Genesis 40:22

40:22 but the chief baker he impaled, just as Joseph had predicted. ¹ 

Genesis 40:1-2

The Cupbearer and the Baker

40:1 After these things happened, the cupbearer ²  to the king of Egypt and the royal baker ³  offended ⁴  their master, the king of Egypt. 40:2 Pharaoh was enraged with his two officials, ⁵  the cupbearer and the baker,

Genesis 19:3

19:3 But he urged ⁶  them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate.

Genesis 40:16-17

40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, ⁷  he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread ⁸  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.”

Genesis 41:10

41:10 Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards – me and the chief baker.

Genesis 40:5

40:5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream ⁹  the same night. ¹⁰  Each man’s dream had its own meaning. ¹¹ 

Genesis 40:20

40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” ¹²  the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants.

[40:22]  ¹ tn Heb “had interpreted for them.”

[40:1]  ² 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.

[40:1]  ³ sn The baker may be the Egyptian retehti, the head of the bakers, who had privileges in the royal court.

[40:1]  ⁴ 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.

[40:2]  ³ 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.

[19:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9, where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.

[40:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “that [the] interpretation [was] good.” The words “the first dream” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[40:16]  ⁶ 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).

[40:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

[40:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “a man his dream in one night.”

[40:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “a man according to the interpretation of his dream.”

[40:20]  ⁷ 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).