Therefore, God, before he opened the door for his servant’s deliverance, entered into the very prison to sustain him with his strength. But a far more illustrious benefit follows; for he is not only liberated from prison, but exalted to the highest degree of honor. In the meantime, the providence of God led the holy man through wonderful and most intricate paths. The butler and baker of the king are cast into the prison; Joseph expounds to them their dreams. Restoration to his office having been promised to the butler, some light of hope beams upon the holy captive; for the butler agreed, after he should have returned to his post, to become the advocate for Joseph’s pardon. But, again, that hope was speedily cut off, when the butler failed to speak a word to the king on behalf of the miserable captive. Joseph, therefore, seemed to himself to be buried in perpetual oblivion, until the Lord again suddenly rekindles the light which had been smothered, and almost extinguished. Thus, when he might have delivered the holy man directly from prison, he chose to lead him around by circuitous paths, the better to prove his patience, and to manifest, by the mode of his deliverance, that he has wonderful methods of working, hidden from our view. He does this that we may learn not to measure, by our own sense, the salvation which he has promised us; but that we may suffer ourselves to be turned hither or thither by his hand, until he shall have performed his work. By the butler and the baker we are not to understand any common person of each rank, but those who presided over the rest; for, soon afterwards, they are called eunuchs or nobles. Ridiculous is the fiction of the trifler Gerundensis, who, according to his manner, asserts that they were made eunuchs for the sake of infamy, because Pharaoh had been enraged against them. They were, in short, two of the chief men of the court. Moses now more clearly declares that the prison was under the authority of Potiphar. Whence we learn what I have before said, that his anger had been mitigated, since without his consent, the jailer could not have acted with such clemency towards Joseph. Even Moses ascribes such a measure of humanity to Potiphar, that he committed the butler and baker to the charge of Joseph. Unless, perhaps, a new successor had been then appointed in Potiphar’s place; which, however, is easily refuted from the context, because a little afterwards Moses says that the master of Joseph was the captain of the guard, (Genesis 40:3.) When Moses says they were kept in prison a season, some understand by the word, a whole year; but in my judgment they are mistaken; it rather denotes a long but uncertain time, as appears from other places.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 40:1 And it came to pass after these…
Gen 40:1 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.
Ver. 1. Had offended their lord the king of Egypt.] What their offence was is not expressed. The Hebrews say, Pharaoh found a fly in his cup, and a little gravel in his bread, and therefore imprisoned these two great officers. But this had been to kill a fly, as one said, upon a man’s forehead with a great beetle. Some think they attempted the chastity of Pharaoh’s daughters. Such a thing as this made Augustus so angry against Ovid. But most likely it was for some conspiracy; such as was that of Bigthan and Teresh. {Est 2:21} The present government is, for most part, always grievous; {a} to some discontented great ones especially, who know not when they are well, but are ready to drive a good prince out of the world, and then would dig him up again, if they could; as the swain said of Dionysius. {b} But what said Alphonsus, that renowned king, to this, in a speech to the Pope’s ambassador? He professed that he did not so much wonder at his courtiers’ ingratitude to him, who had raised sundry of them from mean to great estates, as at his own to God, whom by every sin we seek to depose, nay, to murder: for, Peccaturn est Deicidium .{ Rom 1:30 1Jn 3:15}
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{a} Aει το παρον βαρυ. - Thucyd.
{b} Dionysium refodio.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain We should not have had this story of Pharaoh's…
We should not have had this story of Pharaoh's butler and baker recorded in scripture if it had not been serviceable to Joseph's preferment. The world stands for the sake of the church, and is governed for its good. Observe, 1. Two of the great officers of Pharaoh's court, having offended the king, are committed to prison. Note, High places are slippery places; nothing more uncertain than the favour of princes. Those that make God's favour their happiness, and his service their business, will find him a better Master than Pharaoh was, and not so extreme to mark what they do amiss. Many conjectures there are concerning the offence of these servants of Pharaoh; some make it no less than an attempt to take away his life, others no more than the casual lighting of a fly into his cup and a little sand into his bread. Whatever it was, Providence by this means brought them into the prison where Joseph was. 2. The captain of the guard himself, who was Potiphar, charged Joseph with them (Gen 40:4), which intimates that he began now to be reconciled to him, and perhaps to be convinced of his innocence, though he durst not release him for fear of disobliging his wife. John Baptist must lose his head, to please Herodias.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And it came to pass after these things,.... After…
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.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain In this chapter things are working towards Joseph's advancement.
In this chapter things are working towards Joseph's advancement.
I. Two of Pharaoh's servants are committed to prison, and there, to Joseph's care, and so became witnesses of his extraordinary conduct, ver. 1-4.
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II. They dreamed each of them a dream, which Joseph interpreted, ver. 5-19. and they verified the interpretation, ver. 20-22.
III. Joseph recommends his case to one of them whose preferment he foresaw, ver. 14, 15. but in vain, ver. 23.
We should not have had this story of Pharaoh's butler and baker recorded in scripture, if it had not been serviceable to Joseph's preferment. The world stands for the sake of the church, and is governed for its good. Observe,
1. Two of the great officers of Pharaoh's court having offended the king are committed to prison. Note, High places are slippery places; nothing more uncertain than the favour of princes. Those that make God's favour their happiness, and his service their business, will find him a better master than Pharaoh was, and not so extreme to mark what they do amiss. Many conjectures there are concerning the offense of these servants of Pharaoh; some make it no less than an attempt to take away his life; others no more but the casual lighting of a fly into his cup, and a little sand in his bread: whatever it was, Providence, by this means, brought them into the prison where Joseph was.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Pharaoh's chief butler and his chief baker, having offended
CHAPTER XL
Pharaoh's chief butler and his chief baker, having offended
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their lord, are put in prison, 1-3.
The captain of the guard gives them into the care of Joseph, 4.
Each of them has a dream, 5.
Joseph, seeing them sad, questions them on the subject, 6, 7.
Their answer, 8.
The chief butler tells his dream, 9-11.
Joseph interprets it, 12, 13.
Gives a slight sketch of his history to the chief butler, and
begs him to think upon him when restored to his office, 14, 15.
The chief baker tells his dream, 16,17.
Joseph interprets this also, 18,19.
Both dreams are fulfilled according to the interpretation, the
chief butler being restored to his office, and the chief baker
hanged, 20-22.
The chief butler makes no interest for Joseph, 23.
NOTES ON CHAP. XL
Verse 1. The butler] משקה mashkeh, the same as [Arabic] saky among the Arabians and Persians, and signifying a cup-bearer.
Baker] אפה opheh; rather cook, confectioner, or the like.
Had offended] They had probably been accused of attempting to take away the king's life, one by poisoning his drink, the other by poisoning his bread or confectionaries.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 40:1-3. We should not have had this story…
Gen 40:1-3. We should not have had this story of Pharaoh’s butler and baker recorded in Scripture, if it had not been serviceable to Joseph’s preferment. The world stands for the sake of the church, and is governed for its good. Where Joseph was bound — That is, was a prisoner, as the word אסור is used, Isa 22:3; or had been bound, Psa 105:18.
For being now made governor of the prisoners, he was doubtless made free from his bonds.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain - Joseph in Prison
- Joseph in Prison
An uncomplaining patience and an unhesitating hopefulness keep the breast of Joseph in calm tranquillity. There is a God above, and that God is with him. His soul swerves not from this feeling. Meanwhile, new and distinguished prisoners are introduced into his place of confinement.
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Gen 40:1-4
The chief butler and chief baker, high officials in Pharaoh’s court, come under the displeasure of their sovereign. “In the house of the captain of the guards.” It appears that this officer’s establishment contained the keep in which Joseph and these criminals were confined. “Charged Joseph with them.” As Joseph was his slave, and these were state prisoners, he appointed him to wait upon them. It is probable that Joseph’s character had been somewhat re-established with him during his residence in the prison.
Gen 40:5-8
These prisoners dream, “each according to the interpretation of his dream,” the imagery of which was suited to indicate his future state. They were sad - anxious to know the meaning of these impressive dreams. “Why are your forces bad today?” Joseph keeps up his character of frank composure. “Do not interpretations belong to God?” In his past history he had learned that dreams themselves come from God. And when he adds, “Tell them now to me,” he intimates that God would enable him to interpret their dreams. Here again he uses the general name of God, which was common to him with the pagan.
Gen 40:9-15
The chief butler now recites his dream. “Pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup.” The imagery of the dream is not intended to intimate that Pharaoh drank only the fresh juice of the grape. It only expresses by a natural figure the source of wine, and possibly the duty of the chief butler to understand and superintend the whole process of its formation. Egypt was not only a corn, but a vine country. The interpretation of this dream was very obvious and natural; yet not without a divine intimation could it be known that the “three branches were three days.” Joseph, in the quiet confidence that his interpretation would prove correct, begs the chief butler to remember him and endeavor to procure his release. “Stolen, stolen was I.” He assures him that he was not a criminal, and that his enslavement was an act of wrongful violence - a robbery by the strong hand. “From the land of the Hebrews;” a very remarkable expression, as it strongly favors the presumption that the Hebrews inhabited the country before Kenaan took possession of it. “I have not done aught.” Joseph pleads innocence, and claims liberation, not as an unmerited favor, but as a right. “The pit.” The pit without water seems to have been the primitive place of confinement for culprits.
Gen 40:16-19
The chief baker is encouraged by this interpretation to tell his dream. “I also.” He anticipates a favorable answer, from the remarkable likeness of the dreams. “On my head.” It appears from the monuments of Egypt that it was the custom for men to carry articles on their heads. “All manner of baked meats” were also characteristic of a corn country. “Lift up thy head from upon thee.” This part of the interpretation proves its divine origin. And hang thee - thy body, after being beheaded. This was a constant warning to all beholders.
Gen 40:20-23
The interpretations prove correct. “The birthday of Pharaoh.” It is natural and proper for men to celebrate with thanksgiving the day of their birth, as life is a pure and positive blessing. The benign Creator gives only a happy and precious form of existence to those whom he endows with the capacity of estimating its value. A birthday feast cannot be without a chief butler and a chief baker, and hence, the fate of these criminals must be promptly decided. “Lifted up the head;” a phrase of double meaning. The chief butler remembers not Joseph. This is a case of frequent occurrence in this nether world. But there is One above who does not forget him. He will deliver him at the proper time.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Two eunuchs; chief officers, and high in dignity, as…
Two eunuchs; chief officers, and high in dignity, as the Hebrew expresses it, ver. 2. (Haydock) --- Offended, perhaps, by stealing, or by some treasonable conspiracy. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain Joseph as interpreter of the dreams of his fellow-prisoners.
FOURTH SECTION
Joseph as interpreter of the dreams of his fellow-prisoners.
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Gen_40:1-23
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, 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 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 pressed1 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 hanged2 the chief baker; as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
The contents of this chapter may be denoted, the silent preparation for the great turning in Joseph’s destiny. In itself considered, however, our narrative shows us how the religious capacity of suffering for the Lord’s sake develops itself, like a germ, in the people of God. Joseph’s spiritual life shines resplendent in his prison. There may be distinguished the following sections: 1. The imprisonment of the two court-officers, and Joseph’s charge over them (Gen_40:1-4); 2. their dejectedness, and Joseph’s sympathy (Gen_40:5-8); 3. the dream of the chief butler, and its interpretation (Gen_40:9-15); 4. the dream of the chief baker, and its interpretation (Gen_40:16-19); 5. the fulfilment of both dreams.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Gen_40:1-4. The imprisonment of the two court-officers, and Joseph’s charge over them.—The chief of the butlers and the chief of the bakers.—According to Gen_40:2 they are the chiefs in their respective departments of service. The oriental kings, as those of the Persians (Xenoph., Hellenica, viii. i. 38), had a multitude of butlers, bakers, and cooks. The office of chief butler was very honorable with the kings of Persia (Herod., iii. 34; Xenoph., Cyroped. i. 3, 8). It was once filled by Nehemiah (Neh_1:11; Neh_2:1).—In the house of the captain of the guard—i. e., in the house of Potiphar. The house of the captain of the guard was connected with the state-prison, and denotes here the prison itself.—Charged Joseph with them.—Here Potiphar again mingles himself with Joseph’s fortune (and that by way of mitigating it) in the recognition of his talents. By this distinguished charge, he shows favor, at the same time, to Joseph and to his fallen colleagues.
2. Gen_40:5-8. Their dejectedness and Joseph’s sympathy.—According to the interpretation.—Both had dreamed—each one a different dream—each one a significant dream, according to the anticipated occurrence upon which it was founded, and also according to its interpretation. Joseph’s conversation with the sad and dejected prisoners, proves his sagacity as well as his kindly sympathy. It shows, too, how misfortune equalizes rank, and makes the great dependent on the sympathy of those who are lower in position.—And there is no interpreter of it.—An expression showing that the interpretation of dreams was much in vogue, and that it was one of the wants of persons of rank to have their dreams interpreted.—Do not interpretations belong to God?—He admits that there are significant dreams, and that God could bestow on men the gift of interpretation when they are referred back to him. He rejects, indirectly, the heathen art of interpreting dreams, whilst, at the same time, giving them to understand that it was, perhaps, imparted to himself. First, however, he is to hear their dreams. Knobel is inexact when he speaks in general terms of “the ancient view concerning dreams.” Doubtless the field of revelation admits dreams as sent by God, but these coincide with dreams in general just as little as the prophetic mode of interpreting them coincided with that of the heathen, though, according to Egyptian views, all prophetic art comes from the gods (Herod, ii. 83), Knobel.
3. Gen_40:9-15. The dream of the chief butler and its interpretation.—In my dream, behold a vine.—A lively description of a lively dream. The first picture is the vine, and the rapid development of its branches to the maturity of the grapes. On the vine in Egypt, see Knobel, p. 307. In the second picture, the chief butler beholds himself in the service of Pharaoh, preparing and presenting to him the juice of the grapes. “The vine was referred to Osiris, and was already well known in Egypt. See Psa_78:47; Psa_105:33; Num_20:5. The statement, Herod., ii. 77, is, therefore, to be taken with limitations. Nor is it true that in the time of Psammeticus fresh must only was drank, while fermented wine was prohibited. Knobel has shown that Plutarch, De Iside, vi. 6, says just the contrary. The people drank wine unrestrained; the kings, because they were priests, only so much as was allowed by the sacred books; but from the time of Psammeticus even this restriction was abolished. The old monuments show great variety of wine-utensils, wine-presses at work, topers tired of drinking, even intoxicated women.” Delitzsch. “Wine had been prohibited before the time of Mohammed (Sharastani, ii. p. 346). The grapes he allowed (Koran, xvi. 11, 69). They evaded his prohibition by pressing the grapes and drinking the juice of the berries (Schultz, Leitungen, v. p. 286). Such juice of grapes the Egyptian king drank also in Joseph’s time. He was a ruler of the Hyksos (?), who were an Arabian tribe.” Knobel. The same: The dream-interpreter Artemidorus classes the vine with plants that grow rapidly, and regards dreams concerning it as having a quick fulfilment. Joseph’s interpretation.—Three branches, three days.—Since Pharaoh’s birth-day was at hand, and was known, perhaps, as a day of pardon, this presentiment may, to some degree, have been affected by it.—Lift up thine head.—To replace, again, in prosperity and honor, especially to bring out of prison (2Ki_25:27).—And show kindness, I pray thee, unto me.—Joseph is so sure of his interpretation that he employs the opportunity to plead for his own right and liberty.—I was stolen.—An expression of innocence. They took him away from his father, but how it was done, his feelings do not allow him to relate; enough that he came to Egypt neither as a criminal, nor as a slave, rightly sold. With the same caution he speaks about his imprisonment without exposing the house of Potiphar.
4. Gen_40:16-19. The dream of the chief of the bakers, and its interpretation. The striking resemblance of his dream to the one previously interpreted, caused the baker to overlook its ominous difference; he, therefore, hopes also for a favorable interpretation. The interpreter, however, shows his discernment in recognizing the birds that did not eat the bakemeats out of the basket upon his head, as the main point. He differs also from the heathen interpreters in announcing the unfavorable meaning plainly and distinctly. Knobel: “In Egypt men were accustomed to carry on their heads, women upon their shoulders. In modern Egypt women bear burdens upon their heads.” “Even at this day in Egypt kites and hawks seize upon articles of food carried upon the head.” The criminal to be put to death was fastened to a stake, to increase thereby the severity of the punishment (Deu_21:22; Jos_10:26; 2Sa_4:12). This custom was also prevalent among other nations, especially the Persians and Carthaginians.
5. Gen_40:20-23. The fulfilment of both these dreams. The kings of antiquity were accustomed to celebrate their birth-days. “According to Herodotus, this was the only day on which the kings of the Persians anointed themselves, and gave presents to their subjects. In like manner the Hebrew kings, on joyous occasions, exercised mercy (1Sa_11:13).” Knobel. Joseph is forgotten by the butler, apparently for ever; God, however, has provided for his exaltation, not only through the destiny denoted in the dreams, but also by the clearing up of the truthfulness of the interpreter.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The manner in which the divine providence quietly and secretly makes the most insignificant things, apparently, the occasion and the cause of wonderful changes, appears very visible, in our narrative. It would appear simply fortuitous that Pharaoh should have thrown into prison his two officers on account, perhaps, of some very trifling offence; still more accidental would it appear that Joseph should have had charge of them, and that both should have had alarming dreams, and finally, how extraordinarily fortuitous that Joseph, on entering, should have observed their depression in their countenances! But all this apparent chance was made a prerequisite, in the course of God’s providence, for Joseph’s exaltation, and Israel’s redemption. “The Lord finds a thousand ways where reason sees not even one.”
2. The occurrences of the heathen world, the affairs of courts, their crimes, cabals, intrigues, are all under the divine control. A country in which the wisdom of the world seems to have emancipated itself from all regard to the government of a divine providence, is just the one whose administration shows the most failure, and most frequently experiences an ironical disappointment of its plans.
3. Prisons, too, with their dark chambers, dungeons, sorrows, secrets, are under the control of God. At all times have they enclosed not only criminals, but the innocent,—oftentimes the best and most pious of men. Christ says: I was in prison, and ye came unto me; and he speaks thus, not of faithful martyrs only; even among the guilty there is a spark of Christ’s kinsmanship,—i. e., belonging to him.
4. How mightily misfortune takes away the distinction of rank. Joseph has not only the heart’s gift of sympathy for the unhappy, but also that open-hearted self-consciousness that fits him to associate with the great. Even when a child did he run before his mother in meeting Esau.
5. The night-life with its wakefulness, as with its dreams, enters into the web of the divine providence (see Book of Esther, Daniel, Matthew 2; Mat_27:19; Act_16:9; Psa_132:4). Dreams are generally so unmeaning that they should never cause men to err in obedience to the faith, in duty, or in the exercise of a judicious understanding. Their most general significance, however, consists in their being a reflection of the feelings, remembrances, and anticipations of the day life, as also in the fact, that all perceptions of the body give themselves back in the mirror of the nightly consciousness, as imaged speech or picture. The spirit of God may, therefore, employ dreams as a medium of revelation. He can send dreams and bestow the gift of interpretation. But, in themselves, the most significant dreams of revelation never form ethical decisions, though they may be signs and monitors of the same. Their higher significance, however, is sealed by their great and world-historic consequences for the kingdom of God.
6. Joseph very definitely distinguished between his own and the heathen mode of interpreting dreams; and this he owes to his Israelitish consciousness as opposed to the heathen. The divine certainty of his interpretation is seen in the fact, that, notwithstanding the greatest similarity in both dreams, he immediately recognizes the point of dissimilarity, and dares to make the fearful announcement in the assurance that the issue of the affair would be in correspondence. The apparent severity of such frankness could not make him falter in the feeling of what was due to truth. To narrate how he may have sought to mitigate it, by expressions of sympathy, lay not within the scope of this narration.
7. The joyous feasts of the great are sources both of life and death.
8. A man in prosperity soon forgets the companions of his former misery, just as the chief butler forgot Joseph. God’s memory never fails, and it is, at the same time, the chief quickener of the memories of men. God keeps his own time. The ray of hope that shone for the prisoner at the release of the chief butler went out again for two years. When all hope seemed to have vanished, then divine help comes in wonderfully.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
See Doct. and Eth. Joseph’s disciplinary trials. His preparation for his great calling of saviour and ruler: a. by sufferings; b. by works of his vocation!—Traces of God in the prison: 1. Divine light; 2. holy love; 3. divine monitions; 4. hope of deliverance.—God’s government in its great issues: 1. Of the smallest things; 2. of the proudest events; 3. of the most fallible judgments of men; 4. of the darkest prisons; 5. of the nightly life; 6. of hopes and fears in human need.
First Section. Gen_40:1-4. Starke: Gen_40:1. In what the offence consisted is not announced. The Rabbins, who pretend to know all things about which the Scriptures are silent, say that the butler had permitted a fly to drop into the king’s cup, and that a grain of sand was found in the bread of the baker. The conjecture of Rabbi Jonathan has more probability; he thinks that both had conspired to poison the king. Joseph was thirteen years in a state of humiliation, and the last three (?) in a prison. Schröder: Information concerning the Egyptian wine culture and representations of it upon the monuments (according to Champollion and others, p. 576),—also concerning the modes of baking, which was quite an advanced art among the Egyptians. The Egyptians had for their banquets many different kinds of pastry.—The offices of chief butler and chief baker were in high honor, and sometimes that of field-marshal was connected with them.—In the East the prisons are not public buildings erected for this sole purpose, but a part of the house in which the prison officer resided.
Second Section. Gen_40:5-8. Starke: Cramer: There are different kinds of dreams: divine dreams (Gen_28:12; Gen_41:17; Dan_2:28); diabolical dreams (Deu_13:2; Jer_23:16; Jer_27:9); natural dreams (Ecc_5:2). We must, therefore, distinguish between dreams, and not regard them all alike (Sir_34:7). The godless and the pious may get into the same troubles, and have similar sufferings; yet they cannot look upon them with the like dispositions and emotions. Schröder: They may have been dreams suggested by their official position. Both of them may have gone to sleep with the number three upon their minds because of the thought that Pharaoh was to celebrate his birth-day within three days. No wonder that their imagination overflowed from the abundance of their hearts; and who can tell how much their consciences were concerned in these dreams. The culture and the character of the Egyptians Was every way mystical, or rather symbolical; the less they are able to account for an occurrence the more divine it seemed. Night they considered as source of all things, and as a being to which they paid divine honors. The whole ancient history of this wonderful people has a nocturnal aspect about it. One might call it the land of dreams, of presentiments, enigmas. Joseph’s destiny in respect to this country begins in dreams, and is completed by them (Krummacher). It is not every one that can read the writing of the human countenance; this power is given to love only (Baumgarten). He preached in prison as Christ did (Richter).
Third Section. Gen_40:9-15. Starke: Gen_40:14. The Jews charge that Joseph in this request demanded pay for his interpretation, and allege that, on this account, he had to remain in prison two years longer. There is, however, no ground for such an imputation; but though he had the assurance of the divine presence, and that God would deliver him from the prison, he had, nevertheless, a natural longing for liberty. Besides, he did not ask anything unfair of the butler (1Co_7:21).—Cramer: Ordinary means are from God, and he who despises them tempts God.—The same: We may assert our innocency, and seek deliverance, yet still we must not, on that account, speak ill of those who have injured us ( Mat_5:44).
Schröder: The dream of the chief butler, no doubt, leans upon the business of his life and office, but, on the other hand, it also has the imaginative impression of “the poet concealed within every man,” as Schubert calls it.—Calwer Handbuch: Gen_40:15. A mild judgment upon the act of his brethren, whom he would not unnecessarily reproach.
Fourth Section. Gen_40:16-19. Starke: Bibl. Wirt.: Whenever the word of God is to be expounded, it should be done in the way the Holy Spirit presents it, and according to the word itself, no matter whether the hearers are disturbed, alarmed, or comforted.—Schröder: (Calvin:) Many desire the word of God because they promise themselves simply enjoyment in the hearing of it.—Calwer Handbuch: In Hebrew, “to lift up the head,” is a play upon words. It means to restore to honor and dignity, or to hang upon the gallows, or decapitation (taking off the head), or crucifixion (lifting up upon the cross).
Fifth Section. Gen_40:20-23. Starke: Bibl. Wirt: Godless men in adversity, when they receive help from the pious, make the fairest of promises, but when prosperity returns they forget them all. Be not, therefore, too confiding. High station changes the manners, and usually makes men arrogant.—Lange: How easily is a favor forgotten, and how seductive the courtier life!—Schröder: These are times when men, through the prestige of birth, or by money, or human favor, may reach the summit of honor and wealth, without any previous schooling of adversity; still such men are not truly great, whatever may be the greatness of their title and their revenues. They are not the instruments that God employs in the accomplishment of his great purposes. Thus to Joseph, who was to become Lord of Egypt, the house and prison of Potiphar, in both of which he bore rule on a lesser scale, were to be his preparatory school. The wisdom he was to exercise in greater things begins here to show itself in miniature. Such a heart-purifying discipline is needed by all who would see God, and who would be clothed with authority for the world’s benefit. Without this there is no truly righteous administration. It never comes from passsionate overhastiness, sensual sloth, needless fear, selfish purposes, or unreasoning obstinacy. On the contrary, Joseph was purified, in prison, by the word of God; so was Moses in Midian, David in exile, Daniel in Babylon. Thus became they fit instruments in the hand of God (Roos). Therefore is it that the pious Joseph was crucified, dead, and buried, and descended into hell. Now comes the Lord to deliver him, honor him, make him great (Luther).—Heim (Bible Studies): It was Joseph’s single ray of hope in the prison—that which lighted him to freedom—that he could commend himself to the intercession of the chief butler. When this went out, according to every probable view, there seemed nothing else for him than to pine away his whole life in prison; and yet the fulfilment of the dreams of the court officers might have strengthened him in the hope of the fulfilment of his own dreams in his native home.
Footnotes:
[1][Gen_40:11.—וָאֶשְׂחַט. I pressed. The word occurs only here, yet its meaning is sufficiently obvious from the context, and from the cognate Chaldaic סהט. It is onomatopic, representing the emission of the juice. It is allied to שחת with its sense of waste and destruction. LXX., ἐξέθλιψα; Vulg., expressi.—T. L.]
[2][Gen_40:22.—תָּלָה. It does not here denote suspension from, like hanging from a gallows. The preposition עַל is opposed to that, and shows that it denotes crucifixion.—T. L.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 1. After these things — After Joseph had been…
1. After these things — After Joseph had been imprisoned, and had found favour with the keeper.
The butler — Or, cup-bearer. He was the officer who had charge of the king’s wines; and so important was this office that the chief or prince of the butlers (Gen_40:2) found it necessary to employ the services of many others in this business. How the butler and baker offended we are not told; the Targum of Jonathan says “they had taken counsel to throw the poison of death into his food and into his drink, to kill their master.” These officers would be especially subject to such suspicions.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 1–8. The two Officers in Prison
1–8. The two Officers in Prison
1. after these things] A vague definition of time: see Gen_15:1, Gen_22:1, Gen_39:7.
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the butler] In Gen_40:2; Gen_40:20 he is called “the chief butler.” The word is rendered in Neh_1:11, “cupbearer,” an officer who looked after the king’s cellar.
his baker] In Gen_40:2; Gen_40:22 he is called “the chief baker,” an officer who looked after the king’s bakehouse. These officials filled high positions at the Egyptian court. Cf. Gen_37:36.
offended] Lit. “sinned”; so LXX ἥμαρτον, Lat. peccarent.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) Butler.—Heb., one who gives to drink, cupbearer. As…
XL.
JOSEPH INTERPRETS THE DREAMS OF THE CHIEF BUTLER AND BAKER.
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(1) Butler.—Heb., one who gives to drink, cupbearer. As we learn in Gen_40:11 that it was grapewine which he gave the king to drink, this chapter has been the main dependence of the new critics for their proof that the Book of Genesis was not written by Moses. For Herod. (i. 77) says, “The Egyptians make use of wine prepared from barley, because there are no vineyards in their country.” As Herodotus was thirteen centuries later than the time of Joseph, they argue not only that the vine could not have been introduced into Egypt at so early a date, but that the records of Joseph’s life could not have been put together by anyone acquainted with Egypt, in spite of their exact knowledge in all other respects of Egyptian customs. But when we turn to Herodotus himself, we find the most complete refutation of the previous statement. For, in Book ii. 37, speaking of the liberal treatment of the priests, he says, that they had an allowance of “grape-wine.” Again, in Genesis 39, he tells us that it was the custom to pour wine on a victim about to be sacrificed. To one used to the extensive vineyards of Greece and Asia Minor, the comparative scarcity of the vine, and the use of another ordinary drink in its place, would be striking; but that he was guilty of gross exaggeration in his statement is proved by evidence far more trustworthy than his own writings. For, on the tombs at Beni-hassan, which are anterior to the time of Joseph, on those at Thebes, and on the Pyramids, are representations of vines grown in every way, except that usual in Italy, festooned on trees; there is every process of the vintage, grapes in baskets, men trampling them in vats, various forms of presses for squeezing out the juice, jars for storing it, and various processes, even of the fermentation, noticed. Numerous engravings of the sculptures and paintings on these ancient monuments may be seen in Wilkinson’s Egypt; and most abundant evidence of the culture of the vine in ancient Egypt has been collected, and an account of the vines grown there given in Malan’s Philosophy or Truth, pp. 31-39. It neither is nor ever was a great wine-producing country, but the vine existed from one end of the country to the other, as it does at this day.
Baker.—Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, ii. 38, 39, gives proof from the monuments, that they had carried the art of making confectionery to very great perfection.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain Genesis 37 - 50
Genesis 37 - 50
On which we shall dwell more particularly. There is not in scripture a more perfect and beautiful type of Christ than Joseph. Whether we view Christ as the object of the Father’s love, the object of the envy of His own, - in His humiliation, sufferings, death exaltation, and glory, in all we have Him strikingly typified by Joseph.
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In Gen. 37 we have Joseph’s dreams, the statement of which draws out the enmity of his brethren. He was the object of his father’s love, and the subject of very high destinies, and inasmuch as the hearts of his brothers were not in communion with these things, they hated him. They had no fellowship in the father’s love. They would not yield to the thought of Joseph’s exaltation. In all this they represent the Jews in Christ’s day. He came to His own and his own received him not." He had "no form nor comeliness in their eyes." They would neither own Him as the Son of God, nor king of Israel. Their eyes were not open to behold "his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of "grace and truth." They would not have Him; yea, they hated Him.
Now, in Joseph’s case, we see that he, in no wise, relaxed his testimony in consequence of his brethren’s refusal of his first dream. "And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren;" and they hated him yet the more....And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren." This was simple testimony founded upon divine revelation; but it was testimony which brought Joseph down to the pit. Had he kept back his testimony, or taken off ought of its edge and power, he might have spared himself; but no; he told them the truth, and therefore they hated him.
Thus was it with Joseph’s great Antitype. He bore witness to the truth - He witnessed a good confession He kept back nothing - He could only speak the truth because He was the truth, and His testimony to the truth was answered, on man’s part, by the cross, the vinegar, the soldier’s spear. The testimony of Christ, too, was connected with the deepest, fullest, richest grace. He not only came as "the truth," but also as the perfect expression of all the love of the Father’s heart:" grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." He was the full disclosure to man of what God was. Hence man was left entirely without excuse. He came and showed God to man, and man hated God with a perfect hatred. The fullest exhibition of divine love was answered by the fullest exhibition of human hatred. This is seen in the cross; and we have it touchingly foreshadowed at the pit into which Joseph was cast by his brethren.
"And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh; come now, therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit; and we will say, some evil beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams." These words forcibly remind us of the parable in Matthew 22. "But, last of all, he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir, come let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him." God sent His Son into the world with this thought, "They will reverence my son;" but, alas! man’s heart had no reverence for the "well beloved" of the Father. They cast him out. Earth and heaven were at issue in reference to Christ; and they are at issue still. Man crucified Him; but God raised Him from the dead. Man placed Him on a cross between two thieves; God set Him at His own right hand in the heavens. Man gave Him the very lowest place on earth; God gave Him the very highest place in heaven, in brightest majesty.
ALL this is shown out in Joseph’s history. "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob, (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel;) even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breast and of the womb; the blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren." (Gen. 49: 22-26)
These verses beautifully exhibit to our view "the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." "The archers" have done their work; but God was stronger than they. The true Joseph has been shot at and grievously wounded in the house of his friends; but "the arms of his hands have been made strong" in the power of resurrection, and faith now knows Him as the basis of all God’s purposes of blessing and glory in reference to the Church, Israel, and the whole creation. When we look at Joseph in the pit, and in the prison, and look; at him afterwards as ruler over all the land of Egypt, we see the difference between the thoughts of God and the. thoughts of men; and so when we look at the cross, and at "the throne of the majesty in the heavens," we see the same thing.
Nothing ever brought out the real state of man’s heart toward God but the coming of Christ. "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin." (John 15: 22) It is not that they would not have been sinners. No; but "they had not had sin." So He says, in another place, "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin." (John 9: 41) God came near to man in the Person of His Son, and man was able to say, "this is the heir;" but yet he said, "come, let us kill him." Hence, "they have no cloak for their sin." Those who say they see, have no excuse. confessed blindness is not at all the difficulty, but professed sight. This is a truly solemn principle for a professing age like the present. The permanence of sin is connected with the mere profession to see. A man who is blind, and knows it, can have his eyes opened; but what can be done for one who thinks he sees, when he really does not?
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And it came to pass (literally, and it was)…
And it came to pass (literally, and it was) after these things (literally, words, i.e. after the transactions just re. corded), that the butler hqvm the hiph. part. of hq; v; to drink, signifies one who causes to drink, hence cupbearer (cf. ver. 11)of the king of Egypt and his baker the hpao (part. of hpa to cook or bake) was the officer who prepared the king"s food. The monuments show that the Egyptians had carried the arts of the confectioner and cook to a high degree of perfection (vide Hengstenberg, "Egypt and the Books of Moses," p. 27; Wilkinson, "Ancient Egyptians," 2:33-39, ed. 1878)had offended (or sinned against) their lord (literally, against, the preposition being repeated) the king of Egypt whom they had attempted to poison (the Targum of Jonathan), though this of course is only a conjecture in the absence of specific information.
Vers. 1-23.
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Joseph in the round house at Heliopolis.
I THE PRISONERS AND THEIR ATTENDANT.
1. The prisoners.
(1) Their rank. They were high officers of state the chief of the butlers and the chief of the bakers, i.e. the principal cupbearer and Court purveyor.
(2) Their offense. They had sinned against their lord the king of Egypt; in what way it is of no importance to inquire, since "we would have heard nothing about them had their story not been connected with that of Joseph" (Lawson), though the Rabbis allege that they had been detected in an attempt at poisoning their master.
(3) Their punishment. "The king"s wrath is as the roaring of a lion," and "as messengers of death"; (Pro_19:12 Pro_16:14) and the two offenders were immediately arrested and thrown into prison, committed to the keeping of the captain of the round house, where Joseph was bound.
(4) Their privilege. Their punishment was tempered with clemency. In consideration of their official rank, the governor of the tower appointed Joseph to wait upon them and act as their servant.
2. Their attendant. In this new capacity Joseph behaved himself wisely and with discretion. With regard to his illustrious companions in misfortune, he
(1) Served them faithfully. "Joseph had been unjustly enslaved, unjustly imprisoned, unjustly detained in his prison, and yet he declined not the work enjoined by his master" (Lawson). Joseph appears to have always acted on the principle commended by the royal preacher, (Ecc_9:10) and on that recommended by Christ. (Luk_14:11) "Joseph was a better man than the men whom he served. He was sprung from noble ancestors, and knew that he would one day be exalted above them; but at this time he cheerfully performed to them every service in his power" (Lawson).
(2) Sympathized with them sincerely. Though bearing his own misfortunes with unmurmuring resignation and manly fortitude, because sustained by God"s grace and the possession of truly religious principles, the amiability of Joseph"s nature led him to commiserate his fellow-prisoners who had no such inward supports and consolations as were enjoyed by him. In particular on one occasion mentioned in the text he was so struck with their dejected countenances that he feelingly inquired the cause of their sadness.
(3) Directed them wisely. Learning that they were troubled on account of dreams which they had dreamt overnight, and of which they could not find the explanation, he piously exhorted them to look to God for the desired interpretations.
II THE DREAMS AND THEIR INTERPRETATIONS.
1. The dreams
(1) Agreed in the time when they occurred, happening on the same night; in the impressions they produced, filling the hearts of both dreamers with forebodings; in the person by whom they were explained, Joseph giving equally the key to both; and in the interval required for their fulfillment, only three days being allowed for the accomplishment of each.
(2) Differed in the imagery of which they were composed that of the butler consisting of a tableaux in which himself and his royal master appeared beneath the shadow of a blooming vine, Pharaoh sitting on his throne, and himself pressing fine ripe clusters into Pharaoh"s cup and setting it on Pharaoh"s hand; and that of the baker representing himself also engaged in the performance of his official duties, bearing into Pharaoh"s presence three wicker baskets of pastries and confections, out of the uppermost of which the birds came to eat; in the character of the events which they foreshadowed the butler"s dream prognosticating speedy restoration to his butlership, and the baker"s dream most ominously pointing to early execution.
2. Their interpretations. These were
(1) Revealed by God. Joseph did not claim to be able of himself to interpret the significance of either of the dreams, but explicitly affirmed that to do so was exclusively the prerogative of Elohim.
(2) Declared by Joseph. Thus Joseph was authenticated as a prophet of the Lord in that heathen land.
(3) Fulfilled by Pharaoh. Pharaoh was no doubt unconscious that he was accomplishing a Divine prediction. So God is able to accord to men the completest liberty of action, and yet realize his own sovereign purpose. Exactly as Joseph had interpreted, both as to time and as to results, the dreams came true.
III THE INTERPRETER AND HIS REWARD.
1. The interpreters request. Joseph desired in return for his services to the butler that a word should be spoken for him to the king by that officer when restored to his occupation, in the hope that it might lead to his release from confinement. For this conduct Joseph has been blamed by some censorious critics; but
(1) his request was natural. Though required to endure the crosses laid on him by Divine providence with meekness and resignation, he was under no obligation to stay a moment longer in prison than he could justly help, but was rather bound to use all legitimate means to insure his deliverance. Then,
(2) his request was moderate. He did not ask much at the butler"s hand in return for his own great service, only that his name should be mentioned to Pharaoh. Joseph was not exacting in his demands. Again,
(3) his request was touching. As he tells the butler, in the hope of moving him to pity, he was a stranger in a strange land, who had been forcibly abducted, though he does not say by whom. What a token of the kindly charity and truly forgiving spirit cherished by Joseph towards his brethren! And finally,
(4) his request was just. He had done nothing to deserve imprisonment in that or any other dungeon.
2. The interpreter"s reward. "Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him." This must have been
(1) a painful experience to Joseph, probably as cruel and unkind a blow as any he had yet received; as certainly it was
(2) a monstrous iniquity on the part of the butler, indicating a callous, ungrateful, and truly base disposition, though unfortunately it is
(3) a frequent occurrence in human life. Learn
1. That God"s saints are sometimes thrown by Divine providence into companionship with the worst of men.
2. That the excellent of the earth are often found filling the very humblest situations.
3. That God has many different methods of discovering his mind to men.
4. That God is able to fulfill his own predictions.
5. That wicked men sometimes meet their deserts in this life.
6. That God"s people should sympathize with and succor their fellow-men.
7. That they who do good to others should hope for nothing again.
HOMILIES BY R.A. REDFORD Gen_37:36) against the chiefsar: the word occurs in one of the oldest historical documents of ancient Egypt ("Inscription of Una," line 4, sixth dynasty), meaning chief or eunuch (vide " Records of the Past," 2:3)of the butlers, an office once filled by Nehemiah in the Court of Persia, (Neh_1:11) and Rabshakeh (Aramaic for "chief of the cupbearers") in the Court of Assyria (2Ki_18:17) and against the chief of the bakers. Oriental monarchs generally had a multitude of butlers and bakers, or cupbearers and Court purveyors, the chiefs in both departments being invested with high honor, and regarded with much trust (Herod., 3:34; Xenoph., "Cyrop.," 1:3, 8).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them,…
Gen_40:1-23
The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them
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Light upon Josephs destiny
This chapter discovers signs that Joseph was destined to fill an important place in the history of the kingdom of God.
This was now the time of his trial and preparation for his great calling as the ruler of the Egyptians, the deliverer of his nation. Some of the indications of his high destiny are these:--
I. THE CONVICTION OF HIS INNOCENCE AND INTEGRITY GAINS GROUND. Joseph was, at first, thrown into a dungeon and laid in irons. Now, this severe discipline is relaxed, and he is appointed to a kind of stewardship over the other prisoners. It is highly probable, that, by this time, Potiphar was convinced of his innocence, though he detained him in custody for prudential reasons. Joseph was everywhere giving the impression of being a good and holy man. The character of Potiphars wife could not long be concealed; and as it became more and more known, the belief in Josephs innocence would gain ground.
II. HE DISCOVERS SIGNS OF HIS TRUE VOCATION.
1. As a saint of God. Mark how Joseph refers to God in every important crisis of his history. When Pharaohs two officers lamented that there was no interpreter of their dreams, he said, Do not interpretations belong to God? He was always true to his religion. Mark his temperateness and forbearance, his calmness and simplicity. He does not speak unkindly of his brethren, he does not even name them, but simply states that he was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and that he had done nothing that they should put him into the dungeon (verse 15). Here was the faith and resignation of a saint, whose life was fit to be recorded in the pages of Revelation as an eminent and worthy example to all ages.
2. As a prophet of God. As such he interprets dreams, which are here to be considered as Divine revelations to men of warning, reproof, and teaching Job_33:14-18).
3. As a kind and just ruler of men. Joseph was clearly a man who was destined to wield a commanding, and even a regal influence over others. He was fitted for this, doubtless, by his intellectual gifts and characteristics, but more especially
(1) by his sympathy. Wherefore look ye so sadly to-day? he said to his fellow-prisoners, whose dreams suggested the worst forebodings (verses 6-7). He himself had been in the school of affliction, and he had learned to be tender. Though he had griefs of his own to bear, he felt for others. He cannot be a true ruler of men who has not learned sympathy.
(2) By his uprightness. He was firm and faithful, even when he had to tell unpleasant truths (verses 18-19). Such are the qualities required in a true ruler of men (2Sa_23:3-4).
III. HE RETAINS FAITH AND HOPE IN GOD IN THE MIDST OF ALL. HIS ADVERSITIES. God was with him in the prison. Therefore he does not abandon himself to despair, but still trusts and hopes on. (T. H. Leale.)
Joseph and the two prisoners
I. We cannot but be struck with THE MINUTE PARTICULARITY OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. See at how many critical points Josephs life touches the lives of others, and is, thereby, carried so much the farther forward towards the attainment by him of the place which God was preparing for him. When I get to a great railway junction, and find trains coming m together from the east, and the north, and the south, just in time to join another that is starting from that point for the west, I should be regarded as a simpleton if I spoke of that as a wonderful coincidence. And yet on the great Railroad of Life, when I come to such a junction and meet there a train that leads me on to some significant sphere of service, I am supposed to be a simpleton if I refer that to the over-ruling providence of God. But I am not a simpleton--I am only reasoning in that department as I would in the domain of literature or daily travelling; and he who repudiates Gods providence is the fool, according to that scathing utterance of the Psalmist--The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
II. We are reminded by this history also that THE CHARACTER OF THE INDIVIDUAL HAS AS MUCH TO DO WITH WHAT I HAVE CALLED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLOT OF HIS LIFE AS THE PLAN OR PURPOSE OF GOD HAS. Providence is not fatalism. Joseph, if he had chosen to act otherwise than he did, might have thrown away all the opportunities which these places of junction in his life afforded him. The men that fail in life do not fail for want of such opportunities as Joseph had, but for want of the character to see these opportunities, and the ability to use them. Keep near to God, therefore, form your character according to His principles, and then, even though you may be in a prison, you will find a way to serve Him, and will feel that somehow you are on the road to your success, and in training for your sphere.
III. We may learn that THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN THEMSELVES UPHELD IN TROUBLE, ARE THE MOST EFFICIENT HELPERS OF OTHERS WHEN THEY ARE IN TRIAL. Young as Joseph was, he had not seen enough sorrow to dispose him to sympathize with others in their affliction. And in the suggestive question which he put to his fellow-prisoners, do not interpretations belong to God? he not only expresses his own faith, but in the most delicate and skilful manner indicates to them the source whence alone true consolation comes. More than thirty years ago, just at the beginning of my ministry, I was in the house of a beloved pastor, when he was called to pass through the greatest trial that a man can know, in the death of a truly good and noble wife. Two mornings after, the postman brought in a sheaf of letters. I think there were more than twenty of them, but each was from a brother minister who had been led through the same dark valley, and who was seeking to comfort him with the comfort wherewith himself had been comforted of God. Only a few evenings ago I met a Christian lady, with whom I was comparing notes regarding the experience of the loss of little children, and she said to me, I never see the death of a little child announced in the newspaper but I have an impulse to write to the parents and speak comfortably to them. Thus we may console ourselves under our own trials with the thought that God is endowing us thereby with the gift of sympathy, and fitting us to become sons of consolation to others in affliction. The price is costly, but the learning is precious.
IV. THOSE WHOM WE BENEFIT HAVE OFTEN VERY POOR REMEMBRANCE OF KINDNESS. Men too often write the record of grudges in marble, and of favours in water. Nay, such is the perversity of human nature, that not unfrequently men return evil for the good which has been done them. One spoke to an English statesman of the violent enmity which another evinced towards him. Yes, was the reply, and I cannot understand it, for I never did him any kindness that I can remember. The sarcasm was bitter, but there was enough of truth in it to give it point; and every one who seeks to be a helper of others learns, sooner or later, to give over looking for human gratitude, and to think mainly of the Lord Jesus Christ and His appreciation. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Lessons
1. Let no circumstances ever tempt the children of God to doubt and question the watchful care and kindness of their heavenly Fathers providence. Let them bear in remembrance, that He not only works in His own way, but chooses His own time; and let them rest in the assurance that both His way and His time are always the best. Though He tarry, then, wait for Him. Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
2. The source of true and constant enjoyment of that happiness which all seek and so few find must be within. It lies essentially in a sense of Gods love. This is happiness. This will ever he associated with confidence in His wisdom, and faithfulness, and kindness; and consequently with contentment in all conditions. These are sources of joy of which no power can rob us, and which remain ever the same--amidst all changes unchanging. (R. Wardlaw.)
Joseph ministering to the comfort of others
It may possibly cause momentary surprise, that Joseph, who interpreted others dreams, was left in ignorance of his own destiny. Is not this, however, the method ordinarily employed to strengthen faith and produce entire reliance upon God? Indeed, was it not communion with God produced by this sense of dependence which enabled him to interpret mysteries, which fitted him for comforting the sorrowing? It not frequently happens that those whose lives are passed in unrelieved sadness--with whom the present is an enigma, the past a memory of grief, the future a cloud of torturing uncertainty--are nevertheless the instruments in Gods hand of producing joy in others hearts. As a block of ice, chiselled into the form of a lens, can be made to concentrate the suns rays, kindling a flame, so the believer, by gathering the scattered beams of Heavens love, may pour cheerfulness into others hearts while his own may remain quite cheerless. (J. S. Van Dyke.)
The same prison is not the same thing to good and bad
Too often it happens to the righteous according to the wish of the wicked. Here we find two men who had sinned against their lord, the king of Egypt, confined in the same prison with Joseph. Yet the same prison is not the same thing to a good and to a bad man. The two offenders trembled in anxious dread of some worse punishment; and the consciousness of their demerit, if they were really guilty, was more painful to them than the irons were to Joseph, although they entered into his soul. Joseph had the testimony of his conscience to cheer him. He not only suffered without cause, but suffered for righteousness sake, and trusted that God would bring his sufferings to a comfortable conclusion. In the world you may meet with much distress; but keep consciences void of offence towards God and man, and you shall be preserved from the sting and venom of those troubles that Providence allots you. Let no man suffer as a thief, as an evil-doer, as a busy-body in other mens matters. But if any man suffer as a Christian, or without deserving to suffer, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God, who executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. (G. Lawson, D. D.)
The butler and the baker
I. PRISON OCCUPATIONS. The crime is the disgrace, and not the scaffold or the prison. Good men have often been imprisoned, while many wicked have escaped. Yet, notwithstanding the prison, these sufferers are amongst our heroes and martyrs. Milton said, there shall one day be a resurrection of names and reputations. Bunyan, Baxter, &c., are not honoured the less for the dungeons in which they suffered. Next to escaping the prison, the best thing is, like Joseph, to suffer innocently. Joseph in prison. Suffering often hardens the bad and purifies and manifests the good. Josephs character could not be hid. Even the keepers saw how different he was from the ordinary criminals committed to their care (see Pr
16:21. The prisoner becomes a keeper (so many of the captive Jews, asDaniel, Nehemiah, Mordecai, were exalted). Is so much trusted as to be freed from supervision (Gen_38:22-23). God, who was with him in Canaan, is with him in Egypt, and in prison. He does not forsake His friends in distresses brought upon them by their fidelity to Him.
II. PRISON COMPANIONS. The butler and baker, two officers of importance in eastern and ancient courts. Yet even these were not spared by a capricious and absolute monarch. Oh, how wretched is that poor man that hangs on princes favours! In a palace one day, a prison the next. In ancient times a courtiers office was often like the Bridge of Sighs at Venice, a palace and a prison on each hand. These men may have suffered justly; like the malefacters who were crucified with Jesus Luk_23:41). The worst punishment of the good is forced fellowship with the wicked. As providence over-ruled the wrath of Josephs brothers, so now he ever-rules the wrath of Pharaoh. One of these degraded officials shall be the instrument of Josephs release and exaltation.
III. PRISON DREAMS. That is: the dreams of the butler and baker. The subject was so strange, and the recollection so vivid, that they were troubled. Dreamland, a mysterious region to the ancients. No interpreter of dreams in the prison, they thought. Josephs inquiry. Be thinks of his own dreams, doubtless, and the transitory trouble they had brought him into. He gives the praise to God, as the true interpreter of dreams. By the help of divine illumination, he reveals the meaning of their dreams. No doubt he saw that God had sent them those dreams for him to interpret; and that his connection with these men would work out the fulfilment of his own dreams. It is certain that what was foretold by their dreams would have occurred even if they had never dreamed at all. Hence, it was clear that there was a purpose in their dreaming, and in their relating their dreams to Joseph. Probably had not Joseph been in prison, they would not have dreamed as they did. Learn:
I. If we suffer, let it be for righteousness sake.
II. When a mans ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies, &c, (J. C. Gray.)
Lessons
1. Providence keeps its method in multiplying mercy to His saints in misery.
2. The sins of others God sometimes maketh an occasion of refreshing His own servants.
3. Court officers are very prone to sin, and abuse favours.
4. Kings themselves are not secured from offences by their nearest servants (Gen_40:1).
5. Kings, offended, are apt to swell in wrath and displeasure.
6. Greatest wrath of kings is apt to rise against officers (Gen_40:2).
7. The wrath of kings usually causeth the restraint and imprisonment of their criminal subjects.
8. God orders place where the wrath of man imprisons, and that for His own ends.
9. Innocents and malefactors may lie together in the same prison (Gen_40:3).
10. God inclineth the hearts of chief commanders for imprisonment, more to the innocent than guilty.
11. Innocent prisoners under Providence may have the charge of malefactors.
12. Good souls trusted in any capacity, do execute it faithfully.
13. Set times and seasons of restraint God appoints to His own and others for His own ends.
14. All these Providence orders to be occasions of glorifying His grace in His saints (Gen_40:4). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain The butler.] “The cupbearer and overseer of the wine—making…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
The butler.] “The cupbearer and overseer of the wine—making and storing and serving, an important officer of the king. (2Ki_18:17.) He was now a state prisoner for an offence against Pharaoh.”—(Jacobus.) His baker. “This was another officer in trust of the king’s bread and of its making; and his post was one of high trust, because they who had charge of the food of the king might easily poison him.”—(Jacobus.)—
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Gen_40:4. The captain of the guard.] Potiphar. Charged Joseph with them. Not to watch over them, but to wait upon them as a servant. They continued a season in ward. Heb. Days. It is generally supposed that this represents about a year.—
Gen_40:5. Each man according to the interpretation of his dream.] This expression is intended to show that the dreams were not empty and unmeaning, but suited to each man’s case and capable of a sound interpretation.—
Gen_40:11. I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup.] “The imagery of the dream is not intended to intimate that Pharaoh drank only of the fresh juice of the grape. It only expresses by a natural figure the source of wine, and possibly the duty of the chief butler to understand and superintend the whole process of its formation.”—(Murphy.)—
Gen_40:15. I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews.] “This phrase is no interpolation. Judea was probably known by this name in Egypt, which Abraham had visited from that land. It may also favour the presumption that the land was inhabited by Hebrews before Canaan took possession of it.”—(Jacobus.)—
Gen_40:16. Three white baskets on mine head.] The figures on Egyptian monuments show that was the usual manner in which men carried baskets, while the women carried on the shoulders.—
Gen_40:17. All manner of bake-meats for Pharaoh.] Heb. “All manner of food of Pharaoh, the work of a baker.” The term properly signifies “baked food” in general. The birds did eat them out of the baskets. “Even at this day in Egypt kites and hawks seize upon articles of food carried upon the head”—(Knobel.)—
Gen_40:19. Lift up thine head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree.] He was to be beheaded, and his body hung up in disgrace. (Deu_21:22-23; Jos_10:26; 2Sa_4:12.)—
Gen_40:20. Lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker.] “In Exo_30:12, and Num_1:49, this phrase is used in the sense of numbering, and, if so here, then it would mean that in recounting his officers, Pharaoh numbered these—took their poll.”—(Jacobus.) But some regard this phrase as elliptical, the full expression being to lift up the head out of prison, an appropriate one, as such places of confinement were usually under ground.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Gen_40:1-23
LIGHT UPON JOSEPH’S DESTINY
This chapter discovers signs that Joseph was destined to fill an important place in the history of the kingdom of God. This was now the time of his trial and preparation for his great calling as the ruler of the Egyptians, the deliverer of his nation. Some of the indications of his high destiny are these:—
I. The conviction of his innocence and integrity gains ground. Joseph was, at first, thrown into a dungeon and laid in irons. Now, this severe discipline is relaxed, and he is appointed to a kind of stewardship over the other prisoners. It is highly probable that, by this time, Potiphar was convinced of his innocence, though he detained him in custody for prudential reasons. Joseph was everywhere giving the impression of being a good and holy man. The character of Potiphar’s wife could not long be concealed; and as it became more and more known, the belief in Joseph’s innocence would gain ground.
II. He discovers signs of his true vocation.
1. As a saint of God. Mark how Joseph refers to God in every important crisis of his history. When Pharaoh’s two officers lamented that there was no interpreter of their dreams, he said, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” He was always true to his religion. His unmurmuring patience, and calmness in the midst of overwhelming calamities declare what manner of man he is. They speak to us of one who drew from secret springs of consolation, and whose hope was in the Lord his God. Mark his temperateness and forbearance, his calmness and simplicity. He does not speak unkindly of his brethren, he does not even name them, but simply states that he was “stolen out of the land of the Hebrews,” and that he had “done nothing” that they should put him “into the dungeon.” (Gen_40:15). Here was the faith and resignation of a saint, whose life was fit to be recorded in the pages of Revelation as an eminent and worthy example to all ages.
2. As a prophet of God. As such, he interprets dreams, which are here to be considered as Divine revelations to men, of warning, reproof, and teaching. (Job_33:14-18.) His own experience had taught him how dreams came from God. It was Joseph’s office to reveal to these prisoners the meaning of what God had taught them in their dreams. The true prophet of God interprets the dreams of humanity for a better time. He gives the vague conceptions of sincere, though ill-informed seekers after truth, a form and certainty. He even interprets the groans and pains of creation’s agony. (Rom_8:19-23.)
3. As a kind and just ruler of men. Joseph was clearly a man who was destined to wield a commanding, and even a regal influence over others. He was fitted for this, doubtless, by his intellectual gifts and general characteristics, but more especially
(1) By his sympathy. “Wherefore look ye so sadly to-day?” he said to his fellow-prisoners whose dreams suggested the worst forebodings. (Gen_40:6-7.) He himself had been in the school of affliction, and he had learned to be tender. Though he had griefs of his own to bear, he felt for others. He cannot be a true ruler of men who has not learned sympathy.
(2) By his uprightness. He was firm and faithful even when he had to tell unpleasant truths. (Gen_40:18-19.) Such are the qualities required in a true ruler of men. (2Sa_23:3-4.)
III. He retains faith and hope in God in the midst of all his adversities. God was with him in the prison. Therefore he does not abandon himself to despair, but still trusts and hopes on. Though Joseph could not fortell his own deliverance, he has confidence that he shall yet be brought out of his house of bondage. (Gen_40:14). He has confidence that God would, in some way, vindicate him. Pharaoh might have his dreams as well as his servants, and he might be glad to have such an interpreter as Joseph in his court. Or, God might reveal to him the innocence of this prisoner, who was merely the victim of a false accusation. Conscious of his own integrity Joseph, even in his most gloomy moments, never loses faith and hope in God. (Gen_40:15).
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen_40:1-3. The place where Joseph was bound. Here was a “wheel within a wheel” (Ezekiel 1), a sweet providence; that these obnoxious officers should be sent to Joseph’s prison.—(Trapp.)
The manner in which the Divine Providence quietly and secretly makes the most insignificant things, apparently, the occasion and the cause of wonderful changes, appears very visible in our narrative. It would appear simply fortuitous that Pharaoh should have thrown into prison his two officers on account, perhaps, of some very trifling offence; still more accidental would it appear that Joseph should have charge of them, and that both should have had alarming dreams, and finally how extraordinarily fortuitous that Joseph, on entering, should have observed their depression in their countenances! But all this apparent chance was made a prerequisite, in the course of God’s providence, for Joseph’s exaltations, and Israel’s redemption. “The Lord finds a thousand ways where reason sees not even one.”—(Lange.)
Gen_40:4. As Joseph was his slave, and these were State prisoners, he appointed him to wait upon them. It is probable that Joseph’s character had been somewhat re-established with him during his residence in the prison.—(Murphy.)
The occurrences of the heathen world, the affairs of courts, their crimes, cabals, intrigues, are all under the divine control. Prisons, too, with their dark chambers, dungeons, sorrows, secrets, are under the control of God. At all times they have enclosed not only criminals, but the innocent—oftentimes the best and most pious of men. Christ says: I was in prison, and ye came unto me; and He speaks thus, not of faithful martyrs only; even among the guilty there is a spark of Christ’s kinsmanship, i.e., belonging to Him.—(Lange.)
Gen_40:5-7. It appears from hence that Joseph was not a hard-hearted overseer: unlike many petty officers, whose overbearing conduct towards their inferiors is the most intolerable, he sympathises with the sorrowful, and makes free with them. The fear of God produces tenderness of heart and compassion towards men, especially to the poor and the afflicted.—(Fuller.)
Joseph had suffered like them, and therefore he understood their feelings. With the value of suffering we are familiar; but we do not often remember that suffering is absolutely necessary to capacitate us for sympathy. Would you be a Barnabas, a son of consolation? Brother men, you may; but then you must pay the cost, the education of the soul by suffering.—(Robertson.)
Gen_40:8-11. Supernatural dreams seem usually to have left an impression upon the minds of their recipients amounting to a violent agitation. (Dan_2:1.) So also the dream of Pilate’s wife. (Mat_27:19). We see from this what access God has to the spirits of men, and how easily He can arm their imaginations against their own peace. He can at pleasure send a secret panic into our souls, and scare us as He did Job with dreams and visions, and even fill our days and nights with terror by presages and forebodings of uncertain evils.—(Bush.)
But what kind of interpreters did these men wish for? Such, no doubt, as Pharaoh on his having dreamed, called for, namely the magicians, and the wise men of Egypt; and because they had no hopes of obtaining them in their present situation, therefore were they sad. Here lies the force of Joseph’s question: “Do not interpretations belong to God?” Which was a reproof to them for looking to their magicians instead of Him; hence also he offered himself as the servant of God to be their interpreter.—(Fuller.)
The servants of God may be bound in a prison; but the word of God is not bound. (2Ti_2:9.)
Divine words and warnings can only be interpreted by those who are taught of God.
Observe the characteristic nature of those dreams. In every case the dream betrayed the man. The butler dreamed of three great vine branches and ripe grapes, the baker of three baskets of baked meats, and Joseph, in one of his own dreams, dreamt of agriculture, the calling to which he had been accustomed. The application that we make of this is, that our spontaneous thoughts betray our character. The trivial man dreams of trivial things, but if the vision that is presented is to a man like St. Paul, he is lifted up to the third heaven, and hears unutterable things which it is not lawful to speak. The dream itself is evidence of a man of deep feeling and imagination, and of a life of spirituality. When Peter too dreamed of the sheet let down from heaven and was told to kill and eat, he says: “Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” The answer speaks of a long life of obedience, for even in his dream he could not be induced to transgress the written law of God. In our hours of contemplation the soul is surrounded by its own creations, and if they be of a holy character, the man lives as in the presence of God and angels, but if, on the contrary, instead of imagination spiritualized and purified, the spirit is but sensualized, the man has then made for himself his own hell.—(Robertson).
Gen_40:12-13. The general interpretation given by Joseph to the dream is quite obvious. He would naturally infer that the man was very desirous of being restored to his office, and he would be very apt to say that such was the drift of the dream; still it would have been a mere guess. Nothing short of Divine inspiration could have assured Joseph that the dream was to be realized. But there was another circumstance which left no room to doubt whether the interpretation was only a happy conjecture or a Divine discovery. The time was specified; the three branches were three days. What human sagacity could have divined that the branches of the vine had any reference to time? or, if they had, whether three days, or three months, or three years were meant. It was wisely ordered that one part of the dream should require a divinely inspired interpreter. It was God’s design to assure the butler that Joseph obtained his wisdom, not from man, but by revelation from above.—(Bush).
Joseph foresaw the time of the butler’s deliverance, but he knew not the time of his own. In good hope he was, that now he should have been delivered, upon the restoration of the butler, and his intercession for him; but he was fain to stay two years longer; “till the time that God’s word came: the word of the Lord tried him” (Psa_105:19); by trying, as in a fire, his faith and patience in afflictions.—(Trapp).
Gen_40:14. He very naturally throws in a request on behalf of himself. There is no symptom of impatience in this: but patience itself may consist with the use of all lawful means to obtain deliverance. The terms in which this request are made are modest, and exceedingly impressive. He might have asked for a place under the chief butler, or some other post of honour or profit: but he requests only to be delivered from this house. He might have reminded him how much he owed to his sympathetic and kind treatment; but he left these things to speak for themselves. In pleading the exalted station in which the chief butler was about to be reinstated, he gently intimates the obligations which people in prosperous circumstances are under, to think of the poor and afflicted; and Christians may still farther improve the principle, not to be unmindful of such cases in their approaches to the King of Kings. This plea may also direct us to make use of His name and interest, who is exalted at the right hand of the Majesty on high. It was on this principle that the dying thief presented his petition. Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom! A petition which the Lord of Glory did neither refuse nor forget: and still He liveth to make intercession for us.—(Fuller.)
The Jews charge that Joseph in this request demanded pay for his interpretation, and allege that, on this account, he had to remain in prison two years longer. There is, however, no ground for such an imputation. But though he had the assurance of the Divine presence, and that God would deliver him from the prison, he had, nevertheless, a natural longing for liberty. Besides, he did not ask for anything unfair of the butler. (1Co_7:21.)—(Lange.)
1. The principle of this request. It is this, that those who have themselves suffered are able to enter into the feelings of others who are called upon likewise to suffer. Men are prepared for the ministry of help and consolation by suffering.
2. Illustrations of this principle.
(1.) The children of Israel were required to show kindness to the stranger, because they understood the feelings of a stranger when they were strangers in the land of Egypt.
(2.) Joseph might assume that the butler knew the feelings of a prisoner, and that he would be ready to help his poor companion in bonds.
(3.) It was thus that the Son of Man was trained to be the Captain of our salvation. (Heb_2:10.)
Gen_40:15. Hence he was of a superior class to that from which slaves were commonly taken.—(Jacobus.)
In this profession of innocence, notice his calmness and simplicity. There are no invectives against his brethren, or against Potiphar and his wife; he merely states that he was innocent. Calm assertion is generally a proof of innocence. When you hear men cursing and swearing, like Peter, in order to asseverate their innocence, you may feel assured that there is guilt. It has been well observed, that this calmness of speech in the Gospel history is an evidence of its truth. Had it been a fiction, how would the writer have enlarged on the injustice of the Jews, and the difference in the characters of the blessed Redeemer and Barabbas! whereas the Evangelist makes no comment, but simply and calmly states the fact—“Now Barabbas was a robber.”—(Robertson.)
Gen_40:16-19. Observe in Joseph’s conduct the integrity of his truthfulness. It was a pleasant thing to tell the chief butler that he should be reinstated in his office; but it was not pleasant to tell the baker that after three days he should be hanged. Yet Joseph could not shrink; having once accepted the office of interpreter, he was obliged to fulfil it faithfully. This truthfulness was a matter of habit as well as of principle with Joseph. There are many men who would not tell a direct falsehood, and yet their ordinary habit is by no means strictly veracious. With no distinct intention of doing wrong, they embellish and exaggerate. Therefore, let us get the habit of accuracy; and when a thing is simply unpleasant, let us not say that it is dreadful. These are merely habits, but by degrees they break down the truth of the Christian character.—(Robertson.)
And Joseph answered, etc. It is probable he used some preface to this sad destiny he reads him; as Philo brings him in saying, I would thou hadst not dreamt such a dream: or as Daniel prefaced to Nebuchadnezzar; “My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation to thine enemies.” (Dan_4:19.) If ministers, God’s interpreters, must be mannerly in the form, yet in the matter of their message they must be resolute. Not only toothsome, but bitter truths must be told, however they be taken. (Gal_1:10.)—(Trapp).
In Hebrew, “to lift up the head,” is a play upon words. It means to restore to honour and dignity, or to hang upon the gallows, or decapitation (taking off the head), or crucifixion (lifting up upon the cross).—(Lange.)
Gen_40:20-22. If both these men’s dreams had portended pardon, the interpretation given by Joseph might have been considered merely as a lucky conjecture. It was reasonable to suppose that on the approaching festivity of the king’s birthday he would signalize his clemency by some act of grace to offenders; but who could have foreseen that he would make one of his servants to feel the severity of his displeasure on the happy day, whilst he pardoned the other; or that he would execute his displeasure by hanging his dead body on a tree, and exposing it as a prey to the fowls of heaven? Every circumstance tended to establish the credit of Joseph as a man that enjoyed intercourse with heaven. In like manner the perfect accomplishment of the various prophecies of the Scripture leaves us without excuse if we withhold our belief of its Divine inspiration.—(Bush.)
Gen_40:23. The butler’s ingratitude.
1. It was blameworthy, though he had received no personal favour from Joseph. He knew that this young man was unjustly enslaved and imprisoned. It was an act of inhumanity to forget him.
2. It is recorded as an example of warning for all time. The name of this chief butler is condemned to perpetual dishonour; and, while the world lasts, will be held up as a warning to men not to be too confiding in the companions of their adversity when these are raised to positions where they can help them. High station often changes the manners, and makes men too proud to notice their humble friends and to remember the kindnesses they received from them in simpler days.
3. It reminds us that God will notice and visit all ingratitude. There is a Book of God which contains the record of every individual life. And when that Book is opened, confusion will cover the faces of all who have been guilty of ingratitude to God or man.
Alas, what a selfish creature is man! How strangely does prosperity intoxicate and drown the mind. How common it is for people in high life to forget the poor, even those to whom they have been under the greatest obligations. Well, be it so; Joseph’s God did not forget him: and we, amidst all the neglects of creatures, may take comfort in this—Jesus does not neglect us. Though exalted far above all principalities and powers, He is not elated with His glory, so as to forget His poor suffering people upon earth. Only let us be concerned not to forget Him. He who needs not our esteem, as we do His, hath yet in love condescended to ask us to do thus and thus in remembrance of Him!—(Fuller.)
It was Joseph’s single ray of hope in the prison—that which lighted him to freedom—that he could commend himself to the intercession of the chief butler. When this went out, according to every probable view, there seemed nothing else for him than to pine away his whole life in prison; and yet the fulfilment of the dreams of the court officers might have strengthened him in the hope of the fulfilment of his own dreams in his native home.—(Lange).
Our ingratitude towards the New Testament, Joseph, in forgetting all that He has done for us in our bondage, will fill us with confusion at the great day!—(Jacobus).
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain Joseph interprets the Dreams of Pharaoh's Officers
Joseph interprets the Dreams of Pharaoh's Officers
1. Butler] rather, 'cupbearer,' a high court official: cp. Neh_1:11; Neh_2:1. Baker] rather, 'cook.' It is conjectured that these officials were accused of plotting to poison Pharaoh.
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8. No professional interpreter was available: see on Gen_41:8. Do not interpretations, etc.] i.e. It may be that God who sent the dreams will give me the interpretation of them.
9-11. Grape juice mixed with water is used as a refreshing drink in the East. Among the inscriptions on the temple of Edf u is one in which the king is seen with a cup in his hand, and underneath are the words, 'They press grapes into the water and the king drinks.'
16. White baskets] rather, 'baskets of white bread.'
17. Bakemeats] i.e. confectionery.
19. Hang thee on a tree] rather, 'impale thee on a stake 'after being beheaded. Hanging as a form of punishment is not referred to, except in the book of Esther, the scene of which is laid in Persia. The birds shall eat, etc.] The Egyptians held that after a stay of 3000 years in the unseen world, the soul re-entered its former body, and commenced a fresh existence on the earth. They therefore took the greatest pains to preserve the bodies of the dead: see on Gen_50:2. For a body to be devoured by the birds, as Joseph foretold, would be regarded as a terrible doom.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain CHAPTER 40 Joseph the Interpreter of Dreams
CHAPTER 40 Joseph the Interpreter of Dreams
1. The fellow prisoners (Gen 40:1-8)
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2. The dream of the chief butler (Gen 40:9-11)
3. The interpretation (Gen 40:12-13)
4. Joseph’s request (Gen 40:14-15)
5. The dream of the chief baker (Gen 40:16-17)
6. The interpretation (Gen 40:18-19)
7. The fulfilment (Gen 40:20-22)
8. Joseph forgotten (Gen 40:23)
He was reckoned among the transgressors. To the one he spoke the word concerning life, while the other heard the message of death. Thus Christ was reckoned among the evildoers. To the one crucified with Him He said, “Today thou shalt be with Me in paradise,” while the other malefactor railed and died in his sins.
Critics do not believe even this simple story and deny the culture of vines in Egypt. But the Egyptian paintings have given them the lie. They picture the pressing of the grapes in a cup, which was a religious ceremony. Joseph was forgotten; two years longer he had to remain in prison. What exercise of patience and faith he must have had!
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Dreams of the two Prisoners
The Dreams of the two Prisoners
v. 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. Joseph was in prison a number of years, since he was only seventeen at the time of his involuntary trip to Egypt and thirty at the time of his release. But while he was still a prisoner, although one with unusual privileges, the chief butler and the chief baker of Pharaoh were cast into the state prison for some offense against the king.
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v. 2. And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers and against the chief of the bakers.
v. 3. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, in to the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. They were committed to the care of Potiphar, the chief officer of Pharaoh’s body-guard who was incidentally the chief executioner, and Potiphar promptly had them transferred to the prison, in charge of the king’s jailer.
v. 4. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; and they continued a season in ward. Since the prisoners were men of distinction, Potiphar personally arranged for both their safe-keeping and comfort and once more showed favor to Joseph by giving them into his special charge and making him their attendant.
v. 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. It was in the same night that both men dreamed, each one a different dream with a special significance, both as to the incident upon which it was founded and as to the interpretation which it received.
v. 6. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. It was not the mere curiosity of the privileged servant that caused Joseph to take note of their attitude, but a real, kindly sympathy.
v. 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 today? Uneasy forebodings had stamped their faces with a look of worry and ill-humor.
v. 8. And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. The interpretation of dreams, which were in those days considered omens for good or evil, was in the hands of a special class of men who derived profit from their work. The prisoners were unable to consult such a person with regard to their dreams, and that worried them, made them sullen. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me them, I pray you. He reminded them of the fact that God, who sends significant dreams, is the only one that can furnish authentic interpretations; but he intimated, at the same time, that the gift of interpretation might be found with him, for he must have known that the Lord revealed things to him in this manner. Christians will neither attach an undue significance to dreams, nor will they ridicule the idea that God, even now, may reveal matters to men in this manner.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 It came about that
It came about that
This phrase is used here to mark a new event in the story. (See: Introduction of a New Event)
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the cupbearer
This is the person who brought drinks to the king.
king's baker
This is the person who made food for the king.
offended their master
"upset their master"
the chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the bakers
"the leading cupbearer and the leading baker"
He put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard
"He put them in the prison that was in the house that was overseen by the captain of the guard"
He put them
The king did not put them in prison but rather he commanded for them to be imprisoned. AT: "He had them put" or "He commanded his guard to put" (See: Metonymy)
in the same prison where Joseph was confined
This can be stated in active form. AT: "This was the same prison that Joseph was in" or "This was the same prison Potiphar put Joseph in" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
king
Egypt
lord
Pharaoh
prison
Joseph (OT)
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 40:1-23 Joseph did not lose faith in God’s promises,…
40:1-23 Joseph did not lose faith in God’s promises, as evidenced by his readiness to interpret the dreams of two prisoners. He was still convinced that God’s revelation in his own two dreams (37:5-11) was true, and he had not abandoned hope that they would be fulfilled. When the fellow prisoners’ dreams were fulfilled exactly as Joseph said, this confirmed that his previous dreams were from God.
40:1-4 Joseph was so faithful and trustworthy that the captain of the guard trusted him with the care of two of Pharaoh’s chief . . . officials.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.