Yoseph In Prison: His Two Fellow-Prisoners
Yoseph's master, to avenge his honour, had him thrown in prison. There, shortly afterwards, two important court officials -the chief cup-bearer and the baker, with whom Pharaoh was very angry (Bereshith 40) -were also incarcerated. The commander of the guard assigned Yoseph to attend to them. 8
Are the titles chief cup-bearer and chief baker really Egyptian? According to the specialists they are entirely accurate and there is documentary evidence for them in the papyri. Although at that period the Hyksos were masters of northern Egypt we can be sure that the court ceremonial of the dethroned Pharaohs was scrupulously preserved and applied by the military leaders of the invaders in their concern to appear as successors on the Egyptian throne of the old national dynasties.
Egyptian documents show that the cup-bearer was responsible for removing the earthenware stopper from the neck of the wine jar. In addition he had to taste the wine to make sure that it was of good quality. Having done so, he filled the king's cup and presented it to him with due ceremony. The baker, as the name implies, was in charge of the bakery and pastry-making, a department of great importance since the Egyptians were epicures and the Hyksos rulers endeavoured to copy their predecessors on this as on many other points. The names of thirty-eight kinds of pastry or cake and one hundred and fifty-seven kinds of bread have been preserved. Like similar officials at the court of Louis XIV in France, these two Egyptian officials' positions were of the highest grade.
8 The reader should bear in mind that in this chapter the scribe has combined two traditions, one Yahwistic and the other Elohistic J tradition: Yoseph, thrown in prison found himself in contact with two fellow prisoners, Egyptian officials who had fallen from royal favour E tradition: Yoseph, still steward of Potiphar's house, in the course of his duties, had to attend to two arrested courtiers while their case was being prepared, in the house of Potiphar, the commander of the guard. The modern reader should not be surprised at the somewhat erratic, not to say baffling, nature of the story To give the explanation which follows a certain unity the Yahwistic tradition (that is, the prison story) has here been adopted because it is the most usual.
Dreams And Their Explanation
One morning while attending the two prisoners Yoseph was surprised at their doleful faces. He asked them what I was the matter. 'We have had a dream,' they answered, 'but there is no one to interpret it.' Something has already been said about dreams, but it concerned more especially the Semite nomads. Among the Egyptians the religious position was somewhat different. It is important to realize this since the science of dream interpretation was a primary factor in Yoseph's political ascent, in the first place during the time of his captivity and then when he was summoned to the pharaoh's court. '
According to Egyptian beliefs at this period sleep placed men in direct and real contact with the mysterious world in which the dead dwelt and where the gods reigned. It was concluded from this that dreams must be regarded as precious warnings and as indications of incomparable value for the conduct of daily life. Unfortunately, they often occurred in the form of allegories or symbols which were difficult to decipher, at least for ordinary people. Thus to discover the hidden meaning the necessity arose of consulting a specialist in the matter. So the gloom of the two imprisoned officials can be understood; each of them had experienced an odd dream and, as they remarked dolefully, 'there is no one to interpret it.'
Not only did the Egyptians have manuals which without danger of anachronism could be called 'Key to Dreams', they also had soothsayers who possessed the knowledge necessary to explain the images which had invaded the consciousness of the sleeper.
Yoseph probably thought that he could derive some advantage from this situation. With the innate versatility of his race he asked these high-ranking officials to tell the reasons for their anxiety. 'Are not interpretations YAHWEH's business ? he was careful to remark, and then added, 'Come, tell me.'
The cup-bearer spoke first. During the night he had seen a vine in front of him. 'On the vine there were three branches; no sooner had it budded than it blossomed, and its clusters became ripe grapes. I had Pharaoh's cup in my hand; I picked the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, 9 and put the cup into Pharaoh's hand.'
The explanation of the dream seemed very simple to Yoseph. 'The three branches,' he explained, 'are three days. In another three days Pharaoh will release you and restore you to your place. Then you will hand Pharaoh his cup, as you did before, when you were his cup bearer.' Yoseph then asked the cup-bearer on his release from prison to remember him as he was innocent of the crime for which he was blamed.
It was now the chief baker's turn. He too recounted his dream to the slave who seemed to be really clever in penetrating the secrets of the future. 'I too had a dream; there were three trays of cakes on my head. In the top tray there were all kinds of Pharaoh's favourite cakes, but the birds ate them off the tray on my head.' Yoseph's explanation was rather disappointing: 'The three trays are three days,' he said. 'In another three days Pharaoh will release you and hang you on a gallows, and the birds will eat the flesh off your bones.'
Events confirmed the truth of Yoseph's predictions. But once restored to his charge the chief cup-bearer forgot his promise; or rather he forgot about the obscure Canaanite who had accurately foretold his release and return to favour. It is a common feature of social morality, noted incidentally by the scribe: the powerful of this world find it easy enough to forget the lowly who have rendered them assistance in difficult circumstances. Nevertheless, YAHWEH was watching over HIS servant and did not abandon him.
9 The operation described is similar to the preparation of grape juice, as it is now called. At that time it was done by squeezing a grape in the hand above a cup. It is curious to note that in some texts the title of cup-bearer is sometimes accompanied by the phrase 'with clean hands' The reason can be well understood.
Yoseph Index Yoseph Sitemap Scripture History Through the Ages Yoseph Egyptian Adventure Yoseph Scriptures and Dreams The Plot Against Yoseph Yoseph's Brothers Cruel Seqel Yoseph In The House Of Potiphar Yoseph In Prison Pharaoh's Strange Dreams Yoseph Slave Becomes Viceroy Of Egypt Yoseph's Unexpected Family Reunion The Ten Brothers Before Yoseph Yacob Goes To Egypt Yoseph and the Death Of Yacob YAHWEH's Sword History Further Anxieties Of Yoseph's Brothers Yisraelites Remain In Egypt Period Of The Great Persecution