Genesis 40
40
Joseph interprets dreams in prison
1Some time later, both the wine steward and the baker for Egypt’s king offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief wine steward and the chief baker, 3and he put them under arrest with the commander of the royal guard in the same jail where Joseph was imprisoned. 4The commander of the royal guard assigned Joseph to assist them. After they had been under arrest for some time, 5both of them—the wine steward and the baker for Egypt’s king who were imprisoned in the jail—had dreams one night, and each man’s dream had its own meaning. 6When Joseph met them in the morning, he saw that they were upset. 7He asked the officers of Pharaoh who were under arrest with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so distressed today?”
8They answered, “We’ve both had dreams, but there’s no one to interpret them.”
Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Describe your dreams to me.”
9The chief wine steward described his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine right in front of me, 10and on the vine were three branches. When it budded, its blossoms appeared, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, crushed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
12Joseph said to him, “This is the dream’s interpretation: The three branches are three days. 13After three days, Pharaoh will give you an audience and return you to your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just the way things were before when you were his wine steward. 14But please, remember me when you are doing well and be loyal to me. Put in a good word for me to Pharaoh, so he sets me free from this prison. 15I was stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and here too I’ve done nothing to be thrown into this dungeon.”
16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “It was the same for me. In my dream, there were three baskets of white bread#40.16 Heb uncertain on my head. 17In the basket on top there were baked goods for Pharaoh’s food, but birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
18Joseph responded, “This is the dream’s interpretation: The three baskets are three days. 19After three days, Pharaoh will give you an audience and will hang you from a tree where birds will peck your flesh from you.”
20The third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a party for all of his servants. Before all of his servants, he gave an audience to the chief wine steward and the chief baker. 21He returned the chief wine steward to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22But the chief baker he hanged, just as Joseph had said would happen when he interpreted their dreams for them. 23But the chief wine steward didn’t remember Joseph; he forgot all about him.
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Genesis 40: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Genesis 40
40
1Later on the cupbearer and the baker committed some offense against their master, the king of Egypt. 2Pharaoh was angry with these two royal officials—the chief cupbearer and chief baker— 3and imprisoned them in the house of the commander of the guard, the same prison where Joseph was. 4The commander of the guard assigned Joseph to them as their personal attendant. They were kept in prison for some time.
5One night while they were in prison the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt each had a dream. They were different dreams, each with its own meaning. 6When Joseph arrived the next morning he noticed they both looked depressed. 7So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were imprisoned with him in his master's house, “Why are you looking so depressed?”
8“We've both had dreams but can't find anyone to explain what they mean,” they said.
So Joseph told them, “Isn't God the one who can interpret the meaning of dreams? Tell me your dreams.”
9So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. “In my dream there was a vine right in front of me,” he explained. 10“The vine had three branches. As soon as it budded, it flowered, and produced clusters of ripe grapes. 11I was holding Pharaoh's wine cup, so I picked the grapes and squeezed them into the cup and gave it to Pharaoh.”
12“This is the meaning,” Joseph told him. “The three branches represent three days. 13In three days' time Pharaoh will take you out of prison and give you back your job, and you will hand Pharaoh his cup as you used to. 14But when things go well for you, please remember me with kindness and speak to Pharaoh on my behalf, and please get me out of this prison. 15I was cruelly kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and now I'm here in this pit even though I've done nothing wrong.”
16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was positive, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream. I had three baskets of cakes on my head. 17In the top basket were all the cakes and pastries for Pharaoh to eat, and the birds were eating them from the basket on my head.”
18“This is the meaning,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets represent three days. 19In three days' time Pharaoh will take you out of prison and hang you on a pole, and birds will eat your flesh.”
20Three days later it happened to be Pharaoh's birthday, and he arranged a banquet for all his officials. He had the chief cupbearer and the chief baker released from prison and brought there before his officials. 21He gave the chief cupbearer his job back, and he returned to his duties of handing Pharaoh his cup. 22But he hanged the chief baker just as Joseph had said when he interpreted their dreams. 23But the chief cupbearer didn't remember to say anything about Joseph—in fact he forgot all about him.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com