For those on the outside looking in, it would seem that Joseph couldn’t catch a break. First,
he was beaten up by his brothers and thrown down a well, then he was sold into slavery,
then, after finally finding fortune in the eyes of his master Potiphar, he is thrown into jail at
the behest of Potiphar’s scornful wife, who after failing to seduce Joseph (on the account that the
young man would not betray his master and sully his wife) lied about their affair in order to
have Joseph killed. Luckily though, Potiphar, who had grown fond of Jacob, did not have him killed
but instead threw him into prison. Here, Jacob proved to be one of the most durable and patient
characters in the bible, for despite all the horrible things that had happened to him, he did
not lose sight of his faith and he did not allow the bad things to consume him and turn him bitter.
Instead, at the end of Genesis 39, Joseph is seen to work with his circumstances and is able
to establish himself as something of an authority amongst the other prisoners, even going as far as
to run the prison after earning good favor with the warden. As specified in the last episode,
you might say that Joseph was simply a very likable fellow and he was able to make and
maintain good relationships with those around him. But on the other hand, in a more divine sense,
believers might say that Joseph was blessed and that because he did not curse the Lord’s name,
nor lose his faith in these trying times, God rewarded him by easing his suffering and promoting
him within his social circle and standing. Now, some time after being imprisoned, chapter
40 of Genesis tells us that the royal cupbearer and the royal baker of the king of Egypt offended
their master. We are not told exactly what it was that they did here to offend the pharaoh,
but there are those that believe that both men were under suspicion of plotting the king’s
murder via poisoning, and so, were tossed into jail. When they arrived, the captain
of the guard (likely Potiphar), assigned them both to Joseph, and he attended them.
What’s interesting here is that Potiphar, despite having thrown Joseph into prison, still gives him
preferential treatment by assigning them both to Joseph. It shows us that perhaps, as suggested
in the last episode, that Potiphar did not really believe the lies his wife had told him of Joseph,
or that he was at least torn between his marital ties and acknowledging Joseph’s innocence.
Furthermore, we also see Joseph’s humbleness - Potiphar assigned the cupbearer and the baker
to Joseph, but we know from the text that Joseph actually ends up attending them.
It shows us that even though Joseph had been given preferential treatment and even though
he had gained authority in the prison, he did not abuse his power and chose to serve others instead.
After the cupbearer and the baker had been in custody for some time,
each of them had a dream the very same night and each dream had a meaning of its
own. When Joseph came to see them the next morning, he found that they were
both looking sad. So he asked the Pharaoh’s officials, ‘Why are you so dejected today?’
It’s interesting that despite everything that has happened to him, Joseph still looks out for
others - even though he doesn’t know them that well. It would be easy for Joseph to have become
so self centered after his hardships that he may not have even recognised the hurt of others,
yet here, we see that even in prison, he puts the thoughts and feelings of others before himself.
‘We both had dreams,’ they answered, ‘but there is no one to interpret them.’
Then Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretation belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
It would seem that based on this, Joseph was aware that his God spoke to people in their dreams. This
is evident all over Genesis, such as when God spoke to the king Abimelek warning him to return
Sarai to Abram, or when God spoke to Jacob when he told him to go back to Bethel and build an altar,
or when God spoke to Laban, warning him not to say anything good or bad to Jacob.
With this knowledge, Joseph knew that the dreams the two men had may have contained words from God,
and so out of his own generosity, he offered to interpret them. After all, Joseph knew God
was with him and so, this wasn’t a bold or even arrogant approach on behalf of Joseph,
but instead a genuine effort to do some good amongst those who he believed were suffering.
The bible tells us, “So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him,
“In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches.
As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes.
Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and
put the cup in his hand.” (Genesis 40:9-10) In previous dreams that have transpired in
the bible, God’s words have been more direct - commanding people to return what did not belong
to them or warning them of committing a certain action or making a certain decision. Here though,
God resorts to using imagery and figures in the Cupbearer’s dream, but the imagery is not entirely
random, but rather something the Cupbearer can understand. He shows the Cupbearer vines,
grapes, the Pharaoh’s cup, as well as himself serving the Pharaoh again as he fills his cup.
When Joseph hears this, he interprets the dream and tells the Cupbearer, “The three branches are
three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position,
and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do
when you were his cupbearer.” (Genesis 40:12-13) Now, considering that the Cupbearer’s dream is
fairly simple, one might say that Joseph declaring that he will be restored to his former position is
quite obvious. However, what wasn’t obvious was Joseph’s prediction that the Cupbearer would be
restored in three days. This shows us that Joseph wasn’t just making this up, and he was willing
to give everyone proof that the Cupbearer’s restoration wasn’t a coincidence by declaring
a time limit of three days. It should also be noted that Joseph wasn’t guessing or inferring.
These were his God’s words and it was his God who had given him these things to say.
Joseph concluded, “But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention
me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews,
and even here I have done nothing wrong to deserve being put in a dungeon.” (Genesis 40:14-15)
This is the first time in Joseph’s story that we have seen him try to get out of his circumstances.
He isn’t angry, he isn’t entitled and by no means does he appear to lose faith in God,
but he does still want his freedom. By asking the Cupbearer to do him this kindness,
Joseph may have been trusting in God to help the Cupbearer facilitate his own release.
Indeed, Joseph knew that he was blessed by God and so, he must’ve known God had
a purpose for him outside of the prison walls and so, was eager to find out what that was.
Now, when the baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation to the Cupbearer,
he told Joseph of his dream saying, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread.
In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out
of the basket on my head.” (Genesis 40:16-17) So, you see, when the Baker heard that the
Cupbearer had a favorable interpretation, he wanted to hear one for himself - possibly in
an effort to gain some peace of mind in his circumstances.
Instead, he gets quite the opposite, for Joseph tells him, “This is what [your dream means.]
The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head
and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.” (Genesis 40:18-19)
Joseph took no pleasure in delivering this interpretation to the baker. Yet, he was faithful
to deliver the message in its fullest, just as he had done with the Cupbearer. Whilst it’s likely he
would have wanted to give the baker good news, Joseph has the burden of relaying exactly that
which God has decreed - that he would not be returning to his former service or former life,
but that in three days, he would be killed. When the third day rolled around, it was
Pharaoh’s birthday and he gave a feast for all of his officials. There, he lifted up the heads
of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials. Then, just as Joseph
had predicted, he restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup
into Pharaoh’s hand and poured him wine. But the chief baker was not restored to his position and
instead, as Joseph had predicted, he was impaled. Chapter 40 of Genesis ends with a sense of
melancholy because the bible tells us that despite Joseph being accurate in his prediction,
and despite the cupbearer gaining his freedom, he did not remember his promise to Joseph - in fact,
he forgot all about him. Here, Joseph was wronged once more, for though he thought the Cupbearer may
have shown him kindness, which may have led to his own freedom, it was not meant to be.
Whilst it may seem all doom and gloom for Joseph, chapter 40 of Genesis does showcase
Joseph’s ability to discern the meaning of dreams - something we did not know he could do until this
very moment. We also see the deepening of Joseph’s character and how he is shaped to be a perfect
example of the ‘ideal’ believer - one who rolls with their predicaments with poise and grace,
not bitterness and rage, one who trusts in the process instead of forcing things his
way and most importantly, one who remains true to his God, even when things don’t go to plan.
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