Text -- Genesis 40:1-8 (NET)

The Cupbearer and the Baker

40:1 After these things happened, the cupbearer to the king of Egypt and the royal baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. 40:2 Pharaoh was enraged with his two officials, the cupbearer and the baker, 40:3 so he imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard in the same facility where Joseph was confined. 40:4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be their attendant, and he served them. They spent some time in custody. 40:5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream the same night. Each man’s dream had its own meaning. 40:6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were looking depressed. 40:7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?” 40:8 They told him, “We both had dreams, but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Gen 40:1

¹ sn The Hebrew term cupbearer corresponds to the Egyptian wb’, an official (frequently a foreigner) who often became a confidant of the king and wielded political power (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 248). Nehemiah held this post in Persia.

² sn The baker may be the Egyptian retehti, the head of the bakers, who had privileges in the royal court.

³ sn The Hebrew verb translated offended here is the same one translated “sin” in 39:9. Perhaps there is an intended contrast between these officials, who deserve to be imprisoned, and Joseph, who refused to sin against God, but was thrown into prison in spite of his innocence.

NET Notes: Gen 40:2

¹ tn The Hebrew word סָרִיס (saris), used here of these two men and of Potiphar (see 39:1), normally means “eunuch.” But evidence from Akkadian texts shows that in early times the title was used of a court official in general. Only later did it become more specialized in its use.

NET Notes: Gen 40:4

¹ sn He served them. This is the same Hebrew verb, meaning “to serve as a personal attendant,” that was translated “became [his] servant” in 39:4.

² tn Heb “they were days in custody.”

NET Notes: Gen 40:5

¹ tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

² tn Heb “a man his dream in one night.”

³ tn Heb “a man according to the interpretation of his dream.”

NET Notes: Gen 40:6

¹ tn The verb זָעַף (za’af) only occurs here and Dan 1:10. It means “to be sick, to be emaciated,” probably in this case because of depression.

NET Notes: Gen 40:7

¹ tn Heb “why are your faces sad today?”

NET Notes: Gen 40:8

¹ tn Heb “a dream we dreamed.”

² tn The word “them” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.