Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 41:9-13

9 Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:

10 Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the chief baker:

11 And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.

12 And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.

13 And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.

At last the chief butler remembers poor Joseph in prison. Joseph might have wished that he remembered sooner, but if he had, then Joseph might have been exonerated and sent back home two years prior, meaning he wouldn’t have been present to interpret Pharaoh’s dream and save countless lives. In the end, it was all for the best, God had worked things so that Joseph could be where he needed to be, and when he needed to be there.

Also, I think it noteworthy that the butler does not remember Joseph until after all the other wise men have tried and failed to interpret the dream. What an excellent way to prove to Pharaoh that this problem is beyond ordinary man, and anyone who can solve it must be doing so thanks to a higher power. His belief that Joseph is connected to God is critical to his decision to elevate the young man to a ruler.

In the end, the chief butler finally makes it known that two years ago the Pharaoh once walked a foretold path, fulfilling a prophecy that he didn’t even know about. Here was a man who had already known the Pharaoh’s mind once, so perhaps he could know it again.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 40:14-15

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.

Joseph had just interpreted the dream of the chief butler, and by it he learned that the man was about to be in the good graces of the most powerful man in all the land. Thus far we have not heard one word of his grief for being sold into slavery and cast into prison, but here at last we see him pleading for help. Joseph attests that he has been doubly wronged, put twice in bondage. He was stolen from his native land and now imprisoned under false charges.

Of course, there is many the guilty perpetrator who will feign innocence, persistently maintaining that “you’ve got the wrong guy,” even when they have been caught red-handed. But it just so happened that in Joseph’s case he really was “the wrong guy.” The life he was living was not in harmony with who he really was. His conscience was clear and free, but his body imprisoned. This was genuine injustice, and he pled with the chief butler to help him out of it.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 40:9-13

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.

There are all manner of positive signifiers in the chief butler’s dream. For starters there is new life: a budding vine with blossoms growing, and clusters that bring forth good grapes. There is no mention of death or decay, and no ominous sigil. Then there is the other good sign of turning the grapes into wine, and giving that wine to Pharaoh. This clearly represents him being returned to a position of trust with his former master. For if a ruler will receive a drink of another man, that means he trusts that other man to have not poisoned it!

And so, frankly, the interpretation of this dream seems fairly obvious. As we will see, though, this is the first in a procession of three dreams brought to Joseph, and each is more inscrutable than the last. One might accuse Joseph of simply making the obvious connection in this dream, but the interpretation he is about to give to the baker and afterwards to the Pharaoh will be far more impressive.

In any case, Joseph does not only give the basic interpretation to the butler, but he also even elaborates on the finer details, such as how the three branches represent three days’ time before Pharaoh will elevate the man. That is a boldly specific declaration, but as we will see, he is exactly right in it.