Genesis 40:2

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

Genesis 40:23

40:23 But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph – he forgot him. ² 

Genesis 41:9

41:9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures. ³ 

Genesis 40:9

40:9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: ⁴  “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me.

Genesis 40:21

40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his former position ⁵  so that he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand,

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 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 40:13

40:13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you ¹²  and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before ¹³  when you were cupbearer.

Genesis 40:20

40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” ¹⁴  the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants.

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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 The wayyiqtol verbal form here has a reiterative or emphasizing function.

³ tn Heb “sins, offenses.” He probably refers here to the offenses that landed him in prison (see 40:1).

⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “and he said to him.” This has not been translated because it is redundant in English.

⁵ tn Heb “his cupbearing.”

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 “Pharaoh will lift up your head.” This Hebrew idiom usually refers to restoring dignity, office, or power. It is comparable to the modern saying “someone can hold his head up high.”

¹³ tn Heb “according to the former custom.”

¹⁴ tn The translation puts the verb in quotation marks because it is used rhetorically here and has a double meaning. With respect to the cup bearer it means “reinstate” (see v. 13), but with respect to the baker it means “decapitate” (see v. 19).