Genesis 40:12-23

40:12 “This is its meaning,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches represent ¹  three days. 40:13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you ²  and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before ³  when you were cupbearer. 40:14 But remember me ⁴  when it goes well for you, and show ⁵  me kindness. ⁶  Make mention ⁷  of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison, ⁸  40:15 for I really was kidnapped ⁹  from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”

40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, ¹⁰  he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread ¹¹  on my head. 40:17 In the top basket there were baked goods of every kind for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket that was on my head.”

40:18 Joseph replied, “This is its meaning: The three baskets represent ¹²  three days. 40:19 In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you ¹³  and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” ¹⁴  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 ¹⁵  so that he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand, 40:22 but the chief baker he impaled, just as Joseph had predicted. ¹⁶  40:23 But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph – he forgot him. ¹⁷ 

[40:12]  ¹ tn Heb “the three branches [are].”

[40:13]  ² 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.”

[40:13]  ³ tn Heb “according to the former custom.”

[40:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “but you have remembered me with you.” The perfect verbal form may be used rhetorically here to emphasize Joseph’s desire to be remembered. He speaks of the action as already being accomplished in order to make it clear that he expects it to be done. The form can be translated as volitional, expressing a plea or a request.

[40:14]  ⁵ tn This perfect verbal form with the prefixed conjunction (and the two that immediately follow) carry the same force as the preceding perfect.

[40:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “deal with me [in] kindness.”

[40:14]  ⁷ tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar) in the Hiphil stem means “to cause to remember, to make mention, to boast.” The implication is that Joseph would be pleased for them to tell his story and give him the credit due him so that Pharaoh would release him. Since Pharaoh had never met Joseph, the simple translation of “cause him to remember me” would mean little.

[40:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “house.” The word “prison” has been substituted in the translation for clarity.

[40:15]  ⁹ tn The verb גָּנַב (ganav) means “to steal,” but in the Piel/Pual stem “to steal away.” The idea of “kidnap” would be closer to the sense, meaning he was stolen and carried off. The preceding infinitive absolute underscores the point Joseph is making.

[40:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “that [the] interpretation [was] good.” The words “the first dream” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[40:16]  ¹¹ 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).

[40:18]  ¹² tn Heb “the three baskets [are].”

[40:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “Pharaoh will lift up your head from upon you.” Joseph repeats the same expression from the first interpretation (see v. 13), but with the added words “from upon you,” which allow the statement to have a more literal and ominous meaning – the baker will be decapitated.

[40:20]  ¹⁴ 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).

[40:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his cupbearing.”

[40:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “had interpreted for them.”

[40:23]  ¹⁷ tn The wayyiqtol verbal form here has a reiterative or emphasizing function.