Then the chief of the cup-bearers told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;
A cupbearer sits in an Egyptian prison, troubled by a dream he cannot read. He tells it to a fellow prisoner everyone has forgotten, and that man alone can say what the vine means.
The chapter looks like a small household matter in a royal court. Commentators see God reaching even into the king's bedroom to move His plans forward.
In the scripture now before us, all this is seen in a most remarkable manner. God visits the home of a pagan captain, and the household of a pagan king — yes, even his bedside. He makes even the dreams in the king's head on his bed serve the working out of His plans.
Two prisoners woke up sad, with no one to explain their dreams. Joseph's answer pointed them away from human skill.
They were sad because no one could explain what they felt concerned them most. Joseph, just as simply, reckoned that interpretations belong to God, the giver of every good gift and every perfect gift. So He is the answerer of faith's cry to Him, though unheard by any other ear.
Joseph's own dreams had once brought him nothing but trouble from his brothers. Now the same gift serves two strangers in chains.
And as in Joseph's dreams much had been divulged, while he was a young freeman in his father's house, which drew out the envious spite of his brothers, grace gave him now the opportunity of light from above on the dreams of his fellow prisoners... His soul entered into the iron; but love rose superior to evil, and flowed out readily.
The butler watches bud, blossom and ripe grapes appear at once, then squeezes them into the king's cup. No vineyard works that way.
No one expects a vision like this to keep to real time or real place. A dream can crowd the events of months or years into a single scene. Here the vine buds, blossoms and yields grapes, and the wine is fit for a king's cup. History records nothing so fast in the hands of a cupbearer, with no winepress, no vat, and no storing in jars.
Joseph does not hedge. He names a number and a deadline, and the accuracy of it is the point.
The striking point Joseph was given to grasp is the precision of the three days marked by the three branches. No interpreter among Egypt's priests would have dared to say, as Joseph did at once, "The three branches are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office." A guess would more likely have said three months. But no. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him.
One writer explains what it meant for Pharaoh to "lift up his head."
"The three branches are three days," he says (v.12), and within three days Pharaoh would "lift up his head," that is, bring him into public view, and restore him to his office of cupbearer.
Writers also see a picture here. Someone must crush the grapes before the cup is filled.
In the passage above the grapes were pressed. We might well think of the Lord's death and the awful pressure when He was made sin... God has accepted sinners because of that finished work, which glorified Him. The butler, as we see, was restored to his position again. We who were guilty are justified before God. If we wish to extend the type further, maybe the three branches would remind us of Christ's resurrection. Justification is in a risen Saviour. The dream of the baker tells us that salvation is not by works; he was not restored to his position, but was executed.
Writers see the butler's part in the dream as a picture of a guilty man's place before God.
The dream sets the butler before a vine with three branches, living and fruitful. Pharaoh's cup — the symbol of God's judgment (Psalm 75:7-8) — is in his hand. He takes the grapes, presses them into the cup, and gives the cup into Pharaoh's hands. That is, the man takes his place before Christ, the true Vine. He accepts God's judgment and offers the blood of Christ, measured by that judgment. God accepts it, and the man is forgiven and exalted.
Commentators differ on how far to press the picture. Some read the dream as history and providence. Others see Christ Himself in the vine and the cup.
- Source — Joseph claims no skill of his own. He tells the two prisoners that interpretations belong to God.
- Sign — The dream packs bud, blossom and ripe grapes into one moment. No real vineyard grows that way, so this is a message, not a memory.
- Precision — "Three branches are three days" is a risk no guesser would take. A guess would have said three months. The exactness points to God.
- Substance — Crushed grapes fill the cup, and the king accepts it. Writers see the death of Christ here, and the restored butler pictures guilty people justified.
- Separation — One dream ends in restoring, the other in execution. The vine saves; a man's own work does not.
and in the vine were three branches; and it was as though it budded its blossoms shot forth, its clusters ripened into grapes.
Joseph is in an Egyptian prison. Two of Pharaoh's officers are shut up with him, troubled by dreams no one can explain. The chief cupbearer tells his first: a vine, three branches, and a whole season of growth in one moment.
Nothing in the picture would surprise a man who served wine at court. What is strange is the speed. One writer notes that visions often crowd time like this:
God often works by simple means, as here by a dream that came very naturally to this official of Pharaoh's court. Yet it was truly prophetic; and only a prophet was able to give its clear meaning. Here the wisdom of God was as evident as in sending the dream. No one expects such a vision to keep to real time or to one place. It may crowd the events of months, or years, into a single scene, as with the vine budding and blossoming and yielding grapes, and wine fit for a king's cup.
Some readers once doubted that vines grew in Egypt at all:
People used to object that there were no vines in Egypt, because Herodotus says so. In recent years many carvings of vines have been found on the monuments there.
Joseph does not hedge. Three branches mean three days — not months, not years. Such exactness does not come from a clever guess:
The remarkable point which Joseph was given to seize is the precision of the three days indicated by the three branches. No Egyptian priest who read dreams would have dared to say at once, as Joseph did, "The three branches are three days." A guess would more likely have made them three months. But no. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him.
The vine appears here for the first time in the Bible. The clusters do not stay whole — they are crushed. One writer reads that pressing as a picture of the cross:
The first mention of the vine in Scripture is in Genesis 40. In every step of the life of the Son of God He glorified the Father, and it was also true in His death. In the passage above the grapes were pressed. We might very well think of the Lord's death and the awful pressure when He was made sin. Gethsemane means the "winepress", but there it was suffering in anticipation. What can we say of the cross itself? Sinners have been accepted because of that finished work which glorified God. The cupbearer, as we see, was restored to his position again. We who were guilty are justified before God. If we want to take the picture further, perhaps the three branches would remind us of Christ's resurrection. Justification is in a risen Saviour.
The dream moves from the vine to the king's cup. One writer reads the cup as God's judgment and the vine as Christ:
The cupbearer is brought before a vine, triple branched, living and fruitful. Pharaoh's cup (the symbol of God's judgment, Psalm 75:7-8) is in his hand. He takes the grapes, presses them into the cup, and then gives the cup into Pharaoh's hands. That is, the man takes his place in the presence of Christ, the true Vine. Accepting God's judgment, he offers the blood of Christ, according to the measure of that judgment. God accepts it, and the man is forgiven and exalted.
The second prisoner dreamed too. One dream shows something already provided. The other shows only what a man made himself:
The chief cupbearer sees in his dream what speaks of the blood — the juice of the grape. And he was delivered. The chief baker dreams of what at once reminds us of human righteousness, the white baskets. He saw only what he had laboured to produce, the baked goods. And he is hanged. The chief cupbearer sees something ready to his hand, the grape clusters, and he presents them to Pharaoh as the blood of the grape. Here we have "the only two religions" pictured — the one that makes everything depend on the blood of Jesus, and the one that ignores the blood and trusts human righteousness.
Joseph needed a dream. Readers today have something steadier:
We too may have dreams... But as believers, and especially as Christians, we have far better than hints as vague as those. We have the Scriptures in all their fullness. They reveal God — His counsels, work, will, and ways — from eternity to eternity. We have also the Holy Spirit, sent from the Father and the Son in heaven, never to leave but to stay with us and in us. He guides us into all the truth, and tells us the things to come, glorifying our Lord Jesus in both.
- Vine. The Bible's first vine grows here, in a prisoner's dream, budding and fruiting in a single rush.
- Pressed. The clusters are not admired but crushed. One writer reads that pressing as the cross; Gethsemane itself means "winepress."
- Cup. The crushed fruit goes into the cup of judgment, and God accepts it there. That is how a guilty man is forgiven and lifted up.
- Received. The cupbearer's dream shows something ready to his hand; The baker's shows only his own work. These are the only two religions.
- Three. Three branches meant three days, said without hesitation, because the meaning belonged to God. Today that meaning reaches us through Scripture and the Spirit, not through dreams.
And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
Joseph sits in prison on a false charge. Pharaoh's chief cupbearer tells him a dream: a vine, three branches, ripe grapes, and a cup handed back to the king. The picture is simple, yet commentators find the gospel in it — and they ask first why God sent such a dream to a foreign official at all.
One writer sets out the parts of the dream as three linked steps, each carrying the story forward.
The butler told his dream. Its main points were: (1) that the vine had three branches, which produced the ripe grapes; (2) that Pharaoh's cup was in his hand, so that he could press into it the ripe grapes; and (3) that the cup of grape juice passed into Pharaoh's hand. The interpretation was simple. Within three days Pharaoh would restore the butler to his place.
Nothing in a vineyard moves this fast. Budding, blossom, ripe fruit and pressed wine all arrive in one breath — which tells you what kind of scene this is.
God often works by simple means, as here by such a dream as fell very naturally to this official of Pharaoh's court. Yet it was truly prophetic; and only a prophet was able to give its clear meaning. Here the wisdom of God was as evident as in sending the dream. No one looks for unity of time and place in such a vision. A vision can crowd the events of months, or years, into a single scene: the vine budding, blossoming and yielding grapes, and wine fit for a king's cup. No one ever heard of so fast a result in the hands of a cupbearer, with no winepress, no vat, and no storing in jars.
The same writer adds that we have no ground to assume the cup held plain grape juice rather than fermented wine. He calls it a small point.
Joseph gives no cautious guess. He ties the three branches to three days, and one writer traces that exactness back to God.
The remarkable point which Joseph was given to seize is the precision of the three days indicated by the three branches. No priestly interpreter in Egypt would have ventured to say, as Joseph did at once, "The three branches are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office." If it were a guess, three months might have been more likely; but no. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him. Even more was given here: God's work in Joseph's own spirit, and the divine wisdom that sent the vision to the Egyptian official. Interpretation of what God says or does belongs to God. He gives it as He wills, and as a rule to those whom He loves, even in circumstances of the deepest humiliation. In this Joseph pictured what was true of the Lord Himself here on earth.
Grapes give nothing until the press crushes them. One writer follows that crushing to the cross, and the butler's restoration to the believer's standing before God.
In every step of the life of the Son of God He glorified the Father, and it was also true in His death. In the passage above the grapes were pressed. We might well think of the Lord's death and the terrible pressure when He was made sin. Gethsemane means the "winepress," but there it was suffering in anticipation. What can we say of the cross itself? Sinners have been accepted because of that finished work which glorified God. The butler, as we see, was restored to his position again. We who were guilty are justified before God. If we wish to extend the type further, perhaps the three branches would remind us of Christ's resurrection. Justification is in a risen Saviour.
The cup in the cupbearer's hand belongs to the king. One writer reads that cup as the symbol of God's judgment, and the filling and handing back as the sinner's answer to it.
The butler is brought before a vine with three branches, living and fruitful. Pharaoh's cup (the symbol of God's judgment, Psalm 75:7-8) is in his hand. He takes the grapes and presses them into the cup, and then gives the cup into Pharaoh's hands. That is, the man takes his place in the presence of Christ, the true Vine. He accepts God's judgment and offers the blood of Christ, according to the measure of that judgment. God accepts it, and the man is forgiven and lifted up.
Two men, two dreams, two opposite outcomes. The difference is in what each one had to present.
The chief butler sees something ready to his hand, the grape clusters. He makes use of them and presents them to Pharaoh as the blood of the grape. The birds devour the offering of the baker. Here we have a picture of "the only two religions." One makes everything depend on the blood of Jesus. The other ignores the blood and trusts human righteousness.
- Fruit — a vine that buds, blossoms and ripens in one moment is not gardening but prophecy. A vision packs months into one scene.
- Pressed — grapes give nothing until the press crushes them. That crushing points to the cross, where the Son of God glorified the Father in death.
- Cup — Pharaoh's cup stands for God's judgment. The cupbearer fills it with what the vine gave, not with anything of his own.
- Accepted — the king takes the cup back and receives it. The man is forgiven and lifted up, and justification rests on a risen Saviour.
- Contrast — the baker offers what his own work produced, and loses everything. These are the only two religions there have ever been.
And Joseph said to him, This is the interpretation of it the three branches are three days.
Two of Pharaoh's officials sit in the same prison as Joseph, each disturbed by a dream nobody can explain. Joseph answers at once and names an exact number of days — so the first question is how he knew.
Joseph claims nothing for himself. One writer points to the precision of the answer:
The remarkable point Joseph was given to grasp is the precision of the three days shown by the three branches. No priestly interpreter in Egypt would have dared to say, as Joseph did at once, "The three branches are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office." If it were a guess, three months would have been more likely; but no. The secret of Jehovah is with those who fear Him. Even more was given here: God's work in Joseph's spirit, and the divine wisdom that sent the dream to the Egyptian official. Interpretation of what God says or does belongs to God. He gives it as He will, and as a rule to those whom He loves, even in circumstances of the deepest humiliation. In this Joseph aptly pictured what was true of the blessed Lord Himself here below.
Joseph goes on to say that Pharaoh will "lift up your head." One writer explains both halves of the answer:
Joseph, in communion with the mind of God, had no difficulty in interpreting this dream. "The three branches are three days," he says. Within three days Pharaoh would "lift up his head" — that is, bring him into public view — and restore him to his office of cupbearer.
Joseph is in the dungeon because he refused to sin. Notice what he does with that injustice:
Wherever he was found, God was in all his thoughts: when tempted, he said, "How can I... sin against God?" When brought to Pharaoh, his first words are, "God shall give..."... When he is punished for his honourable conduct and thrown into the dungeon, his words to his fellow prisoners are, "Interpretations belong to God." He did not complain under that great calamity. He looks about to see what he can do to help others, even his jailors. He cannot see his companions in misery losing heart without asking, "Why do you look so sad today?"
Writers also read the two dreams as pictures. Read that way, the cupbearer's vine carries the gospel:
The butler is brought before a vine, triple branched, living and fruitful. Pharaoh's cup (the symbol of God's judgment, Psalm 75:7-8) is in his hand; he takes the grapes and presses them into the cup, and then gives the cup into Pharaoh's hands. That is, the man takes his place in the presence of Christ, the true Vine. Accepting God's judgment, he offers the blood of Christ, according to the measure of that judgment. God accepts the offering, and the man is forgiven and exalted.
The other prisoner dreams of what his own hands produced. Set side by side, the two dreams divide every religion ever attempted into two:
The chief butler sees in his dream what speaks of the blood — the juice of the grape. And he was delivered. The chief baker dreams of what at once reminds us of human righteousness, the white baskets. He saw only what he had laboured to produce, the baked goods. And he is hanged... The birds of the air devour the baker's offering. Here we have "the only two religions" pictured. One makes everything depend on the blood of Jesus. The other ignores the blood and trusts human righteousness.
From the outside the two men looked the same: same prison, same sentence, same night of dreaming. The same interpreter gives each of them a verdict:
Here were two men in the same place of bondage, both condemned. So far as we know, both were equally guilty — or innocent. They were just alike in all outward appearance. Christ (Joseph) comes among them and pronounces one saved and the other lost.
Both verdicts land on the same day:
There were "three days" in each case: death and resurrection delivers one and condemns the other.
- Source. Joseph does not read dreams; God gives meaning, and He gives it to a man in the deepest humiliation.
- Precision. Three branches meant three days, not months. No interpreter in Egypt would have risked such an exact answer.
- Service. Jailed unjustly, Joseph does not complain. He looks around for someone to help, starting with the sad faces of fellow prisoners.
- Cup. The grapes pressed into the king's cup picture the blood of Christ meeting God's judgment, and God accepts it. The baker's baskets picture human work, and the birds eat it.
- Division. Two men alike in every outward way hear opposite verdicts on the same third day. Death and resurrection delivers one and condemns the other.
In yet three days will Pharaoh lift up thy head and restore thee to thy place, and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his cup-bearer.
Joseph is a prisoner himself when the chief cupbearer tells him his dream. His answer is not a cautious guess but a dated promise. Where did that certainty come from, and what do the vine, the cup and the three days mean?
One writer ties the branches to the days and explains what the raised head means:
Joseph, in communion with the mind of God, had no difficulty in interpreting this dream. "The three branches are three days," he says (v. 12). Within three days Pharaoh would "lift up his head" — that is, bring him into public view — and restore him to his office of cupbearer.
Joseph names a deadline, not a vague forecast. One writer traces that precision to God:
The remarkable point God gave Joseph to seize is the precision of the three days marked by the three branches. No priestly interpreter in Egypt would have dared to say at once, as Joseph did, "In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office." A guess would more likely have said three months; but no. The secret of Jehovah is with those who fear Him... Interpretation of what God says or does belongs to God. He gives it as He will, and as a rule to those whom He loves, even in circumstances of the deepest humiliation. For in this Joseph was a fitting picture of what proved true in the Lord Jesus Himself here on earth.
Commentators also read the details of the dream as a picture of the gospel:
There is striking spiritual significance in this dream. The three days remind us of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The juice of the grapes stands for the shedding of His blood. He endured the suffering pictured by the winepress. His blood was shed as the only means of forgiveness of sins. So the guilty sinner is set free from his guilt and bondage, and it all rests on the value of the blood of Christ. The cupbearer then pictures the sinner saved by the shedding of the blood of Christ.
In the dream the man does not keep the cup; he fills it and hands it back to the king:
The dream sets the butler before a vine with three branches, living and fruitful. Pharaoh's cup is in his hand, the symbol of God's judgment (Psalm 75:7-8). He takes the grapes, presses them into the cup, and gives the cup into Pharaoh's hands. That is, the man takes his place in the presence of Christ, the true Vine. Accepting God's judgment, he offers the blood of Christ, in the measure of that judgment. God accepts it, and the man is forgiven and exalted.
The other prisoner in the same cell heard the opposite verdict. Nothing outward marked the two men apart:
Here were two men in the same prison, both condemned, and, so far as we know, both guilty — or both innocent. From the outside they looked just alike. Christ (Joseph) comes among them and pronounces one saved and the other lost.
What divided them was the content of each dream:
We see the gospel pictured in these dreams. The chief butler sees in his dream what speaks of the blood (the juice of the grape). And he was delivered. The chief baker, on the other hand, dreams of what at once reminds us of human righteousness, the white baskets. He saw only what he had laboured to produce, the baked goods. And he is hanged... Here we have "the only two religions" pictured. One makes everything depend on the blood of Jesus. The other ignores the blood and trusts human righteousness.
The next three days settled it. One writer sees God's hand even in what followed:
The event proved that God had given Joseph's interpretations. Pharaoh's birthday was on the third day, and he acted as the dreams had indicated. Yet the chief butler in his renewed prosperity forgot about Joseph, and has become a standing monument of human ingratitude. Still, as we believe, the hand of God was over even this. If the butler had remembered, thankful and perhaps respectful human arrangement would have freed Joseph from prison. God intended to take him out, reviving the butler's memory, in a far more striking way.
- Word. "Lift up your head" means Pharaoh will bring the man back into public view and restore him to his old office.
- Source. The three-day deadline was no guess. Interpretation belongs to God, and He gives it even to a man in deep humiliation.
- Picture. The three days point to death and resurrection. The pressed grapes point to blood shed — the only means of forgiveness.
- Divide. Two prisoners look alike, yet one is saved and the other lost. One dream holds blood; the other holds human effort.
- Result. The promise came true to the day. Even the cupbearer's ingratitude stayed under God's hand, keeping a greater rescue for Joseph.