Genesis 40

In prison Joseph serves two of Pharaoh’s fallen officers and, trusting that God gives the meaning of dreams, explains theirs. One man is restored and the other executed, exactly as Joseph said. Joseph asks to be remembered, but he is forgotten, and the chapter ends with him still in the pit, waiting on God’s timing.

Genesis 40:1

Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker held trusted posts, since they handled what the king drank and ate. Both fell out of favor for some unstated offense. The story does not say what they did, only that Pharaoh’s household was now in trouble.

BSA: offended (“sinned, missed the mark”): The word pictures falling short of what was required, whether the failing was real or only judged so by the king.

Hebrew: חָטְאוּ (chāṭe’û, H2398) — “they sinned, missed the mark.” This is the ordinary Hebrew word for sin. It pictures an archer who misses the target, so these men are said to have failed their master in some way.

Genesis 40:2

Pharaoh’s anger fell on both of his chief servants. An absolute ruler could punish without a trial, and these two were simply removed from their posts. Joseph knew well what it was to suffer under such unchecked power.

BSA: angry (“wroth, furious, intensely displeased”): The king’s anger was strong and personal, which tells us how dangerous the situation was for the two men.

Genesis 40:3

The two men were put in the house of the captain of the guard, who was Potiphar, Joseph’s former master. It was the very prison where Joseph already lay. God had arranged for these two men to be put in the one place where Joseph could meet them.

BSA: guard (“executioner”): The captain’s office included carrying out the king’s sentences, so this was a place of real danger.

Hebrew: טַבָּחִים (ṭabbāchîm, H2876) — “cooks, butchers, executioners.” The title comes from a word for slaughtering animals for the table. It shows the captain led the king’s bodyguard, which also carried out sentences of death.

See also: Genesis 39:20-23.

Genesis 40:4

The captain gave the two officers into Joseph’s care, so he served them day by day. Even in prison Joseph was trusted and useful. After the wrongs done to him, he kept doing faithful work where he was placed.

BSA: attendant (“served them, ministered to their needs”): Joseph did more than guard them. He looked after what they needed, as a servant would.

Hebrew: וַיְשָׁרֶת (vayeshāret, H8334) — “and he served, waited on.” This verb is used for personal service, such as that given to a master or to a priest. Joseph’s care for them was steady and personal.

See also: Genesis 39:21-23.

Genesis 40:5

Both men dreamed on the same night, and each dream carried a meaning that fit his own situation. In that world dreams were widely believed to carry messages, which is why the men were so troubled. Only God could say what these dreams meant.

BSA: dream (“a vision, a prophetic message”): These were no idle night thoughts. The men felt the dreams were messages that needed explaining.

Genesis 40:6

Joseph noticed the men’s faces when he came in. He was not merely doing a task, but he saw them as people in distress. Because he paid attention, a door opened for him to help.

BSA: distraught (“sad, dejected, worried, enraged”): The word covers a range of dark moods, so these men were deeply upset, not merely tired.

Hebrew: זֹעֲפִים (zō’afîm, H2196) — “troubled, out of sorts, gloomy.” The word describes a face clouded over by worry or irritation. Joseph read their faces and cared enough to ask.

Genesis 40:7

Joseph asked the two officers why they looked so sad. Though a prisoner himself, he showed kindness and concern. A simple, caring question led to the conversation that would eventually bring him before Pharaoh.

BSA: downcast (“sad, depressed”): Their faces showed a heavy sorrow that Joseph could not miss.

Genesis 40:8

The men said that no one could explain their dreams. Joseph answered that interpretations belong to God, and he invited them to tell him anyway. He gave God the credit before he began, since he claimed no gift of his own.

BSA: God (“Elohim, the all-knowing One”): Joseph points to the Creator, who knows what is hidden, as the only source of true understanding. interpretations (“explanations, understandings”): Joseph speaks of real understanding, which comes as a gift from God.

Hebrew: פִּתְרֹנִים (pitrônîm, H6623) — “interpretations, solutions.” The word is related to the idea of loosening a knot. A dream is like a tied-up message, and God alone can untie it.

See also: Genesis 41:16; Daniel 2:28.

Genesis 40:9-11

The cupbearer described a vine with three branches that budded, blossomed and ripened at once. He pressed the grapes into Pharaoh’s cup and put it in the king’s hand. The dream was full of his own old duties, so it spoke of his job.

BSA: branches (“tendrils, or parts of a plant that entwine”): These are the winding shoots of a vine, and the dream counts them as three.

Genesis 40:12

Joseph said the three branches stood for three days. He did not guess or invent. He spoke plainly and with confidence because he trusted God to give the meaning. The short, exact timing would soon be put to the test.

BSA: interpretation (“explanation, uncovering of the dream’s meaning”): Joseph is uncovering what God had hidden in the picture, not making up a clever story.

Genesis 40:13

Within three days Pharaoh would lift up the cupbearer’s head and give back his old post. The phrase is a good-news saying, meaning he would be honored and raised from disgrace. The dream promised a complete return to his old life.

BSA: restore (“return, bring back”): The cupbearer would be returned to his old place, not given a lesser one. lift up (“exalt, raise”): To lift a man’s head means to honor him and free him from shame.

Hebrew: יִשָּׂא (yissā, H5375) — “will lift up.” Joseph uses the phrase ’lift up the head’ for both men. For the cupbearer it means honor and release, and for the baker it will mean something dreadful.

See also: Psalm 3:3.

Genesis 40:14

Joseph asked a small favor. When the cupbearer was back in power, he should speak to Pharaoh about him. Joseph hoped for release by ordinary human means. Asking for help was not a failure of faith, but a reasonable and humble request.

BSA: kindness (“mercy, pity, loving actions”): Joseph asks for a generous, loyal kindness that he could not demand. remember (“keep me in thy remembrance, recall”): To remember here means to bring a person to mind and then act for him.

Hebrew: חֶסֶד (chesed, H2617) — “loyal kindness, steadfast love.” This is the word often used of God’s faithful love. Joseph asks the cupbearer to return the favor of one kind act with another.

Genesis 40:15

Joseph told his story in two short sentences. He had been kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and he had done nothing to deserve the dungeon. He does not grumble against his brothers or against Potiphar’s wife. He simply states the truth.

BSA: kidnapped (“stolen away, forcibly taken”): Joseph says he was carried off by force, the way a thief takes a person. dungeon (“pit, prison cell”): The word is the same as the pit where his brothers once threw him, so he is again in a place of confinement.

Hebrew: גֻּנֹּב גֻּנַּבְתִּי (gunnōv gunnavtî, H1589) — “I was surely stolen.” The Hebrew repeats the verb for emphasis: ‘stolen, I was stolen.’ Joseph insists that he is a victim of theft and not a criminal.

See also: Genesis 37:28.

Genesis 40:16-17

Hearing the good interpretation, the baker told his dream. Three baskets of bread sat on his head, and birds were eating the best pastries from the top one. Unlike the cupbearer’s dream, nothing is delivered to Pharaoh here. The birds take it all.

BSA: white (“pure, clean”): The bread was fine, good-quality food meant for the king’s table, which makes the loss in the dream sadder.

Genesis 40:18

Joseph gave the same sort of answer as before. The three baskets were three days. The pattern was similar, but the outcome would be very different. Joseph did not soften the message, even though he knew the baker hoped to hear good news.

BSA: baskets (“containers, woven vessels”): These were the woven baskets the baker carried, and each one stands for a day.

Genesis 40:19

Joseph spoke the hard truth. In three days Pharaoh would lift the baker’s head off, and the baker would be hanged and left for the birds. Dishonor after death was a terrible thing. Joseph told it as God showed him, without cruelty and without flinching.

BSA: hang (“suspend, execute”): The punishment was a public execution, with the body displayed afterward.

Hebrew: עֵץ (ʿēṣ, H6086) — “tree, wood, pole.” The word means simply wood, so it can mean a living tree or a post. Here it is the pole on which the body would be displayed.

See also: Deuteronomy 21:22-23.

Genesis 40:20

On the third day, Pharaoh’s birthday, he held a feast for his servants and dealt with both men before them. The phrase ’lifted up the head’ was used for each, and its meaning was different for each. Joseph’s words came true to the day.

BSA: lifted up (“exalted, restored”): The same words could mean honor for one man and judgment for another, depending on what the king decided.

Hebrew: וַיִּשָּׂא (vayyissā, H5375) — “and he lifted up.” The same verb is used for both men, and it works as a wordplay. One head is lifted up in honor, while the other is lifted off in death.

Genesis 40:21-22

The cupbearer was restored to his place and again handed Pharaoh his cup. The baker was hanged. Both outcomes matched Joseph’s words exactly. This was proof that his understanding came from God, not from guesswork.

BSA: restored (“returned to a former position, reinstated”): The cupbearer got back everything he had lost, just as the dream promised.

Genesis 40:23

The cupbearer did not remember Joseph. He forgot him completely, and Joseph stayed in prison. It is a painful ending, yet the story is not finished. God had not forgotten, and two years later the cupbearer’s memory would serve God’s purpose.

BSA: remember (“recall, mark”): The cupbearer did not bring Joseph to mind or take note of what he owed him. forgot (“was oblivious to, mislaid”): Joseph slipped from the man’s mind as if he were something put away and lost.

Hebrew: וַיִּשְׁכָּחֵהוּ (vayyishkāchēhû, H7911) — “and he forgot him.” The verse says the cupbearer did not remember and then adds that he forgot. The repetition underlines how complete and disappointing the neglect was.

See also: Genesis 41:9-13.