Genesis 41:20 | 87
40:18 v ver 12 40:19 w ver 13
40:20 x Mt 14:6-10 y Mk 6:21
40:21 z ver 13
40:22 a ver 19 b Ps 105:19
40:23 c Job 19:14 ; Ecc 9:15
41:1 d Ge 20:3 41:2 e ver 26 f Isa 19:6
41:8 g Da 2:1 , 3 ; 4:5 , 19 h Ex 7:11 , 22 ; Da 1:20 ;
2:2 , 27 ; 4:7
41:10 i Ge 40:2 j Ge 39:20
41:11 k Ge 40:5 41:12 l Ge 40:12 41:13 m Ge 40:22
41:14 n Ps 105:20 ; Da 2:25
41:15 o Da 5:16
41:16 p Ge 40:8 ; Da 2:30 ; Ac 3:12 ;
2Co 3:5
16 When the chief baker saw that Jo seph had given a fa vor able in ter pre ta tion , he said to Jo seph , “ I too had a dream : On my head were three bas kets of bread . a 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Phar aoh , but the birds were eat ing them out of the bas ket on my head .”
18 “ This is what it means ,” Jo seph said . “ The three bas kets are three days . v 19 Within three days Phar aoh will lift off your head w and im pale your body on a pole . And the birds will eat away your flesh .”
20 Now the third day was Phar aoh ’ s birth day , x and he gave a feast for all his of fi cials . y He lifted up the heads of the chief cup bearer and the chief baker in the pres ence of his of fi cials : 21 He re stored the chief cup bearer to his po si tion , so that he once again put the cup into Phar aoh ’ s hand z — 22 but he im paled the chief baker , a just as Jo seph had said to them in his interpretation . b
23 The chief cup bearer , how ever , did not re mem ber Jo seph ; he for got him . c
Pharaoh ’ s Dreams
41 When two full years had passed , Phar aoh had a dream : d He was stand ing by the Nile ,
2 when out of the river there came up seven cows , sleek and fat , e and they grazed among the reeds . f
3 Af ter them , seven other cows , ugly and gaunt , came up out of the Nile and stood be side those on the riv er bank . 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek , fat cows . Then Phar aoh woke up .
5 He fell asleep again and had a sec ond dream : Seven heads of grain , healthy and good , were grow ing on a sin gle stalk . 6 Af ter them , seven other heads of grain sprouted — thin and scorched by the east wind . 7 The thin heads of grain swal lowed up the seven healthy , full heads . Then Phar aoh woke up ; it had been a dream .
8 In the morn ing his mind was trou bled , g so he sent for all the ma gi cians h and wise men of Egypt . Phar aoh told them his dreams , but no one could in ter pret them for him .
9 Then the chief cup bearer said to Phar aoh , “ To day I am re minded of my short com ings . 10 Phar aoh was once an gry with his ser vants , i and he im pris oned me and the chief baker in the house of the cap tain of the guard . j 11 Each of us had a dream the same night , and each dream had a mean ing of its own . k 12 Now a young He brew was there with us , a servant of the cap tain of the guard . We told him our dreams , and he in ter preted them for us , giv ing each man the in ter pre ta tion of his dream . l 13 And things turned out ex actly as he in ter preted them to us : I was re stored to my po si tion , and the other man was im paled . m ”
14 So Phar aoh sent for Jo seph , and he was quickly brought from the dun geon . n When he had shaved and changed his clothes , he came be fore Phar aoh .
15 Phar aoh said to Jo seph , “ I had a dream , and no one can in ter pret it . But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can in ter pret it .” o
16 “ I can not do it ,” Jo seph re plied to Phar aoh , “ but God will give Phar aoh the an swer he desires .” p
17 Then Phar aoh said to Jo seph , “ In my dream I was stand ing on the bank of the Nile , 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows , fat and sleek , and they grazed among the reeds . 19 Af ter them , seven other cows came up — scrawny and very ugly and lean . I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt . 20 The lean , ugly cows ate up the seven
a 16 Or three wicker baskets
40:16 – 17 The chief baker recounts his dream , hopeful of a positive interpretation . 40:19 will lift off your head . Whereas Pharaoh ’ s lifting up the cupbearer ’ s head reinstates him , the same idiom describes an ominous outcome for the chief baker . The idiom may not necessarily describe his decapitation , but Phar aoh impales the baker ’ s body outdoors , permitting birds of carrion to gorge on it . 40:20 – 22 Joseph ’ s interpretations of their dreams come to fruition . 40:20 Pharaoh ’ s birthday . The anniversary of either his birth or his ascension to the throne of Egypt . lifted up . The heads of both men are raised ( see note on v . 13 ) with very different consequences for them ( see note on v . 19 ). 40:23 he forgot him . Joseph had asked the chief cupbearer to mention him to Phar aoh ( v . 14 ).
41:1 – 40 Phar aoh ’ s Dreams . After two years , the cupbearer recalls Joseph ’ s ability to interpret dreams and tells Phar aoh about Joseph . When Joseph subsequently explains Pharaoh ’ s dreams , Phar aoh dramatically exalts him from a prisoner to second-in-command to Phar aoh himself . This unexpected transformation prepares for later developments in the story involving Joseph ’ s brothers . Joseph consistently credits God as both the source and interpreter of Phar aoh ’ s dreams ( vv . 16,25,28,32 ), and Phar aoh perceives that Joseph is unique ( v . 38 ). 41:1 – 7 Phar aoh ’ s dreams are the last of three pairs that the Joseph story records . Both of Phar aoh ’ s dreams share common elements : seven fat heads of grain and seven thin ones parallel seven fat cows and seven thin ones ; the seven thin items consume the seven fat ones . 41:1 two full years had passed . This is the time gap between the cupbearer ’ s release and Phar aoh ’ s dreams . Joseph has remained in prison during this period .
41:8 The repetition of the common pattern in his dreams fills Phar aoh with unease ; he realizes that these are no ordinary dreams , so he seeks an interpretation . magicians . Priests linked to Egyptians temples . Among their various duties , Egyptian priests interpreted omens and signs . Phar aoh may have expected these sorcerer-priests , along with the wise men , to explain his dreams . 41:12 Hebrew . See note on 14:13 . Joseph ’ s ethnic origin distinguished him from others ( see note on 39:11 – 18 ). 41:14 dungeon . May refer to a “ pit ” ( see note on 40:15 ). shaved . Egyptians tended to be smooth-shaven in contrast to some other ethnic groups ( cf . 2 Sam 10:4 ). 41:16 Joseph emphatically identifies God as the one who interprets dreams . He downplays his own ability in order to give God his rightful place .