Genesis 40.5-15-Joseph Interprets the Dream of Cupbearer and Makes a Personal Request

Wednesday December 13, 2006

Genesis: Genesis 40:5-15-Joseph Interprets the Dreams of Cupbearer and Makes a Personal Request

Lesson # 254

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 40:1.

This evening we will continue with our study of Genesis 40, which contains the story of Joseph interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker who were imprisoned with Joseph because they offended Pharaoh.

Last evening we studied Genesis 40:1-4, which records Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker being incarcerated in the same prison as Joseph.

This evening we will note Genesis 40:5-15, which records Joseph interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and then making a personal request of him.

Genesis 40:1, “Then it came about after these things, the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt.”

Genesis 40:2, “Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.”

Genesis 40:3, “So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned.”

Genesis 40:4, “The captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he took care of them; and they were in confinement for some time.”

Genesis 40:5, “Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.”

These two dreams of the cupbearer and the baker have different meanings unlike Joseph’s two dreams, which had the same meaning emphasizing their future fulfillment (See Genesis 37:5-11; 41:25, 32).

Like Joseph’s dreams, the dream of the cupbearer and the baker were prophetic in nature dealing with the future of each man and were revelation from God since Joseph was able to interpret them only with God’s help.

Both dreams occurred during the same night but each dream pertained to the future of each man and would require a different interpretation revealing that each man’s future contrasted with the other in that one would die and the other live.

Just as Joseph’s two dreams, which appear in Genesis 37:5-11, were a revelation of God’s sovereign will for Joseph and his entire family so the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker were a revelation of the sovereign will of God for both men.

The repetition that they were imprisoned emphasizes their vulnerability since they were prisoners who were uncertain about their future and so any revelation about their future in the dreams would obviously be of great interest to them.

Nahum Sarna commenting on the anxiety of these men, writes, “The anxiety normally brought on by the accepted seriousness of dreams is here intensified for the prisoners by the uncertainty as to their fate and by their being denied access to a professional dream interpreter. The coincidence of the two officials having simultaneous dreams doubtless also heightened their tension” (The JPS Torah Commentary, page 277, The Jewish Publication Society).

These dreams would give Joseph an opportunity to come to Pharaoh’s attention who later on would have a dream that related to the future of his nation, which needed interpretation, which Joseph provided with the help of God.

Genesis 40:6, “When Joseph came to them in the morning and observed them, behold, they were dejected.”

Genesis 40:7, “He asked Pharaoh's officials who were with him in confinement in his master's house, ‘Why are your faces so sad today?’”

“Pharaoh’s officials” refers to Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker as indicated in Genesis 40:1-5.

The turmoil that was taking place in the soul of each man reflected in their faces and their attitudes.

Proverbs 15:13, “A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.”

The fact that Joseph took the time to observe the dejected attitude of both men he was serving and that he asked them why they were dejected reveals Joseph’s compassionate attitude towards people.

To have compassion for someone is to have an intense desire to alleviate the pain and suffering of another or remove its cause and to act upon this desire (1 John 3:16-17).

That Joseph was concerned for these two men is amazing and divine in character.

Remember, Joseph was unjustly incarcerated for a crime that he did not commit however, the imprisonment of these two men was justified as indicated in Genesis 40:1, which records that they were guilty of moral wrongdoing, which is not revealed to us.

Also, Joseph was serving these two men as indicated in Genesis 40:4 by the statement “he (Joseph) took care of them (Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker).”

Yet, we do not see Joseph resenting these men but instead shows them compassion, which reveals that he is serving these two men as unto the Lord.

Joseph performed his duties as unto the Lord, which is a principle that the apostle Paul taught to the slaves residing in the churches throughout the Roman Empire in the first century (See Ephesians 6:5-8).

Ephesians 6:5-6, “Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ, not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”

Ephesians 6:7-8, “With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.”

Joseph is operating in the love of God, which is compassionate since his motivation for treating these men in this manner is the direct result of believing that God had a plan for his life even though he was incarcerated unjustly.

The fact that Joseph is treating these men with compassion is amazing and divine since they were guilty and deserving of their imprisonment and he was not, he was innocent serving them who were guilty.

God’s love is “compassionate” meaning that God intensely desires and will act to alleviate the pain and suffering of another or remove its cause (1 John 3:16-17).

Joseph had the capacity to treat these men with compassion because he had faith that God had a plan for his life, which was revealed in the two prophetic dreams that he received from God as recorded in Genesis 37:5-11.

It is easy to treat people with compassion when they are deserving but difficult to do so for those who are undeserving and so Joseph’s actions typified our God’s treatment of us while we were His enemies (See Romans 5:6-8).

We are commanded to be compassionate to each other since it reflects God’s treatment of us who are undeserving of anything from Him (See Colossians 3:12-13).

Genesis 40:8, “Then they said to him, ‘We have had a dream and there is no one to interpret it.’ Then Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.’”

The cupbearer and baker respond to Joseph’s questions and state that there is no one in the prison to interpret their dreams referring to professional dream interpreters that the Egyptians commonly used.

Realizing that God had given him the ability to interpret their divine revelations Joseph invited the two prisoners to relate their dreams to him but notice he was careful to give God the glory for his interpretative gift (v. 8; cf. 41:16, 25, 28, 39).

Thus refuting the professional Egyptian dream interpreters who were frauds set up by the kingdom of darkness.

The interpretation of dreams is not a human art but a gift from God.

Joseph’s statement “Do not interpretations belong to God?” is a refutation of the professional Egyptian dream interpreters expressing the fact that the interpretation of dreams is not a result of learning and manipulation but rather divine revelation.

Notice that Joseph does “not” use the covenant name of God, which is Yahweh, “Lord” when addressing these men but rather uses Elohim, “God” since he is “not” speaking to members of God’s covenant people but rather unbelievers.

Like Joseph, Daniel also had this ability and likewise gave God the credit (cf. Dan. 2:28).

We know from Egyptian sources that the Egyptians believed that dreams were indicative of future events, and so these two were most concerned by the fact that here, in the dungeon, there was no one qualified to interpret their dreams for them.

Their futures had been revealed to them in their dreams, but they could not be interpreted, and the realization of this brought great distress to them and this was reflected in their faces.

Genesis 40:9-11 reveals the content of the cupbearer’s dream whereas Genesis 40:12-13 records Joseph’s interpretation of the dream.

Genesis 40:14-15 records Joseph making a personal request for intercession by the cupbearer to Pharaoh in his behalf.

Genesis 40:9-10, “So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, ‘In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me; and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes.’”

Genesis 40:11, “Now Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh's hand.”

Genesis 40:12-13, “Then Joseph said to him, ‘This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh's cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer.’”

The dream of the cupbearer reflects his profession.

The events in the dream happen rapidly where the grape growing season, the production process and the serving of the wine each takes place instantaneously and follow one another in rapid succession emphasizing the imminence of the dream’s fulfillment.

The number three dominates the cupbearer’s dream.

The three branches represent or signify three days.

The three stages of growth are sprouting, blossoming and ripening.

The three actions taken by the cupbearer are the taking of the grapes, squeezing them and handing the wine to Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s cup is mentioned three times.

The recurrence of the number three confirms the fulfillment of the dream in three days.

A comparison of Genesis 40:9-13 and Genesis 40:20 reveals that Pharaoh’s birthday took place three days after Joseph interpreted the dream of the cupbearer.

The expression “Lift up your head” is a Hebrew idiom that is subject to two interpretations forming a pun with Genesis 40:19 and means, “to summon someone into the presence of a king” since the expression is used of both the cupbearer and baker, the former was restored by Pharaoh and the latter was executed.

This interpretation is confirmed in that in Akkadian, the equivalent to “lift up your head” meant, “to summon someone into the presence of a king.”

Genesis 40:14, “Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house.”

Genesis 40:15, “For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.”

Bob Deffinbaugh, “A man in Joseph’s position could easily have taken advantage of his cir¬cumstances. Frequently men in charge of prisoners would give preferential care to those who were willing and able to pay for it (See Acts 24:17, 26). These two officers were eager to learn the meaning of their dreams, a service that Joseph could have rendered for payment. He did, however, request that he be remembered before Pharaoh (verse 14), for the circumstances which led to his arrival in Egypt, as well as those which brought him to prison, were a matter of injustice which Pharaoh could correct” (The Book of Genesis, page 296, Biblical Studies, 1997).

The fact that Joseph makes a plea on his own behalf emphasizes his confidence that his interpretation is from God and enhances the credibility of his interpretation in the eyes of the cupbearer.

Joseph feels free to make this request of the cupbearer since in the ancient world dream interpreters charged for their services as in the case of Balaam (See Numbers 22:17f.).

Joseph’s request that the cupbearer remember him when he is restored does “not” demonstrate a lack of faith in the Lord but rather a tremendous demonstration of faith that God had given him the correct interpretation to the cupbearer’s dream.

Bob Deffinbaugh, “Joseph’s one request of the butler gave further testimony to the great faith of this Hebrew prisoner. He was so certain that his interpretation was on the button that he made a request of the butler which he never considered in the case of the baker and asked to be remembered before Pharaoh when his words came to pass. It is one thing to have an opinion on the meaning of a man’s dream, but quite another to make a request for your freedom based upon the outcome of your inter¬pretation. While content to remain in the dungeon so long as God willed, Joseph also made every effort to be removed from that place through the channels legitimately available to him” (The Book of Genesis, page 296, Biblical Studies, 1997).

Joseph tells the cupbearer that he was stolen from the land of the Hebrews, which is an accurate description of what happened to him.

The Hebrew text says that he was “stolen” (Hebrew: ganav [bn^G*] [gaw-nav]) from the land of the Hebrews, which is an accurate description of what his brothers had done to him since they had stolen his freedom by selling him into slavery, which is a crime under the Mosaic Law that required the death penalty (See Exodus 21:16).

The expression “land of the Hebrews” emphasizes Joseph’s nationality in contrast with the other well known nationalities of Canaan.

“Hebrew” is the proper noun ‘ivri (yr!b+u!) (iv-ree), which first appears in Genesis 14:13 to describe Abraham as a legitimate and well-known descendant of Shem through Eber and was therefore, in the line of the Promised Seed of Genesis 3:15.

In Genesis 40:14, Joseph pleads with the cupbearer to get him “out of this house” whereas in Genesis 40:15, he says he has done nothing to be put into this “dungeon.”

Genesis 40:3 records that Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker were imprisoned in the house of the captain of the bodyguard who we know was Potiphar.

Genesis 40:7 records that this prison was located in Potiphar’s house as indicated by the phrase “in his (Joseph’s) master’s house,” and which dungeon was in the basement.

If we compare these passages of Scripture we know that Joseph was imprisoned in a house which belonged to the “captain of the bodyguard” (Genesis 40:3), and we know this captain to be Potiphar (Genesis 39:1).

Therefore, the fact that Joseph pleads with the cupbearer to get him “out of this house” and then says he has done nothing to be into this “dungeon” indicates that Joseph was imprisoned in the basement of Potiphar’s house, who was the captain of the bodyguard.