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.