Genesis 41.9-13-Cupbearer Tells Pharaoh of Joseph
Thursday December 21, 2007
Genesis: Genesis 41:9-13-Cupbearer Tells Pharaoh of Joseph
Lesson # 259
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 41:1.
This evening we will continue with our study of Genesis 41, which records Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams and making a recommendation to him in light of these dreams, which results in Pharaoh promoting him to prime minister, second only to Pharaoh in Egypt.
On Tuesday evening we studied Pharaoh of Egypt having two dreams which is recorded in Genesis 41:1-7.
Last evening we studied Genesis 41:8, which presents to us the account of Pharaoh summoning the priests who were skilled in the occult sciences in order to interpret his dreams but there were none that could.
This evening we will read Genesis 41:9-13, which records for us Pharaoh’s cupbearer whose dream Joseph interpreted two years before making Pharaoh aware of Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams.
Genesis 41:1, “Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.”
Genesis 41:2, “And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass.”
Genesis 41:3, “Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.”
Genesis 41:4, “The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.”
Genesis 41:5, “He fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good.”
Genesis 41:6, “Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.”
Genesis 41:7, “The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.”
Genesis 41:8, “Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.”
Genesis 41:9, “Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, ‘I would make mention today of my own offenses.’”
“The Cupbearer” was an important official who held a position of trust in the Egyptian court since he was responsible for protecting the king from being poisoned by the beverages he was served.
“Offenses” is the noun chete (af+j@) (khate), which refers to an “offense against another person.”
In Genesis 40:1, the verb form of the noun chete appears, which is chata (afj) (khaw-taw), “offended” and means, “to be guilty of a moral wrongdoing,” which causes offense to another.
In Genesis 41:9, the noun chete appears in the plural and not the singular indicating that the chief cupbearer is not only about to mention his offense against Pharaoh but also Joseph since if he was only going to mention his offense against Pharaoh, the word would be in the singular.
Therefore, the plural form of this word indicates that the chief cupbearer is admitting that he was guilty of a moral wrongdoing by not fulfilling Joseph’s request to make Pharaoh aware of his situation.
Genesis 40:23 reveals that the chief cupbearer deliberately chose to ignore Joseph’s request.
Genesis 40:23, “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”
“Did not remember” is composed of the negative particle lo’ (aO) and the verb zakhar (rk^z*) (zaw-kar), which does “not” refer to the act of remembering or reflecting but rather it refers to an act of recognition, the formal acknowledgement of someone entitled to consideration and the right to be heard or given attention.
Therefore, after Pharaoh’s cupbearer was restored he did not recognize Joseph before Pharaoh in the sense that he did not formally acknowledge Joseph to Pharaoh even though Joseph was entitled to consideration and the right to be heard and given attention since Joseph had compassion for him at a time of great need.
“Forgot” is the verb shakhach (jk^v*) (shaw-kakh), which denotes “a willful choice to ignore something that a person knows he is to do” and so the cupbearer willfully chose to ignore fulfilling Joseph’s request.
So this was not a mental lapse on the part of Pharaoh’s cupbearer but rather a “moral” lapse, which manifested his self-centeredness as a result of being a slave to the sin nature.
Therefore, in Genesis 41:9, the plural form of chete, “offenses” indicates that by not telling Pharaoh about Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams, the cupbearer has committed an offense against both Joseph and Pharaoh but the cupbearer’s failure was part of the providence of God.
The cupbearer’s deliberate refusal to present Joseph’s case to Pharaoh resulted in Joseph remaining in prison for another two years since Genesis 41:1 says that Pharaoh had a dream two years after the cupbearer was restored by Pharaoh.
Even though the moral lapse by Pharaoh’s cupbearer was evil, God meant it for good since it was a part of the providence of God since God did not want Joseph to leave prison and Egypt (See Genesis 50:20).
Suppose that after he was restored, the cupbearer told Pharaoh about Joseph and then released Joseph so that he could return to his father in Canaan.
This would have been bad since Pharaoh needed Joseph around when he had his dreams regarding the seven years of plenty and seven years of worldwide famine.
If Joseph didn’t remain in Egypt, then he would have never been there to interpret Pharaoh’s dream and if he doesn’t interpret Pharaoh’s dream, Joseph doesn’t get promoted by Pharaoh to prime minister of Egypt.
If Joseph never gets promoted to the prime minister of Egypt by Pharaoh, then there will be no one capable in Pharaoh’s administration to follow God directions to store up enough grain during the seven years of prosperity so as to be prepared for the seven years of world-wide famine.
If Joseph is not in place to administrate the Egyptian government under Pharaoh during the seven years of plenty and seven years of famine, then Joseph’s family dies of starvation in Canaan since Israel sends his sons to Egypt to get food to deal with the famine in Canaan (See Genesis 42).
If Joseph’s family dies of starvation, then the nation of Israel dies in its infancy and if so, then the Savior cannot come into the world and then there would be no salvation for man and no fulfillment of the four unconditional covenants to Israel (Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic and New) and thus making God unfaithful.
The next two years trained Joseph for the great position that he would be promoted to by Pharaoh as a result of interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams.
From the human perspective, such circumstances are unfair and lead to discouragement but from the divine perspective, one can see that God causes all circumstances to work together for God for those who love Him.
Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
If Joseph looked at the cupbearer willfully forgetting his request from the human perspective, he would be greatly discouraged and disillusioned.
However, from the divine perspective, Joseph’s imprisonment for another two years would continue to further to develop Christ-like character in him and prepare for the great work that would be his in just two short years.
During the years that Joseph was imprisoned, he possessed and maintained a dynamic mental attitude with love, joy, peace and no bitterness and resentment because he trusted that God would fulfill His Word to him in the form of the two prophetic dreams that are recorded in Genesis 37:5-11.
Joseph’s two prophetic dreams, which were revelation from God about the future of Joseph and his family served as a great encouragement to Joseph while he was incarcerated and enslaved in Egypt for fourteen years.
In our day and age, the Scriptures, which are revelation from God concerning our future (See 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21), serve as encouragement to us when we go through adversity and underserved suffering in our lives.
Romans 15:4, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
The revelation from God that Joseph received in his two dreams constituted the “Word of God” for him whereas here in the church age, the Word of God appears in the original languages of Scripture.
Genesis 41:9, “Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, ‘I would make mention today of my own offenses.’”
Genesis 41:10, “Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker.”
The cupbearer’s imprisonment two years before for offending Pharaoh is recorded in Genesis 40:1-4.
“Confinement” is the noun mishmar (rm*v+m!) (mish-mawr), which means, “custody.”
Therefore, Pharaoh placed his cupbearer and baker in the “custody” of the captain of the bodyguard, who was Potiphar.
The expression “the captain of the bodyguard” refers to Potiphar who was the leader of not only the royal bodyguards offering protection to Pharaoh and his family but also he was one of the royal executioners for Pharaoh who executed capital sentences ordered by Pharaoh.
“House” is composed of the noun bayith (ty!B^) (bah-yith), which means, “house” and the articular noun sohar (rh^s)) (so-har), which means, “prison,” thus a “prison house” and was a fortified prison and was usually attached to the dwelling of such an officer as Potiphar.
It was partly a underground dungeon according to Genesis 41:14, though the brick-built walls rose considerably above the surface of the ground, and were surmounted by a vaulted roof, somewhat in the form of an inverted bowl.
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 and 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).
Furthermore, Joseph is said to have been in confinement “in his master’s house” (Genesis 40:7), which we know was Potiphar’s house.
Therefore, the prison house under the warden was situated on the estate of the captain of the bodyguard who was Potiphar, Joseph’s master.
“The baker” was also an important official who held a position of trust in the Egyptian court since he was responsible for preparing the food that the king would eat.
Genesis 41:11, “We had a dream on the same night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.”
Genesis 41:12, “Now a Hebrew youth was with us there, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related them to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream.”
The dreams of the cupbearer and baker and the interpretation of these dreams by Joseph are recorded in Genesis 40:5-19.
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.
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.
“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.
Therefore, the term “Hebrew” denotes Joseph’s nationality in contrast with other nationalities in the land of Canaan and the Egyptians (cf. Gen. 43:32; Ex. 1:15; 2:11; 21:2) and the Egyptians.
Like Potiphar’s wife, Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer use of the term “Hebrew” expresses his “xenophobia,” which is an “unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers.”
This racial bigotry that the Egyptians had towards the Israelites is illustrated in Genesis 43:32, which records that the Egyptians did not eat with the Hebrews since that was repulsive to them.
“Youth” is the noun na`ar (ru^n^) (nah-ar), which refers in context refers to a “young man” of marriageable age.
Joseph was thirty years of age when the cupbearer made Pharaoh aware of Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams since Genesis 41:46 records Joseph as 30 years old when he became prime minister of Egypt after interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams.
The fact that the cupbearer described Joseph as “a Hebrew youth” who was a “servant of the captain of the bodyguard” reveals that he considered Joseph as an insignificant part of Egyptian society, which indicates why he didn’t bother telling Pharaoh about Joseph in the first place.
Genesis 41:13, “And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my office, but he hanged him.”
The cupbearer’s restoration and the baker’s execution, which were in fulfillment of Joseph’s interpretation of each man’s dream is recorded in Genesis 40:20-22.
“Hanged” is the verb talah (hlT) (taw-law), which means, “to impale” since the baker was decapitated as indicated by Joseph’s prediction in Genesis 40:19, “Pharaoh will lift up your head from you” thus making it impossible for him to be hanged.
The cupbearer’s eyewitness testimony regarding Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams prepares Pharaoh and his cabinet to accept Joseph’s interpretation as being the Word of God (See Psalm 105:19).
The statement “just as he (Joseph) had interpreted to us, so it happened” demonstrates that Joseph’s interpretations of the dreams of the cupbearer and baker were inspired by God and was another demonstration that “the Lord was with Joseph” (See Genesis 39:21).