Genesis 40:1
in Genesis 40Some time later, the king’s cupbearer and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Genesis 40
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Chapter 40, Verse 1) After these words, the chief of the king of Egypt's wine cellar sinned. Where we have placed 'chief of the wine cellar' in Hebrew it is written 'Masec', that word which we have recently read in the name of Abraham's servant, whom we can call the cupbearer according to the custom of the common people.
This site's exposition
the king's cupbearer and baker offended their master
on Genesis 40:1-3
The chief cupbearer and the chief baker offend Pharaoh and are jailed in the captain of the guard's house, where Joseph is already held. Henry's line on it is that high places are slippery places and nothing is less certain than the favour of princes. Both men served the king at his own table.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The world stands for the sake of the church, and is governed for its good. Two of the great officers of Pharaoh's court, having offended the king, are committed to prison. Note, High places are slippery places; nothing more uncertain than the favour of princes.
Two of the great officers of Pharaoh's court having offended the king are committed to prison. Note, High places are slippery places; nothing more uncertain than the favour of princes. Those that make God's favour their happiness, and his service their business, will find him a better master than Pharaoh was, and not so extreme to mark what they do amiss.
We should not have had this story of Pharaoh's butler and baker recorded in scripture, if it had not been serviceable to Joseph's preferment. The world stands for the sake of the church, and is governed for its good.
And it came to pass after these things,.... After Joseph had been accused and cast into prison, where he had been for some time: that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt; committed some fault, at least were accused of one, which raised his displeasure at them.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Both officers, especially the former, were, in ancient Egypt, always persons of great rank and importance; and from the confidential nature of their employment, as well as their access to the royal presence, they were generally the highest nobles or princes of the blood.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The butler - משקה mashkeh, the same as saky among the Arabians and Persians, and signifying a cup-bearer. Baker - אפה opheh; rather cook, confectioner, or the like. Had offended - They had probably been accused of attempting to take away the king’s life, one by poisoning his drink, the other by poisoning his bread or confectionaries.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
- Joseph in Prison An uncomplaining patience and an unhesitating hopefulness keep the breast of Joseph in calm tranquillity. There is a God above, and that God is with him. His soul swerves not from this feeling. Meanwhile, new and distinguished prisoners are introduced into his place of confinement.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
They committed an offense ( chet ) in a matter of state. 1 According to Cherez.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אַחַר֙ | ʾachar | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הַדְּבָרִ֣ים | hadevarim | the things | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הָאֵ֔לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| חָֽטְא֛וּ | chateu | they sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
| מַשְׁקֵ֥ה | mashkeh | [the] cup bearer of | H4945 → | 19 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְהָאֹפֶ֑ה | vehaopeh | and the baker | H644 → | 25 times |
| לַאֲדֹנֵיהֶ֖ם | laadoneihem | to master<s> their | H113 → | 333 times |
| לְמֶ֥לֶךְ | lemelekh | to [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִצְרָֽיִם׃ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
וַיְהִ֗יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
אַחַר֙after
ʾacharH310 →715 times
הַדְּבָרִ֣יםthe things
hadevarimH1697 →1440 times
הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
חָֽטְא֛וּthey sinned
chateuH2398 →238 times
מַשְׁקֵ֥ה[the] cup bearer of
mashkehH4945 →19 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְהָאֹפֶ֑הand the baker
vehaopehH644 →25 times
לַאֲדֹנֵיהֶ֖םto master<s> their
laadoneihemH113 →333 times
לְמֶ֥לֶךְto [the] king of
lemelekhH4428 →2525 times
מִצְרָֽיִם׃Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nehemiah 1:11O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 1:6
let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to hear the prayer that I, Your servant, now pray before You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins that…
- Nehemiah 2:8
And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the…
- Proverbs 21:1
The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.
- Nehemiah 2:1
Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad…
- Hebrews 13:18
Pray for us; we are convinced that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.
- Nehemiah 1:6
Through
Esther 6:1That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him.
it leads to
- Daniel 2:1
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
- Daniel 6:18
Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him.
- Esther 2:23
After the report had been investigated and verified, both officials were hanged on the gallows. And all this was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king.
- Daniel 2:1
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.