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Genesis 40
1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler (= cup-bearer) of the king of Egypt (= Pharaoh) and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt (= Pharaoh).
2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
Perhaps one of them stole something or lost something.
3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard (= Potiphar), into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
4 And the captain of the guard (= Potiphar) charged (= pâqad in Hebrew) Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.
In other words, Potiphar has given these two men for Joseph to look after.
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 (= Pharaoh), which were bound in the prison.
6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning (i.e. he's checking on them), and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
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 to day?
Joseph showing his concern for them.
8 And 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.
Remember Joseph's dreams from the thirty-seventh chapter? It was GOD who revealed them to him whereby he could get understanding and because he was a servant of GOD, who walked close with GOD, he was able to relate with them, as he had understanding from GOD.
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 it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:
As we can see, this is a fruitful dream.
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.
Again, this butler was a cup-bearer.
12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:
13 Yet 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.
In other words, he's letting the butler (cup-bearer) know that after three days, everything will be okay and he will return back to his position.
14 But 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:
And needless to say, Joseph was innocent and naturally he wanted out of the prison.
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 was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets (= çal in Hebrew) on my head:
These "baskets" were wicker baskets, and as we know, wicker baskets have holes in them, which lets us know that perhaps things were missing on his part. Perhaps this baker had stolen or misplaced some things?
17 And 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.
As we can see, these bakemeats disappeared on the bakers part before they got to the Pharaoh.
18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
19 Yet 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.
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 of the chief baker among his servants.
21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand:
22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
And so it was, everything that GOD had revealed to Joseph came to pass.
23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
In other words, the butler remembered the things that Joseph had told him, concerning the dreams, but has forgotten to mention Joseph to the Pharaoh. Though Joseph remains in prison, he is never forgotten by GOD. So basically we can see that the moral of the story is, don't put your faith in man, instead put your faith in almighty GOD (YHVH) and GOD will bring everything to pass, according to HIS plan and in HIS exact timing. "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." - Psalm 118:8. And so it is as CHRISTians, we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Again, GOD always takes care of HIS own.
2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
Perhaps one of them stole something or lost something.
3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard (= Potiphar), into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
4 And the captain of the guard (= Potiphar) charged (= pâqad in Hebrew) Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.
In other words, Potiphar has given these two men for Joseph to look after.
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 (= Pharaoh), which were bound in the prison.
6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning (i.e. he's checking on them), and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
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 to day?
Joseph showing his concern for them.
8 And 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.
Remember Joseph's dreams from the thirty-seventh chapter? It was GOD who revealed them to him whereby he could get understanding and because he was a servant of GOD, who walked close with GOD, he was able to relate with them, as he had understanding from GOD.
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 it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:
As we can see, this is a fruitful dream.
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.
Again, this butler was a cup-bearer.
12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:
13 Yet 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.
In other words, he's letting the butler (cup-bearer) know that after three days, everything will be okay and he will return back to his position.
14 But 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:
And needless to say, Joseph was innocent and naturally he wanted out of the prison.
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 was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets (= çal in Hebrew) on my head:
These "baskets" were wicker baskets, and as we know, wicker baskets have holes in them, which lets us know that perhaps things were missing on his part. Perhaps this baker had stolen or misplaced some things?
17 And 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.
As we can see, these bakemeats disappeared on the bakers part before they got to the Pharaoh.
18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
19 Yet 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.
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 of the chief baker among his servants.
21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand:
22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
And so it was, everything that GOD had revealed to Joseph came to pass.
23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
In other words, the butler remembered the things that Joseph had told him, concerning the dreams, but has forgotten to mention Joseph to the Pharaoh. Though Joseph remains in prison, he is never forgotten by GOD. So basically we can see that the moral of the story is, don't put your faith in man, instead put your faith in almighty GOD (YHVH) and GOD will bring everything to pass, according to HIS plan and in HIS exact timing. "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." - Psalm 118:8. And so it is as CHRISTians, we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Again, GOD always takes care of HIS own.