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86 | Genesis 39:13
13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house , 14 she called her house hold ser vants . “ Look ,” she said to them , “ this He brew has been brought to us to make sport of us ! He came in here to sleep with me , but I screamed . c 15 When he heard me scream for help , he left his cloak be side me and ran out of the house .”
16 She kept his cloak be side her un til his mas ter came home . 17 Then she told him this story : d “ That He brew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me . 18 But as soon as I screamed for help , he left his cloak be side me and ran out of the house .”
19 When his mas ter heard the story his wife told him , say ing , “ This is how your slave treated me ,” he burned with an ger . e 20 Jo seph ’ s mas ter took him and put him in prison , f the place where the king ’ s prisoners were confined .
But while Jo seph was there in the prison , 21 the Lord was with him ; he showed him kind ness and granted him fa vor in the eyes of the prison war den . g 22 So the war den put Jo seph in charge of all those held in the prison , and he was made re spon si ble for all that was done there . h 23 The war den paid no at ten tion to any thing un der Jo seph ’ s care , be cause the Lord was with Jo seph and gave him suc cess in what ever he did . i
The Cupbearer and the Baker

40 Some time later , the cup bearer j and the baker of the king of Egypt of fended their mas ter , the king of Egypt . 2 Phar aoh was an gry k with his two of fi cials , the chief cup bearer and the chief baker , 3 and put them in cus tody in the house of the cap tain of the guard , l in the same prison where Jo seph was con fined . 4 The cap tain of the guard as signed them to Joseph , m and he at tended them .

Af ter they had been in cus tody for some time , 5 each of the two men — ​the cup bearer and the baker of the king of Egypt , who were be ing held in prison — ​had a dream the same night , and each dream had a mean ing of its own . n
6 When Jo seph came to them the next morn ing , he saw that they were de jected . 7 So he asked Phar aoh ’ s of fi cials who were in cus tody with him in his mas ter ’ s house , “ Why do you look so sad to day ?” o 8 “ We both had dreams ,” they an swered , “ but there is no one to in ter pret them .” p Then Jo seph said to them , “ Do not in ter pre ta tions be long to God ? q Tell me your dreams .”
9 So the chief cup bearer told Jo seph his dream . He said to him , “ In my dream I saw a vine in front of me , 10 and on the vine were three branches . As soon as it bud ded , it blossomed , and its clus ters rip ened into grapes . 11 Phar aoh ’ s cup was in my hand , and I took the grapes , squeezed them into Phar aoh ’ s cup and put the cup in his hand .”
12 “ This is what it means , r ” Jo seph said to him . “ The three branches are three days . 13 Within three days Phar aoh will lift up your head and re store you to your po si tion , and you will put Phar aoh ’ s cup in his hand , just as you used to do when you were his cup bearer . 14 But when all goes well with you , re mem ber me s and show me kind ness ; t men tion me to Phar aoh and get me out of this prison . 15 I was forc ibly car ried off from the land of the Hebrews , u and even here I have done noth ing to de serve be ing put in a dun geon .”
39:14 c Dt 22:24 , ​27
39:17 d Ex 23:1 , ​7 ; Ps 101:5
39:19 e Pr 6:34
39:20 f Ge 40:3 ; Ps 105:18
39:21 g Ex 3:21 39:22 h ver 4 39:23 i ver 3 40:1 j Ne 1:11 40:2 k Pr 16:14 , ​15 40:3 l Ge 39:20 40:4 m Ge 39:4 40:5 n Ge 41:11 40:7 o Ne 2:2
40:8 p Ge 41:8 , ​15 q Ge 41:16 ;
Da 2:22 , ​28 , ​47
40:12 r Ge 41:12 , ​15 , ​25 ; Da 2:36 ; 4:19
40:14 s Lk 23:42 t Jos 2:12 ; 1Sa 20:14 , ​42 ;
1Ki 2:7 40:15 u Ge 37:26‐28 on the entire household , persuading her servants to support her cause . The vehemence with which Potiphar ’ s wife condemns Joseph is a chilling reminder of how vengeful human nature can be . 39:17 you brought . Subtly she places part of the blame on her husband because he was responsible for bringing Joseph into their household ( see also “ your slave ” in v . 19 ). make sport of . The Hebrew word elsewhere describes Ishmael “ mocking ” his younger brother Isaac ( 21:9 ) and Isaac “ caressing ” his wife Rebekah ( 26:8 ). 39:19 – 20 Accepting his wife ’ s accusation , Potiphar puts Joseph in prison . As captain of the guard ( v . 1 ), Potiphar is well-placed to ensure Joseph ’ s swift imprisonment ( see note on 37:36 ). 39:20 where the king ’ s prisoners were confined . This anticipates later developments in the story . 39:21 – 23 As in Potiphar ’ s house , the Lord is with Joseph ( vv . 2 – 5 ), so the warden entrusts Joseph with responsibility for all that happens within the prison .
40:1 – 23 The Cupbearer and the Baker . Through being imprisoned , Joseph comes into contact with two former members of the Egyptian royal household . As both officials await their fate in prison , Joseph ’ s ability to interpret their dreams paves the way for later developments in his life . 40:1 cupbearer . . . baker . Important positions within the royal household . Both men had regular access to the king . Their duties were not those of lowly domestic servants . offended their master , the king of Egypt . The reason they now find themselves imprisoned alongside Joseph . All three men share the same experience , although the outcome for one of them will be very different . 40:2 officials . The same Hebrew term denotes Potiphar ( 37:36 ; 39:1 ), who was a man of some wealth , having both slaves and fields . 40:3 captain of the guard . Potiphar held this position ( 37:36 ; 39:1 ), and he may have assigned Joseph to attend both officials . 40:5 Like Joseph as a teenager ( 37:5 – 11 ), the two men have intriguing dreams . However , because they are imprisoned , they cannot ask priests and wise men to interpret their dreams ( cf . 41:8 ). 40:8 interpretations belong to God . This may not have surprised the two men since Egyptians consulted their temple priests for interpretations ( see note on 41:8 ). However , by offering to explain their dreams , Joseph indicates that he has a special God-given ability . 40:9 – 11 The cupbearer ’ s dream reflects something of what his normal duties entailed . 40:13 will lift up your head . This same motif comes later in v . 19 , where it applies to the baker . However , although Phar aoh will lift up the heads of both men ( v . 20 ), the results are very different . 40:14 remember me . In spite of Joseph ’ s request , the cupbearer quickly forgets about him ( v . 23 ). 40:15 dungeon . The Hebrew term is translated “ cistern ” in 37:24 . In both Canaan and Egypt , Joseph finds himself unjustly imprisoned . While he declares his innocence , the cupbearer quickly forgets his plea .