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Genesis 40

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Part of Joseph📖 Genesis introduction

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1Then it came about after these things, that the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. ✦ 2And Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. ✦ 3So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the prison, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned. ✦ 4And the captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he took care of them; and they were in confinement for some time. ✦ 5Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation. ✦ 6When Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them, behold, they were dejected. ✦ 7So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?” ✦ 8And they said to him, “We have had a dream, and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do interpretations not belong to God? Tell it to me, please.” ✦ 9So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, saying to him, “In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me; ✦ 10and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes. 11Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.” ✦ 12Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; ✦ 13within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand as in your former practice when you were his cupbearer. ✦ 14Only keep me in mind when it goes well for you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. ✦ 15For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.” ✦ 16When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; ✦ 17and in the top basket there were some of all kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” ✦ 18Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; ✦ 19within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a wooden post, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.” ✦ 20So it came about on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he held a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. ✦ 21He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand; ✦ 22but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them. ✦ 23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

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

Where this chapter connects

Gen 40 ·16Gen 41 ·11Dan 2 ·9Dan 4 ·8Gen 39 ·7Gen 37 ·4Judg 7 ·3Dan 5 ·3

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical

    On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

  • VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical

    Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.

  • ReferenceBook of Genesis — Visual GuideBibleProject · Free

    A free structured guide to the whole book — outline, themes, and links to each video.

  • DocumentaryIs Genesis History?Del Tackett · Free · evangelical

    A young-earth-creationist case for a literal Genesis, free on YouTube. (YEC is one view held by faithful Christians; others read Genesis differently — see the genre guide on how to read it.)

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryGenesis (Word Biblical Commentary)Gordon J. Wenham · Paid · evangelical

    For decades the gold-standard commentary on Genesis — technical but rich. (See the ranked list for alternatives like Hamilton, NICOT.)

  • BookThe Pentateuch as NarrativeJohn H. Sailhamer · ~560 pp · Library · evangelical

    A literary-theological reading that makes Genesis's design visible.

Commentaries & study tools

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