Genesis 40:9-19

The Interpretation of the Dreams

v. 9. And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;

v. 10. and in the vine were three branches; and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes;

v. 11. and Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. It was a very vivid dream, one in which events ordinarily of long duration were pressed together into the space of a few moments. The grapevine was before butler, its three branches grew, it seemed that the blossoms budded forth, that they ripened into berries, into grapes. And, the cup belonging to the king being in his hand, he immediately pressed out the grapes and offered the cup with the juice to the king, thus performing the work which he had always been doing.

v. 12. And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days;

v. 13. yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place; and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. God revealed this interpretation to Joseph, and the latter told it in just that way. Pharaoh would lift up the head of the butler out of the disgrace of his imprisonment, have him fetched from prison, grant him the former prosperity and honor, and give him back his former office.

v. 14. But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house;

v. 15. for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. Joseph's plea may well be understood, when he asks the butler to keep him in favorable memory. He explains that he did not flee from his home country on account of some crime, but that he had been abducted by force. The expression shields his brothers, so far as their share in his present plight was concerned, and is altogether consistent, for Joseph undoubtedly informed the Ishmaelites that bought him of his station. He speaks with the same caution in referring to his imprisonment, merely stating that he was guilty of no crime which would have merited his being placed into this pit.

v. 16. When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head, three baskets with white bread;

v. 17. and in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bake-meats for Pharaoh, fine things to eat of bakery goods; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. In his eagerness to obtain a favorable interpretation for himself, the chief baker overlooked the significant difference in the end of the dream.

v. 18. And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days;

v. 19. yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. In this one point there was the great distinction between the two dreams: it was not Pharaoh that took bread or fine pastry from the hand of the baker, but the birds seized upon his bakery-ware. He was to be put to death, hung upon a stake or gallows, and his flesh given to the birds of heaven to eat. Although the interpretation seems so simple, it is clear that God Himself here drew aside the veil of the future.