40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” 3 the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants.
1 tn Heb “Pharaoh will lift up your head.” This Hebrew idiom usually refers to restoring dignity, office, or power. It is comparable to the modern saying “someone can hold his head up high.”
2 tn Heb “according to the former custom.”
3 tn The translation puts the verb in quotation marks because it is used rhetorically here and has a double meaning. With respect to the cup bearer it means “reinstate” (see v. 13), but with respect to the baker it means “decapitate” (see v. 19).