Through My Bible Year 03 – April 19

Genesis 40:1 – 41:13

Joseph interprets dreams

genesis 40

¹ Sometime after this, the cupbearers and the bakers of the king of Egypt took offense against their master, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh became angry at his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. ³ He kept them in prison in the house of the chief of the executioners, that is, Joseph. ⁴ The chief of the guard entrusted them to Joseph, and he was responsible for them. He remained in jail for some time. ^{(1) 5} While they were in prison, the cupbearer and the butler of the king of Egypt saw a dream. Each person saw his own dream in the same night. Every person’s dream has its own meaning. ⁶ In the morning Joseph came to them and looked at them and saw that they were frightened. ⁷ He asked Pharaoh’s officials, who were imprisoned with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so upset today?”

⁸ They said to him, “Each of us has dreamed a dream, but there is no one to interpret it.”

Joseph said to them, “Interpretations are from God, aren’t they? Please tell me the dream.”

⁹ The chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. “In my dream there was a creeper in front of me, ¹⁰ And the vine had three branches. As I watched, buds sprouted on it, it blossomed, and ripe grapes grew in its clusters. ¹¹ I had the Pharaoh’s cup in my hand. I took grapes, pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.

¹² Joseph said to him, This is what it means: Three branches are three days. ¹³ Within three days Pharaoh will exalt your head and reinstate you in your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, just as you did when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ But when everything is going well with you, remember me. Have mercy on me, and speak about me to Pharaoh, and take me out of this prison. ¹⁵ For I have been taken up from the land of the Hebrews, and I have done nothing here to deserve being thrown into prison.

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that the fruit was favorable, he said to Joseph, I also dreamed a dream and saw three baskets of white bread placed on my head. ¹⁷ There were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh in the basket above, but the birds ate them from the basket over my head.

¹⁸ Joseph replied, “This is what it means: Three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ Within three days Pharaoh will take your head off and hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh.”

²⁰ And it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that Pharaoh prepared a feast for all his officials, and he separated from among his officials the chief butler and the chief baker. ²¹ And he appointed the chief cupbearer back to his post, and gave the cup into the hand of Pharaoh. ²² But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had advised them. ²³ Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

pharaoh’s dreams

genesis 41

¹ At the end of two full years, Pharaoh also saw a dream. In the dream he was standing on the bank of the river. ² There, right in front of him, seven beautiful, fat cows had emerged from the river and were grazing in the marshy grass. ³ Then behind them seven ugly, thin cows came out of the river, and they stood near other cows on the river bank. ⁴ The ugly, thin cows ate the seven beautiful, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

⁵ Pharaoh fell asleep again and dreamed a second time. He saw that seven healthy, good ears of grain grew on one stalk. ⁶ Right after that, seven thin ears of grain, blown by the east wind, grew up behind them. ⁷ The thin ears of grain swallowed seven healthy, full ears of grain. Pharaoh woke up and knew it was a dream. ⁸ The next morning he was very upset, so he called all the magicians of Egypt ⁽²⁾ And intelligent people. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one to interpret them for Pharaoh.

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I remember my transgressions.” ¹⁰ Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in prison in the house of the chief executioner. ¹¹ Each of us had a dream on the same night – he and I. Each of us saw a dream that had its own interpretation. ¹² There was a young Hebrew with us, a servant of the captain of the guard, and we told him our dreams, and he told us the interpretation of our dreams. He told every man the meaning of his dream. ¹³ It turned out exactly as he had interpreted them for us. Pharaoh reinstated me to my post, but hanged the chief cook.”