Genesis 40
Summary for Gen 40:1-23: 40:1-23 a Joseph did not lose faith in God’s promises, as evidenced by his readiness to interpret the dreams of two prisoners. He was still convinced that God’s revelation in his own two dreams (37:5-11 b) was true, and he had not abandoned hope that they would be fulfilled. When the fellow prisoners’ dreams were fulfilled exactly as Joseph said, this confirmed that his previous dreams were from God.Summary for Gen 40:1-4: 40:1-4 c Joseph was so faithful and trustworthy that the captain of the guard trusted him with the care of two of Pharaoh’s chief ... officials.
Summary for Gen 40:5-8: 40:5-8 d Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker looked worried because they knew that their futures were somehow bound up in these ominous and disturbing dreams that they could not understand.
• Joseph still had faith that interpreting dreams is God’s business and that he would understand them with God’s help. He knew he had not misinterpreted his own dreams.
Summary for Gen 40:9-19: 40:9-19 e Joseph listened to the dreams and offered their interpretations. These dreams were not trivial; they were ominous warnings from God about what everyone was going to face. These two dreams prepared for Pharaoh’s two dreams, which revealed the periods of life and death that the nation would soon experience.
Summary for Gen 40:14-15: 40:14-15 f Because he knew that the chief cup-bearer was going back into Pharaoh’s personal service, Joseph saw an opportunity to seek his own release from prison.
Summary for Gen 40:20-22: 40:20-22 g The interpretations Joseph gave the prisoners proved true. The death of the chief baker speaks of the harsh realities of life in ancient Egypt, with a king whose word was his land’s highest law.
40:23 h The cup-bearer ... forgot all about Joseph, but God did not forget him. Joseph’s faith was about to be rewarded (ch 41 i).
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