Genesis 40: “Do Not Interpretations Belong to God?”
1. Joseph’s Continued Imprisonment
“Some time after this, the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt.” (Gen 40:1)
Joseph’s trials do not end with his imprisonment; they lengthen into silence.
Time passes — “some time after this” — yet he endures without complaint.
Holiness matures not through sudden deliverance but through perseverance.
St Bede the Venerable writes:
“The delay of liberation proves the constancy of the just; for patience is the crown of faith.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 40)
God’s providence works through time as well as action.
2. The New Prisoners
“Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined.” (vv. 2–3)
Providence arranges encounters unseen.
Two royal servants are cast into the same prison — one to be restored, one to be executed.
Even here, the hand of God moves through apparent chance.
St Augustine observes:
“The steps of the righteous and the falls of the wicked alike serve the hidden harmony of divine counsel.”
(City of God XVI.49)
The baker and the cupbearer will become instruments of Joseph’s eventual rise.
3. Joseph’s Faithful Service
“The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; and they continued for some time in custody.” (v. 4)
Joseph, though unjustly condemned, serves others with humility.
He does not brood over his wrongs but ministers within them.
St Ambrose comments:
“The humble in prison is freer than the proud on a throne; for service done in love is liberty of spirit.”
(On Joseph the Patriarch 9)
Grace sanctifies daily labour even in confinement.
4. The Dreams
“And they both dreamed a dream, each his own dream in one night, each with its own meaning.” (v. 5)
Dreams, which once brought Joseph trouble, now become his ministry.
God speaks again through the same means that once provoked envy — showing that gifts rejected by men remain instruments of grace.
St Bede remarks:
“The gift of the dreamer condemned by men is confirmed by God; for no envy can revoke divine election.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 40)
5. Compassion in Captivity
“When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers, ‘Why are your faces downcast today?’” (vv. 6–7)
Joseph’s heart remains attentive to others’ sorrow even amid his own.
He does not ask “Why am I here?” but “Why are you sad?” — the mark of true charity.
St John Chrysostom observes:
“He who forgets his own grief to comfort another already lives in paradise.”
(Homilies on Genesis LXVI.1)
This is Christ-like compassion: to see others even from the cross of one’s own suffering.
6. “Do Not Interpretations Belong to God?”
“And they said to him, ‘We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.’ And Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, I pray you.’” (v. 8)
Joseph neither claims glory nor denies grace.
He acknowledges the divine source of wisdom: all interpretation belongs to God.
Humility becomes the channel of revelation.
St Augustine comments:
“He who seeks to know God’s will must first renounce his own.”
(City of God XVI.49)
Joseph’s question — “Do not interpretations belong to God?” — is one of Scripture’s purest confessions of faith: dependence made fruitful.
7. The Cupbearer’s Dream
“In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches… and the cup was in Pharaoh’s hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup.” (vv. 9–11)
“Joseph said to him, ‘This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days; within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office.’” (vv. 12–13)
The vine and cup, interpreted by the Fathers, foreshadow the Eucharist — the blood of deliverance pressed from suffering.
St Ambrose writes:
“The vine is Christ, the clusters His Passion, the cupbearer His minister; for through the chalice of suffering comes exaltation.”
(On Joseph the Patriarch 9)
The promise of restoration after three days prefigures resurrection — life arising from service offered to the king.
8. Joseph’s Plea for Remembrance
“Only remember me, when it is well with you, and do me the kindness, I pray you, to make mention of me to Pharaoh.” (v. 14)
Joseph’s request is touching in its humanity. He asks not reward, only remembrance.
But the plea will be forgotten — part of God’s mysterious design.
St Bede remarks:
“God willed the butler’s forgetfulness, that Joseph might learn to hope in no man but God alone.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 40)
This waiting refines faith as fire refines gold.
9. The Baker’s Dream
“I also had a dream: there were three baskets on my head… and the birds were eating out of the basket on my head.” (vv. 16–17)
“Joseph answered, ‘The three baskets are three days; within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat the flesh from you.’” (vv. 18–19)
Joseph speaks truth without hesitation. Prophecy requires courage to pronounce judgement as well as mercy.
St Augustine observes:
“The same Spirit reveals both life and death; for truth is no respecter of persons.”
(City of God XVI.49)
The two dreams together signify the double destiny of humanity: salvation or condemnation — resurrection or ruin.
10. Fulfilment on the Third Day
“On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast… he restored the chief cupbearer to his office, but he hanged the chief baker.” (vv. 20–22)
Again, three days: the rhythm of death and restoration.
In this we glimpse the Paschal mystery — the Cross and Resurrection prefigured in symbol.
St Ambrose writes:
“The third day is the day of the Lord: the one rises to serve, the other perishes on the tree. Thus the two thieves at Calvary were foretold.”
(On the Mysteries 18)
11. The Cupbearer Forgets
“Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” (v. 23)
The final line falls like a sigh.
Two years of silence will follow.
Human forgetfulness, however, becomes divine timing.
St Bede the Venerable reflects:
“When men forget, God remembers; for His delay is not neglect but preparation.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 40)
The unjust silence of man makes space for the perfect moment of God.
12. Theological Summary
| Theme | Revelation |
| Joseph’s patience | Perseverance amid delay |
| Dreams in prison | Prophecy continuing through suffering |
| Divine interpretation | Wisdom as grace, not pride |
| The two servants | Symbol of judgement and mercy |
| Forgetfulness of man | Providence ruling through apparent neglect |
St Augustine summarises:
“Joseph in prison teaches us to wait; for even when the just are forgotten by men, they are remembered by God.”
(City of God XVI.49)
13. Moral and Spiritual Application
Serve faithfully wherever you are. Even in confinement, Joseph ministered.
Seek God’s wisdom, not your own. Interpret all things through prayer.
Be patient in divine delay. What seems neglect is often preparation for grace.
Speak truth courageously. The prophet must comfort and confront alike.
Remember others. Do not repeat the cupbearer’s ingratitude — mercy received should always become mercy shared.
14. Christ the True Interpreter
Joseph’s prison ministry foreshadows Christ’s descent to the realm of the dead:
| Joseph | Christ |
| Imprisoned with two men | Crucified between two thieves |
| One restored, one condemned | One saved, one lost |
| Prophesies truth on the third day | Rises victorious on the third day |
| Forgotten by man | Vindicated by the Father |
| Source of blessing in prison | Bringer of salvation from the tomb |
St Ambrose concludes:
“As Joseph interpreted dreams in the darkness, so Christ revealed life in the shadow of death.”
(On the Mysteries 18)
15. Closing Prayer
God of patience and providence,
You were with Joseph in the prison of waiting,
teaching him to trust Your perfect time.
Teach us likewise to serve in obscurity,
to speak truth without fear,
and to hope when human memory fails.
May we find in every delay Your preparation,
and in every silence Your hidden love.
Through Jesus Christ, the true Interpreter of mysteries,
who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 