Limitless Word

Genesis 40

WEBKJVBSBESVNKJVNASBNLT

Part of Joseph📖 Genesis introduction

Read the chapter

1It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. ✦ 2And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. ✦ 3So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. ✦ 4And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while. ✦ 5Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation. ✦ 6And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. ✦ 7So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?” ✦ 8And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.” ✦ 9Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, ✦ 10and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. 11Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” ✦ 12And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. ✦ 13Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. ✦ 14But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. ✦ 15For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.” ✦ 16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head. ✦ 17In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.” ✦ 18So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. ✦ 19Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.” ✦ 20Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. ✦ 21Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. ✦ 22But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. ✦ 23Yet the chief butler 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 taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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

← Genesis 39Genesis 41 →