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.