40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, 2 he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread 3 on my head.
40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” 4 the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants.
1 tn Heb “had interpreted for them.”
2 tn Heb “that [the] interpretation [was] good.” The words “the first dream” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Or “three wicker baskets.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun חֹרִי (khori, “white bread, cake”) is uncertain; some have suggested the meaning “wicker” instead. Comparison with texts from Ebla suggests the meaning “pastries made with white flour” (M. Dahood, “Eblaite h¬a-rí and Genesis 40,16 h£o„rî,” BN 13 [1980]: 14-16).
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).