Commentary on Genesis, Chapter 40
CHAP. XL.
Ver. 1. HAD offended their Lord.] In the Hebrew is a word of the Plural Number for Lord, viz. Adonim; ratione dignitatis, ſaith Bochartus; becauſe of his high Authority. And ſo it is uſed not only, when he ſpeaks of the King, but of great Men; particularly of Joſeph's Maſter, XXXIX. 2.
Interpreters do but gueſs at their Offence: Which might as well be an attempt upon his Life, (by Poiſon, or other ways) as any thing elſe.
Ver. 2. Wroth againſt two of his Officers.] They are called by the ſame Name of Dignity (viz. Saris) which we met withal before, XXXVII. 36. For in all Courts ſuch Officers had a principal Place. See verſe 4.
Chief Butler.] Or, Cup-bearer to the King, verſe 13. He ſimply named the Butler and Baker in the foregoing Verſe: But now the Schar (as the Hebrew word is) which in the next Verſe we tranſlate Captain, i. e. the Principal Officer of thoſe kinds. Which would incline one to think, that ſome Under-Butler and Baker were accuſed of a great Fault, for which the Head-Butler and Baker were to anſwer: Who, perhaps, were diſcovered to have ordered them to do what they did.
Chief Baker.] Who took care of all baked Meats, and Confections, &c. verſe 17.
Ver. 3. He put them in Ward, &c.] To be kept cloſe Priſoners.
In the Houſe of the Captain of the Guard, &c.] In that Priſon, of which Potiphar had the chief Cuſtody. Who by this appears to have been ſuch an Officer, as we call Leiutenant of the Tower.
Into the Priſon, where Joſeph was bound.] Into that very place where Joſeph had been bound. For now he was at liberty, in the Priſon.
Ver. 4. And the Captain of the Guard charged Joſeph, &c.] By this it appears Potiphar's Anger was mitigated towards him, (having heard the Truth, it is likely, before this time) and was of the ſame Mind, with the Under-Keeper of the Priſon: Who intruſted all in Joſeph's Hand.
And he ſerved them.] Attended upon them (which ſhows they were great Perſons) to provide them what they wanted, &c.
And they continued a ſeaſon.] The Hebrew word is, Jamim, i. e. Days: Which frequently ſignifies a Year; as hath been obſerved before, XXIV. 55.
Ver. 5. Each Man according to the interpretation of his Dream.] Suitable to the Office which he had held; and to the Events, which were ſhortly to befal them.
Ver. 6. Joſeph came unto them in the morning.] To ſee that they were ſafe, and to know what they wanted.
And behold they were ſad.] It was very extraordinary, that they ſhould both of them dream, in the ſame Night, ſuch Dreams as had a great reſemblance, one to the other; and ſeemed to import a great Change in their Condition: Which made ſuch a deep Impreſſion upon them, that they were ſolicitous to know the meaning.
Ver. 8. We have dreamed a Dream, and there is no Interpreter of it.] i. e. Here in Priſon, we have not the opportunity, of getting them interpreted. If they had been at liberty, there were Men in thoſe Countries who pretended to the Skill of Interpreting Dreams. Which for the moſt part were not to be regarded; but ſome Dreams carried ſuch lively repreſentations in them, and ſo ſuitable to their preſent Condition, and made likewiſe ſo great a Commotion in their Spirits; that they could not but attend to them: Nay, think God had ſent them, and therefore deſire to know the meaning of them.
Thus we find Achilles adviſing Agamemnon (in Homer's Iliad. I.) to conſult with the Interpreters of their Gods, for what Offence they had ſent the Plague among them; ſaying, To what Prieſt, or to what Prophet ſhall we go?
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Or to what vender of Dreams? For even Dreams come from Jupiter.
Do not Interpretations belong to God?] Who can ſhow the meaning of Dreams, but he that ſent them? viz, God. This ſhows that God did ſometime admoniſh other Nations (as we ſaw XX. 6. XXXI. 24.) as well as the Jews by Dreams: Until they forgot (as Dr. Jackson judiciouſly ſpeaks) that Interpretations were from God, and laboured to find out an art of Interpreting.] Then they either ceaſed, or were ſo mixed with deluſions, that they could not be diſcerned: Or, if their Events were in ſome ſort foreſeen; yet Men, being ignorant of God's Providence, commonly made choice of ſuch means for their avoidance, as brought upon them the Events which they feared. Book I. on the Creed, chap. 9.
Ver. 12. The three Branches, are three Days.] i. e. Signifie three Days. So he underſtood their meaning to be, rather than Months or Years; becauſe of their ſudden budding, bloſſoming, knitting, and ripening of the Grapes, verſe 10.
Ver. 13. Shall lift up thy Head.] i. e. Advance thee; or, as it is in the Margin, reckon thee; number thee among his Servants (as the Phraſe is uſed, Exod. XXXI. 12.) For there being a Roll, or Catalogue of all the Officers of the Court, with their ſeveral Salaries, they were all called over on ſome certain Day (it ſhould ſeem by verſe 20. before the King's Birth-Day) and ſummoned to give their Attendance. And then ſuch as the King was offended withal, were ſtruck out, and puniſhed according to their deſerts; or pardoned and graciouſly reſtored to their Places. This Expoſition beſt agrees with the Event, verſe 20. where the Heads of both theſe Officers are ſaid to be lifted up: Though one of them only, was advanced to his former Station.
Ver. 14. But think on me, when it ſhall be well with thee, &c.] When my Prediction is come to paſs, I ask no other Reward of thee, but that thou wilt be an Inſtrument of delivering me from my impriſonment. Joſeph was not only grown expert in interpreting Dreams, (which he was not before he came into Egypt, XXXVII. 6, &c.) but fully aſſured he knew the right meaning of them; as appears by this Paſſage. And ſuch kind of Predictions by Dreams were frequent in ancient Times, among the Heathen, as well as among the Hebrews: Though in after Ages they grew rare in both. For (as Dr. Jackſon admirably ſpeaks, in the Place before-named) the increaſe of Wickedneſs in the World; multiplicity of Buſineſs; ſolicitude of Mind about worldly Affairs; and Mens too much depending on Politick Devices to accompliſh their Ends; cauſed the defect of true Dreams, and of other Divine Admonitions, for the welfare of Mankind.
Ver. 15. I was ſtolen.] Carried away by Violence, without the knowledge of my Father; and ſold for a Slave. His Brethren, in ſelling him, committed that Crime, which the Latins call Plagium. For, Qui hominem liberum vendit, plagiarius eſt.
Out of the Land of the Hebrews.] Some Men would have it thought, that theſe words were added by Joſhua, or ſome other, after Moſes his time: Becauſe Canaan was not called the Land of the Hebrews in his days, much leſs in Joſeph's. But they ſhould have conſidered, that Joſeph doth not call all the Land of Canaan by this Name; but only that part of it, where Abraham, Iſaac and Jacob had very long lived, viz. about Hebron. There Abraham (who was the firſt that is called an Hebrew) ſetled with his Family, when he came out of Chaldaea, XIII. 17, 18. There Iſaac dwelt alſo, XXXV. 27. and Jacob XXXVII. 1, 14. where it is ſaid indeed, they were ſtrangers or ſojourners, in this Country: But they were Strangers of great Note and Name (as Jacobus Altingius hath well obſerved) who were treated as Princes, XXIII. 6. lived by their own Laws; made Leagues, not only with private Men, but with Cities and with Kings, XXI. 22, 23. XXVI. 28. XXXIV. 6. and the Fame of them could not but be ſpread abroad, both by the Victory which Abraham got, in a Battle, over ſeveral Kings; and by the ſacking of Shechem, which the Neighbours durſt not revenge. All which might well make that part of the Country wherein they had reſided for three Generations, be called the Land of the Hebrews: Where they were at firſt planted, by the Conſent of the Natives; who were confederate with Abraham, XIV. 13.
That they ſhould put me into the Dungeon.] Into which he was thrown at the firſt, as a great Malefactor: For this was the loweſt and darkeſt place in the Priſon, being under Ground. So the Hebrew word commonly ſignifies, a Pit, either with or without Water in it: And thence, this part of a Priſon. Which Bochartus well tranſlates cryptam ſubterraneam; and ſometimes ſignifies a Grave, Pſalm XXVIII. 1. Hierozoic. P. I. Lib. III. cap. 4.
Ver. 16. The chief Baker ſaw the Interpretation was good.] It was well the chief Butler propounded his Dream firſt, which had a good ſignification: For if this Man had ſpoken firſt, the other, it is likely, would not have propoſed his Dream.
Three white Baskets.] Or, as we now ſpeak, three Wicker Baskets, and (as the Margin hath it) the Twigs ſo twiſted, that they were full of holes; as ours many times are wrought.
Ver. 17. In the uppermoſt Basket.] They were ſet one upon another: In the lowermoſt of which, we may ſuppoſe, was Bread; in the middlemoſt Pies; and in the higheſt, the finer ſort of Paſtes of all ſorts, Bisket, Tarts, &c.
Ver. 19. Lift up thy Head.] The ſame Phraſe, which was uſed of the other, (verſe 13.) but with this addition, from off thee. To ſignifie, that his Name ſhould be called for another purpoſe; that he might not only have his Name ſtruck out of the Roll, but his Head ſtruck off from his Body. Though there is no neceſſity ſo to underſtand it; but only ſimply, that he ſhould loſe his life.
And ſhall hang thee on a tree.] They that fanſie his Head was firſt cut off, will have the Body only hanged on a Gibbet. But it is more likely he was hanged by the Neck, as Malefactors are now among us, upon a Gallows.
And the Birds ſhall eat thy Fleſh.] He was left there, to be devoured by Birds of prey.
Ver. 20. Pharaoh's birth-day.] Either the Day on which he was Born, or the Day on which he came to the Crown: Which was Natalis Imperii, the Birth-Day of his Empire. Both of them were wont to be celebrated with Rejoycing and great Feaſts; in ancient time, as well as now. See the Commentators upon Matth. XIV. 6.
Ver. 21. And he gave the Cup.] His Fault we may ſuppoſe, was of a ſmaller Nature; or, there was not evident proof againſt him; or, he had better Friends, who interceeded for him: So that he was not only pardon'd, but reſtored to his Office.
Ver. 22. But he hanged the chief Baker.] Ordered him to be hanged, being found guilty of what he was accuſed, &c.
Ver. 23. Yet did not the chief Butler remember Joſeph, but forgat him.] He repeats it, to ſhow how very unmindful he was of him: After the manner of thoſe vain Courtiers, who have no value for Wiſdom or Vertue, but are wholly given up to their Pleaſures. It would have coſt him nothing, to mention Joſeph to Pharaoh: But he ſeems to have been one of thoſe who will ſpend their Intereſt, as we now ſpeak, for no Body but themſelves. Or, as it may be interpreted, he did not as ſoon as he came to his Place call him to mind, who foretold his good Fortune: And ſo, in proceſs of time, he quite forgot him.