Genesis 40:2

40:2 Pharaoh was enraged with his two officials, ¹  the cupbearer and the baker,

Genesis 40:22

40:22 but the chief baker he impaled, just as Joseph had predicted. ² 

Genesis 41:13

41:13 It happened just as he had said ³  to us – Pharaoh ⁴  restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker.” ⁵ 

Genesis 40:1

The Cupbearer and the Baker

40:1 After these things happened, the cupbearer ⁶  to the king of Egypt and the royal baker ⁷  offended ⁸  their master, the king of Egypt.

Genesis 41:10

41:10 Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards – me and the chief baker.

Genesis 40:5

40:5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream ⁹  the same night. ¹⁰  Each man’s dream had its own meaning. ¹¹ 

Genesis 40:16

40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, ¹²  he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread ¹³  on my head.

---

¹ tn The Hebrew word סָרִיס (saris), used here of these two men and of Potiphar (see 39:1), normally means “eunuch.” But evidence from Akkadian texts shows that in early times the title was used of a court official in general. Only later did it become more specialized in its use.

² tn Heb “had interpreted for them.”

sn The dreams were fulfilled exactly as Joseph had predicted, down to the very detail. Here was confirmation that Joseph could interpret dreams and that his own dreams were still valid. It would have been a tremendous encouragement to his faith, but it would also have been a great disappointment to spend two more years in jail.

³ tn Heb “interpreted.”

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the baker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ sn The Hebrew term cupbearer corresponds to the Egyptian wb’, an official (frequently a foreigner) who often became a confidant of the king and wielded political power (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 248). Nehemiah held this post in Persia.

⁷ sn The baker may be the Egyptian retehti, the head of the bakers, who had privileges in the royal court.

⁸ sn The Hebrew verb translated offended here is the same one translated “sin” in 39:9. Perhaps there is an intended contrast between these officials, who deserve to be imprisoned, and Joseph, who refused to sin against God, but was thrown into prison in spite of his innocence.

⁹ tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “a man his dream in one night.”

¹¹ tn Heb “a man according to the interpretation of his dream.”

¹² tn Heb “that [the] interpretation [was] good.” The words “the first dream” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn Or “three wicker baskets.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun חֹרִי (khori, “white bread, cake”) is uncertain; some have suggested the meaning “wicker” instead. Comparison with texts from Ebla suggests the meaning “pastries made with white flour” (M. Dahood, “Eblaite h¬a-rí and Genesis 40,16 h£o„rî,” BN 13 [1980]: 14-16).