40:12 “This is its meaning,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches represent 1 three days.
40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” 2 the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. 40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his former position 3 so that he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand, 40:22 but the chief baker he impaled, just as Joseph had predicted. 4
1 tn Heb “the three branches [are].”
2 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).
3 tn Heb “his cupbearing.”
4 tn Heb “had interpreted for them.”
5 tn Heb “See!” The Hebrew imperative of the verb used here (רָאָה, ra’ah) functions the same as the particle in v. 9. See the translator’s note there.
6 tn Heb “I appoint you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot….” The phrase refers to the
7 sn These three pairs represent the twofold nature of Jeremiah’s prophecies, prophecies of judgment and restoration. For the further programmatic use of these pairs for Jeremiah’s ministry see 18:7-10 and 31:27-28.
8 tc Heb “I.” The reading is due to the confusion of yod (י, indicating a first person pronoun) and vav (ו, indicating a third person pronoun). A few medieval Hebrew