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So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, saying to him, “In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me;
Genesis 40:9 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB The chief cup bearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream, behold, a vine was in front of me,
  • KJV And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;
  • BSB So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream: “In my dream there was a vine before me,
  • NKJV Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me,
  • NLT So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream first. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a grapevine in front of me.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The chief cupbearer recounts his dream of a vine before him.

Overview

The cupbearer describes a vivid vision centered on a vine. His willingness to share opens the way for Joseph's God-given interpretation. The imagery of vine and cup fittingly reflects his royal office of serving wine.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Judg 7:13–15When Gideon had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow. He said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream; and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.”
  • Dan 2:31You, O king, saw, and behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its aspect was awesome.
  • Gen 37:5–10Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more.
  • Dan 4:8But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and I told the dream before him, saying,
  • Dan 4:10–18Thus were the visions of my head on my bed: I saw, and behold, a tree in the middle of the earth; and its height was great.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 40:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 40:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.