5 Then 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.
Again we see God’s hand working in the story. These weren’t ordinary dreams that pass away when you wake up. They were dreams they both remembered and could sit up and compare with each other. They will be found to be prophetic. Each has his own individual dream which would each have an individual interpretation.
And however many people there were in the prison, only these two are given the memorable dreams. Even Joseph doesn’t have one. It all points to God’s superintendence over the situation which is intended for us to understand that what is happening was planned by Him to meet His purposes.
6 And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they weresad.
Here we see that Joseph isn’t bound in the prison, but he was bound in prison. In other words, he did had freedom to move around. In the morning, he came to them and saw their faces. The Hebrew word here is zoaphim. It indicates being enraged.
They had these dreams and they were angry that they had no way of knowing what they meant. If they weren’t in prison, but rather still in Pharaoh’s court, they could have a magician interpret them.
7 So 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?”
Madua penkhem raim – Why are your faces evil? For Joseph –
Just one look; that’s all it took, yes, just one look
He could tell that things weren’t right
There was something bothering the cupbearer and the cook
Something had changed about them during the night
He knew something was wrong by the change in their faces.
8 And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.”
They tell him that together they had dreams. Their answer shows that they were angry because “there is no interpreter of it.” If only they weren’t in this prison, then they could get an answer. But if God is going to give them a dream which should be interpreted, Hewill give an interpreter for the dream he has given.
It would make no sense otherwise. A dream from God with no interpretation would be a contradictory concept and so Joseph responds accordingly…
8 (con’t) So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”
Why would God give a dream and not tell you what it meant
This doesn’t make sense, so please tell it to me
Maybe this is the reason why to prison I have been sent
Interpretations belong to God, surely you must agree
If the dream is from God, then it is given to be interpreted because “interpretations belong to God.” The Source of the dream will be the Source of the interpretation. If Joseph interprets the dream, it is because God has so used him. He’s not claiming to be God’s appointed interpreter, but he is saying the he could be God’s appointed interpreter.
Daniel explained this when he stood in the presence of King Nebuchadnezzar –
“Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.” Daniel 2:27-28
And so, like Daniel, Joseph says that God is the interpreter. He doesn’t say “the Lord” but simply God. A pagan would have no reference as to who Jehovah is, but everybody realizes who God is, whether they admit it or not. If someone has a dream from God, then there must be God who gave the dream.
II. The Resurrection of Life
9 Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me,
The chief cupbearer speaks first. It doesn’t say why, but when we get to the baker, it will say that he spoke when he saw that the first interpretation was good. I’d suggest that he was scared of speaking up first as his dream disturbed him. When you see what this is pointing to, you will understand why he was afraid.
We might ask, “What are we afraid of?” Are you afraid of a bump in the night? Maybe of financial ruin? Are you afraid of losing a loved one? What about death? Death is pretty permanent and it is 100% guaranteed. Are you ready for yours?
Lord, I don’t think about it often, but I know I will die
Everyone before me has, and in me it will happen too
Only Jesus came back from that place, and so I must ask, “Why?”
What can make me rise again? What is it that I must do?
There is a way to be freed from that fear. Stay tuned and I’ll explain it. In the dream, the cupbearer says that he saw a vine. This is an obvious connection to his office. He is the cupbearer and there is a vine. In Hebrew, the word is gephen and comes from an unused root which means to bend, just as a vine bends as it grows.
In Hosea 10:1, Israel is likened to a vine and in John 15:5, 6 Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
The symbolism is given for us to see Jesus if we can think the picture through clearly. There is an immediate fulfillment which we’ll see in this chapter, but there is an ultimate fulfillment in what will come about in Christ. Stay tuned for the exciting details…
10 and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes.
Right before the cupbearer’s eyes, the vine showed three branches which budded, made blossoms, and clusters of ripe grapes. It was as if he were looking at a time-lapse scene on a movie. From vine to grape before his eyes.
Something similar happens overnight after the exodus. When there was a challenge to the priesthood of Levi, the Lord told Moses to have each tribe bring a rod forward with its name inscribed on it. When they did, the following happens as is seen in Numbers 17 –
“And Moses placed the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness. 8 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.” (7:8)
The almond has its significance (shaqed) and the vine has its own. God uses the natural, including agricultural themes, to show us how He works out his plan of redemption. There is never a detail which isn’t exciting in how it fits into the larger themes of the Bible. The more you read this book, the more the themes fit together and the more they reveal of the wisdom of God.
numbers, colors, dust, almonds, wheat, barley, etc. water, types of metal, directions, different animals, incense,
He uses created things to make spiritual applications. Because He created these things, the applications will always fit perfectly with the picture He wants to show us. This book has an unlimited supply of intelligence mixed with love, all put together so that we can understand Him better.
11 Then 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.”
No sooner had the vine budded, blossomed, and put out grapes than the cupbearer was pressing them into Pharaoh’s cup and the cup was being handed to him.
You can learn something about commentators from reviewing their commentaries on this verse. You can see which scholars were teetotalers and which weren’t. Those who are opposed to any hint of drinking alcohol will invariably say that the ripe grapes being brought in and squeezed into the cup was grape juice, not wine.
And then there are those who look at these verses in the context of the whole dream. If the cupbearer saw the vine spread, blossom, bud, and put forth fruit in a single day, then the obvious connotation concerning the pressing of the grapes is that it was his job – whether fermented or not; he was in charge of the process.
This verse has nothing to do with whether the cup had alcohol or not, but rather it is speaking of the process of supplying the king with the fruit of the vine. Little distractions like these among scholars diminish the importance of the passage through petty peeves. And they cause me to grind my teeth…
12 And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days.
The dream is obvious and yet at the same time it requires a spark of divine interpretation to understand that the branches are three days. Seeing that, the rest falls into place. The term he uses is sheloshet yamim hem – “yet three days.” Before the third day is over, it will come to pass, not at all unlike the death of Christ who was resurrected on the third day.
In the Hebrew way of saying this, we get a sense of what other passages in the Bible mean as well. “The three branches are three days”, “this bread is my body”, “this cup is my blood.” In the Hebrew language a one to one comparison is often used to say something represents something else.
This is why when we take communion, we don’t believe that the bread is literally Jesus’ body, nor is the cup literally Jesus’ blood. That was never the intent of His words, though many attempt to justify this in their theology. DISCUSS trans/con/spiritual/symbolic
13 Now 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.
The explanation is complete with this verse. Within three days the cupbearer will be brought back into favor with the Pharaoh. One commentator says that each year the Pharaoh would make a new list of his high officials. On or after the previous birthday they were removed from the list and now the list was being updated.
This would be similar then to the president appointing cabinet officers each term and it would make sense as to why this comes about on his birthday. All in all, it’s good news for the cupbearer.
14 But 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.
When Joseph speaks, there is no hint that his interpretation could be incorrect. He is so confident in it that he says to the cupbearer that “when it is well with you….” This shows with certainty that he knew what would occur. Which brings us back to his own dreams.
He already knew that his brothers would bow down to him, but he didn’t know how. To ask the cupbearer to intercede for him would be a stretch on even a good day, but he may believe that this was his divinely appointed path to freedom.
15 For 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.”
Joseph says gunab ganabthi – “Stolen! I was stolen.” I was taken away from the land of the Hebrews, and I’ve done nothing here to be thrown into this dungeon. The word for “dungeon” is bowr. The same word used to describe the pit his brothers threw him into.
We simply can’t miss the usage of the words which have been given in order to understand what is being pictured. The term ha’sohar or “round room” was used twice. The term bowr, or “pit” is used here. The symbolism is that of a round pit, like a tomb.
Jesus was in the tomb, having done nothing deserving of death. And He was “stolen away from the land of the Hebrews.” Instead, His message has gone to the gentiles… just like Joseph. Keep thinking as we go, it will all make sense.
