1 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. 2 And Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. 3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. 4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph to be with them, and he ministered unto them; and they continued a season in ward. 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, who were bound in the prison. 6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and saw them, and, behold, they were sad. 7 And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his master's house, saying: 'Wherefore look ye so sad to-day?' 8 And they said unto him: 'We have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it.' And Joseph said unto them: 'Do not interpretations belong to God? tell it me, I pray you.' 9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him: 'In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; 10 and in the vine were three branches; and as it was budding, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes, 11 and Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.' 12 And Joseph said unto him: 'This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; 13 within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head, and restore thee unto thine office; and thou shalt give Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. 14 But have me in thy remembrance when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. 15 For 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.' 16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph: 'I also saw in my dream, and, behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head; 17 and in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of baked food for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.' 18 And Joseph answered and said: 'This is the interpretation thereof: the three baskets are three days; 19 within yet 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.' 20 And 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 the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21 And he restored the chief butler back unto his butlership; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. 22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Genesis 40 JPS Tanakh (1917)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Numbers like (22-2) in the text give the Hebrew verse numbering where it differs.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Joseph
Betrayed and enslaved, he rose to rule Egypt and saved his family from famine.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 37; 39–50
Cross references (22)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Genesis 40:13; Nehemiah 1:11–2:2; Esther 6:1; Genesis 39:20–23
- 2 Proverbs 16:14; Acts 12:20; Proverbs 19:12; 1 Chronicles 27:27; Proverbs 27:4
- 3 Genesis 39:20; Genesis 39:23
- 4 Psalm 37:5; Genesis 37:36; Genesis 39:1; Genesis 39:21–23
- 5 Genesis 41:11; Judges 7:13–14; Daniel 4:5; Esther 6:1; Genesis 12:1–7
- 6 Genesis 40:8; Daniel 2:1–3; Genesis 41:8; Daniel 7:28; Daniel 8:27
- 7 Nehemiah 2:2; 1 Samuel 1:8; 2 Samuel 13:4; Judges 18:24; Luke 24:17
- 8 Daniel 2:47; Genesis 41:15–16; Daniel 2:28; Amos 3:7; 1 Corinthians 12:10–11
- 9 Daniel 4:8; Judges 7:13–15; Genesis 37:5–10; Daniel 4:10–18; Daniel 2:31
- 11 Nehemiah 1:11–2:1; 1 Kings 10:5; 2 Chronicles 9:4; Leviticus 10:9; Proverbs 3:10
- 12 Judges 7:14; Genesis 41:12; Genesis 40:18; Genesis 41:25–26; Daniel 4:19–33
- 13 Psalm 3:3; Jeremiah 52:31; 2 Kings 25:27; Genesis 7:4; Genesis 40:19–22
- 14 Joshua 2:12; Luke 23:42; 1 Samuel 20:14–15; 1 Kings 2:7; 1 Samuel 25:31
- 15 Genesis 39:20; 1 Peter 3:17–18; John 15:25; Acts 25:10–11; Genesis 39:8–12
- 16 Genesis 40:1–2
- 17 Genesis 49:20
- 18 Genesis 40:12; 1 Corinthians 11:24; Genesis 41:26; 1 Corinthians 10:4
- 19 Genesis 40:22; Genesis 40:13; 2 Samuel 21:10; Proverbs 30:17; Ezekiel 39:4
- 20 Genesis 40:19; Matthew 14:6; Genesis 40:13; Mark 6:21; 2 Kings 25:27
- 21 Genesis 40:13; Nehemiah 2:1
- 22 Genesis 40:19; Daniel 2:30; Acts 5:30; Genesis 41:11–13; Genesis 40:8
- 23 Psalm 31:12; Job 19:14; Psalm 105:19; Amos 6:6
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
As, for instance, Adam says, "I have gotten a man through God," meaning to say the same as from God; and in another passage "Moses commanded...Israel through the word of the Lord," and, again, "Is not the interpretation through God?" Joseph, discoursing about dreams to the prisoners, instead of saying "from God" says plainly "through God." Inversely Paul uses the …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)