Genesis 40: Summary, Key Verses and Study Questions

Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offend their lord, and Pharaoh puts them in the prison where Joseph is, under the guard of the captain. He assigns them to Joseph to attend them. One night each has a dream, and in the morning Joseph sees that they are downcast. He asks what is wrong, and they answer that they have dreamed and there is no one to interpret. Joseph tells them that interpretations belong to God and asks them to tell him their dreams.

The cupbearer tells that he saw a vine with three branches that budded and produced grapes, and that he pressed the juice into Pharaoh's cup and gave it to him. Joseph explains that the three branches are three days: in three days Pharaoh will restore him to his place. He asks him to remember him and to speak to Pharaoh to get him out of prison, because he was stolen from the land of the Hebrews and has done nothing to deserve being there.

Seeing that the interpretation was favorable, the baker tells that he was carrying three baskets of bread on his head and that birds were eating from the top basket. Joseph tells him that the three baskets are three days, and in three days Pharaoh will lift off his head and hang him, and the birds will eat his flesh. On the third day, which is Pharaoh's birthday, he holds a feast, restores the cupbearer and hangs the baker. But the cupbearer does not remember Joseph; he forgets him.

Genesis 40 teaches that we can serve faithfully even when no one recognizes it. Joseph noticed the mood of two prisoners and paid attention to them, though he himself was unjustly imprisoned. In a small group, the chapter encourages us to serve those near us without expecting a reward.

It also speaks of waiting. The cupbearer forgot Joseph, and two more years went by. Ask where you feel God is slow, and how you can stay faithful in the meantime, trusting that people's forgetfulness is not God's forgetfulness.