Gênesis 40

ARC · Chapter 40/50

1E aconteceu depois d'estas coisas que peccaram o copeiro do rei do Egypto, e o padeiro, contra o seu senhor, o rei do Egypto.

2E indignou-se Pharaó muito contra os seus dois eunuchos, contra o copeiro-mór e contra o padeiro mór,

3E entregou-os em guarda, na casa do capitão da guarda, na casa do carcere, no logar onde José estava preso.

4E o capitão da guarda deu cargo d'elles a José, para que os servisse; e estiveram muitos dias na prisão.

5E ambos sonharam um sonho, cada um seu sonho na mesma noite, cada um conforme a interpretação do seu sonho, o copeiro e o padeiro do rei do Egypto, que estavam presos na casa do carcere.

6E veiu José a elles pela manhã, e olhou para elles, e eis que estavam turbados.

7Então perguntou aos eunuchos de Pharaó, que com elle estavam no carcere da casa de seu senhor, dizendo: Porque estão hoje tristes os vossos semblantes?

8E elles lhe disseram: Temos sonhado um sonho, e ninguem ha que o interprete. E José disse-lhes: Não são de Deus as interpretações? contae-m'o, peço-vos.

9Então contou o copeiro-mór o seu sonho a José, e disse-lhe: Eis que em meu sonho havia uma vide diante da minha face,

10E na vide tres sarmentos, e estava como brotando; a sua flôr sahia, os seus cachos amadureciam em uvas:

11E o copo de Pharaó estava na minha mão, e eu tomava as uvas, e as espremia no copo de Pharaó, e dava o copo na mão de Pharaó.

12Então disse-lhe José: Esta é a sua interpretação: os tres sarmentos são tres dias;

13Dentro ainda de tres dias Pharaó levantará a tua cabeça, e te restaurará ao teu estado, e darás o copo de Pharaó na sua mão, conforme o costume antigo, quando eras seu copeiro.

14Porem lembra-te de mim, quando te fôr bem; e rogo-te que uses commigo de compaixão, e que faças menção de mim a Pharaó, e faze-me sair d'esta casa;

15Porque, de facto, fui roubado da terra dos hebreus; e tão pouco aqui nada tenho feito para que me puzessem n'esta cova.

16Vendo então o padeiro-mór que tinha interpretado bem, disse a José: Eu tambem sonhava, e eis que tres cestos brancos estavam sobre a minha cabeça;

17E no cesto mais alto havia de todos os manjares de Pharaó, da obra de padeiro: e as aves o comiam do cesto de sobre a minha cabeça.

18Então respondeu José, e disse: Esta é a sua interpretação: os tres cestos são tres dias;

19Dentro ainda de tres dias Pharaó levantará a tua cabeça sobre ti, e te pendurará n'um pau, e as aves comerão a tua carne de sobre ti.

20E aconteceu ao terceiro dia, o dia do nascimento de Pharaó, que fez um banquete a todos os seus servos; e levantou a cabeça do copeiro-mór, e a cabeça do padeiro-mór, no meio dos seus servos.

21E fez tornar o copeiro-mór ao seu officio de copeiro, e deu o copo na mão de Pharaó,

22Mas ao padeiro-mór enforcou, como José havia interpretado.

23O copeiro-mór, porém, não se lembrou de José, antes esqueceu-se d'elle.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

In prison, Joseph correctly interprets the dreams of Pharaoh's chief cupbearer and chief baker, foretelling the restoration of one and the execution of the other; he asks to be remembered, but the cupbearer forgets him.

Explanation

This chapter shows Joseph using his gift of interpreting dreams while clearly attributing that ability to God, not to himself ('do not interpretations belong to God?', v. 8) — a humility that contrasts with his earlier immaturity in telling his own dreams to his brothers (chapter 37). His genuine concern for the well-being of the other prisoners, noticing their sadness and taking the time to listen to them, reveals a character that had matured through suffering. Joseph's humble and reasonable request to be remembered before Pharaoh, and the cupbearer's subsequent forgetfulness, adds yet another chapter of waiting and apparent disappointment to his already long journey of trials. This delay, however, sets the stage perfectly for the exact moment when God will use Joseph in the next chapter, showing that seasons of waiting often carry a purpose we cannot see at the time.

Fun facts

  • The practice of interpreting dreams was highly valued in ancient Egypt, with specialized priests devoted to that very function — which makes it all the more remarkable that Joseph, a Hebrew foreigner and prisoner, succeeded where traditional Egyptian methods would fail, as is seen in the following chapter.
  • The expression 'lift up the head,' used twice in this chapter (v. 13 and v. 19), carries opposite and deliberate meanings in Hebrew: for the cupbearer, it means restoration to office; for the baker, it is a euphemism for execution — a carefully crafted play on words in the original text.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Gênesis 40:1The king’s cupbearer and baker commit some offense against Pharaoh — the text doesn’t detail what — and that’s what lands them in the same prison where Joseph is.
  2. Gênesis 40:2Chief cupbearer and chief baker were positions of trust at court, not ordinary jobs — the chief cupbearer tasted and served the king’s drink, the baker took care of the bread, and both had to be extremely trustworthy since they had direct access to Pharaoh’s food, with a real risk of poison. That’s why the king’s fury when something goes wrong is so great.
  3. Gênesis 40:3Both are imprisoned in the house of the captain of the guard, exactly where Joseph was already being held — the coincidence that will connect the two stories.
  4. Gênesis 40:4The captain assigns Joseph to attend the two important prisoners, and they spend a good amount of time there together.
  5. Gênesis 40:5On the same night, each has a different dream, each with its own meaning — the text already signals that the two dreams will need separate interpretations.
  6. Gênesis 40:6Joseph visits them in the morning and notices, just from their expressions, that something is troubling them.
  7. Gênesis 40:7Joseph asks directly why the two of them look so downcast that day.
  8. Gênesis 40:8They explain that they had dreams but have no one to interpret them; Joseph answers that interpretation belongs to God, and asks them to tell the dreams anyway.
  9. Gênesis 40:9The cupbearer speaks first: in his dream there was a vine with three branches sprouting right in front of him.
  10. Gênesis 40:10The vine blossoms and the clusters ripen quickly, an accelerated growth that already hints at the short timeframe of the interpretation.
  11. Gênesis 40:11In the dream, the cupbearer presses the grapes directly into Pharaoh’s cup and hands it to him — the scene reproduces exactly the role he had before being imprisoned.
  12. Gênesis 40:12Joseph interprets: the three branches of the vine represent three days.
  13. Gênesis 40:13“Thine head” here is part of an expression meaning to restore someone’s position and honor — Joseph is saying the cupbearer will be pardoned and reinstated in his post within three days. It’s a way of talking about restoration, not a physical action.
  14. Gênesis 40:14Joseph takes the moment to ask a personal favor: that the cupbearer remember him and speak up for him before Pharaoh as soon as he can.
  15. Gênesis 40:15Joseph explains his own situation to the cupbearer — he was taken by force from the land of the Hebrews and did nothing to deserve imprisonment, a direct appeal of innocence.
  16. Gênesis 40:16Encouraged by seeing his colleague’s good interpretation, the baker tells his dream: three white baskets on his own head.
  17. Gênesis 40:17In the top basket there was every kind of food prepared for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating it — a detail that already sounds darker than the cupbearer’s dream.
  18. Gênesis 40:18Joseph interprets: the three baskets also represent three days, but the outcome will be quite different from the first.
  19. Gênesis 40:19Joseph repeats the same expression from before about “thy head,” but now with a completely different, darker meaning: this time it announces that the baker will be executed and hanged. It’s a cruel play on words — the same phrase that was good news for the cupbearer becomes a death sentence for the baker.
  20. Gênesis 40:20Pharaoh’s “birthday” is a celebration of the Egyptian king’s birth, a practice documented in ancient Egypt but not something common among the Hebrews of that time. It’s at this banquet that the king makes the two decisions Joseph had already foreseen when interpreting the dreams.
  21. Gênesis 40:21As interpreted, the cupbearer is restored to his own post beside Pharaoh.
  22. Gênesis 40:22The baker, however, is hanged — exactly as Joseph had interpreted.
  23. Gênesis 40:23Despite Joseph’s request, the cupbearer simply forgets him the moment he’s free — a bitter ending that stretches out Joseph’s suffering in prison even longer.

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