Morning Light – Genesis 40: Joseph, an Interpreter of Dreams

[Today: Genesis 40] Joseph, an Interpreter of Dreams. Has anyone ever asked you what their dreams might mean? Joseph was an interpreter of dreams to the chief butler and baker of Pharoah’s court. For one man, the dream was good news, but for the other, not so much. In this chapter, we find encouragement to allow God to use you to help others hear what He might be saying to them.

[Gen 40:1-23 KJV] 1 And it came to pass after these things, [that] the butler of the king of Egypt and [his] baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two [of] his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. 3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph [was] bound. 4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward. 5 And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which [were] bound in the prison. 6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they [were] sad. 7 And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that [were] with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye [so] sadly to day? 8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and [there is] no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, [Do] not interpretations [belong] to God? tell me [them], I pray you. 9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine [was] before me; 10 And in the vine [were] three branches: and it [was] as though it budded, [and] her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: 11 And Pharaoh’s cup [was] in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. 12 And Joseph said unto him, This [is] the interpretation of it: The three branches [are] three days: 13 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. 14 But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: 15 For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. 16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also [was] in my dream, and, behold, [I had] three white baskets on my head: 17 And in the uppermost basket [there was] of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. 18 And Joseph answered and said, This [is] the interpretation thereof: The three baskets [are] three days: 19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. 20 And it came to pass the third day, [which was] Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. 21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand: 22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

In this chapter, we find the story of two inmates handed over to Joseph’s care as the head trustee under the master of the prison. The first man was the butler of the king of Egypt, and the second was the king’s baker. They had offended the Pharaoh and were put in ward in the house of the captain of the guard where Joseph was likewise kept. We are not told (v. 1) what their offense was but Jewish sources suggest that they were involved in some way in a plot against the Pharaoh while another writer in antiquity speculates that the butler had put a fly in the king’s wine cup and that that baker had put a stone in a loaf of the king’s bread. Those who actually may have done this would have been put to death, but these two officials v. 2 tells us are the chief butler and baker, meaning they were in charge when these things took place and are therefore punished for what those under them had done without their noticing it.

In v. 3, we see that these two officials were imprisoned in the house of the captain of the guard, which is the same title that Potiphar held in Pharoah’s court. Since Joseph is there as well, it is unlikely that he was held in the same house where Potiphar’s wife lived, so there was likely more than one captain of the guard that served Pharaoh and took Joseph and these two men into custody when they offended their masters. In v. 4, we see that the two men were put in Joseph’s charge, suggesting that Joseph was a trustee in his captivity and would be responsible for these men’s care and to see that they were put to productive use while held in chains awaiting their further sentencing.

While serving their time, each man (the chief butler and baker) has a dream that troubles them greatly. Joseph comes to them in the morning and sees that they are sad and asks them why they are so downcast. They respond that they both had dreams the night before but could not figure out by themselves what the interpretation might be. In v. 8, we may conclude that there were no interpreters in the prison with them, but in their former employ in Pharoah’s house, they doubtless had access to many soothsayers and dream interpreters who also would have been in the king’s employ.

Joseph hears this and encourages the men not to be fretful and offers to interpret their dreams himself because, after all, the interpretation of dreams belongs to God, and he is God’s servant. Here we gain insight into Joseph’s character and the fact that his dream so long ago had inspired him to seek out deeper understanding on the subject of dreams that he might know more about such things seeing his own life was profoundly influenced by the dreams he had in his teens before his brothers sold him into slavery.

The chief butler tells his dream of a vine that held three branches from which mature grapes were taken and pressed into Pharaoh’s cup. This is not a long or complicated dream, and Joseph promptly interprets that within three days, the Pharaoh will lift up his head and restore him to his former office. Joseph then charges the man to think of him when he is serving Pharoah’s cup and make mention of him before the king.

The chief baker (v. 16) is encouraged by the happy outcome of the butler’s dream and shares his dream with Joseph as well. He dreams that he had three white baskets on his head filled with baked goods for Pharaoh. Before the baker can serve the food to the king, the birds of the air come an eat everything in the baskets. The interpretation of this dream is not so happy because Joseph informs the baker that the king will take his head and hang his body on a tree to be carrion for the birds.

The two dreams come to pass precisely as Joseph predicted. Pharaoh makes a feast on the third day and brings the baker and the butler before him. The butler is restored to his former duties, but the baker is hanged according to Joseph’s interpretation. In spite of the accuracy of the interpretation, however, the chief butler promptly forgets Joseph, and Joseph continues to languish in his imprisonment.

There are several things we can learn from this chapter. First of all, notice how short and straightforward the dreams of the two men were. The most meaningful dreams sent from God tend to be concise and to the point. Solomon speaks of this in Ecc. 5:7:

[Ecc 5:7 KJV] 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words [there are] also [divers] vanities: but fear thou God.

Dreams that are complex and multi-dimensional tend to be clouded with meaningless elements not arising from anything that God may be saying to you, but a simple and straightforward dream should not be disregarded because it likely holds information you should consider. Another point to be made is that the butler and the baker’s dreams were about them personally and not about someone else in their lives. Applying the meaning of a dream to others instead of yourself is the most common misapplication of the meaning of dreams. When you have a dream and seek its meaning, look first and foremost to yourself and what it might say to you personally and be hesitant to make it about someone else.