Genesis 40 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Genesis 40:1-8

1 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.

After they had been in custody for some time, 5 each of the two men – the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison – had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, ‘Why do you look so sad today?’

8 ‘We both had dreams,’ they answered, ‘but there is no one to interpret them.’

Then Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.’

A. Find Out:

1. With whom was Pharaoh angry? v.2
2. Who looked after them in prison? v.4
3. When did they dream? v.5
4. What made Joseph question them? v.6,7
5. What did they say their problem was? v.8a
6. Who did Joseph say had the answers? v.8b

B. Think:

1. What characteristic of Joseph resulted in him being the one who looked after these two men?
2. What characteristic of him was it that drew these two dreams to his attention?
3. Why might Joseph have been sensitive to meanings of dreams?

C. Comment:

The characters of this particular drama are beginning to be drawn together. Joseph is in prison and soon into the prison come two men, one of whom is going to be the cause of Joseph being moved into the place where God finally wants him. The arrival of two more prisoners could appear to the casual observer as just chance. When they are placed in Joseph’s care however, we may begin to wonder if there is any significance in it. Most people miss the coincidences of life and most people miss seeing the hand of God moving!

Then they start dreaming – on the same night! Joseph is more observant about other people than he used to be and so, when the two new prisoners appear unhappy one morning and something is obviously wrong, (if you have eyes to see!) he enquires what is the matter and so they tell him about their dreaming.

Joseph knows about dreams. It was dreams that got him into this mess! He won’t treat them casually, but he’s also learnt that it is only God who can interpret them. Yes, Joseph knows about dreams!

D. Application?

1. Can God speak to us through dreams? (see Acts 2:17)
2. Are we alert to the changes in people that reveal their needs that with  God we might be able to meet?

Passage: Genesis 40:9-23

9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, ‘In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 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.’

12 ‘This is what it means,’ Joseph said to him. ‘The three branches are three days. 13 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. 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.’

16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favourable interpretation, he said to Joseph, ‘I too had a dream: on my head were three baskets of bread. 17 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.’

18 ‘This is what it means,’ Joseph said. ‘The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.’

20 Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 21 he restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand – 22 but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

A. Find Out:    

1. What was the cup bearer’s dream? v.9-11
2. What did Joseph say it meant? v.13
3. What did Joseph ask him to do? v.14
4. What was the baker’s dream? v.16,17
5. What did Joseph say it meant? v.19
6. What did the cup bearer later do? v.23

B. Think:

1. What are we told about the accuracy of Joseph’s interpretations?
2. How does Joseph appeal for help from the cup bearer?
3. What do we learn about thankfulness from this passage?

C. Comment:

The two men share their two dreams with Joseph. The cup bearer willingly shared his dream and Joseph gave him a good interpretation. The baker seemed to sense bad news but because Joseph had given a good interpretation to the first one, he thought perhaps he might get the same.   He was disappointed!  When sharing God’s word, we must share good AND bad news. What Joseph says is exactly fulfilled. Although it does not say it, the understanding of interpretations must have clearly been the gifting of God to be so accurate. This was not something that Joseph had to struggle and strive for; this was the gifting of God.

Joseph appeals to the cup bearer by telling him his own story, perhaps by saying, “Look, I’m in exactly the same boat as you, unfairly imprisoned.” Although the cup bearer hears him, when the dream is fulfilled, he completely forgets Joseph. Perhaps he did that because he just believed it was coincidence that it all worked out like that, and he thus felt no gratitude to either God or Joseph. Whatever it is it doesn’t appear time for Joseph to be released yet!   God has still got some things on His agenda that He wants to do, and one of them will mean Joseph’s release, but that is yet to come.  Have we learnt to rest in God’s timing?

D. Application?

1. Do we sometimes write off God’s word that comes to us through unusual circumstances, and put it down to coincidence?
2. Do we give both the good AND bad news when we share the Gospel?