And it came to pass after these things, that the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt.
verse value 2218
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 54 letters. The shortest word is "after" (אַחַר֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "king·of·Egypt" (מֶֽלֶךְ־מִצְרַ֖יִם, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "offended" (חָ֥טְא֛וּ), "against·their·lord" (לַאֲדֹנֵיהֶ֖ם). The root מצרי appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "these" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "the·words" (root דבר, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·the·baker', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִ֗י [and·it·was] (31) + אַחַר֙ [after] (209) + הַדְּבָרִ֣ים [the·words] (261) + הָאֵ֔לֶּה [these] (41) + חָ֥טְא֛וּ [offended] (24) + מַשְׁקֵ֥ה [the·cupbearer·of] (445) + מֶֽלֶךְ־מִצְרַ֖יִם [king·of·Egypt] (470) + וְהָאֹפֶ֑ה [and·the·baker] (97) + לַאֲדֹנֵיהֶ֖ם [against·their·lord] (140) + לְמֶ֥לֶךְ [of·the·king·of] (120) + מִצְרָֽיִם [Egypt] (380) = 2218.
Onkelos
And it came to pass after these events that the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and the baker sinned against their master, the king of Egypt.
Rashi
אחר הדברים האלה AFTER THESE THINGS — Because this malignant woman made the righteous man (Joseph) a familiar topic of conversation with every one so that he was spoken about discreditably the Holy One, blessed be He, brought about the offences of these men in order that people should turn their attention to them and not to him (Genesis Rabbah 88:1), and also in order that relief should come to the righteous man by their agency (Genesis Rabbah 88:3). חטאו HAD SINNED — in the case of the one, a fly was found in the goblet of aromatic wine, in the case of the other, a pebble was found in the loaves he baked (Genesis Rabbah 88:2). והאפה AND THE BAKER of the king’s bread. The root (אפה) is only used of baking bread. old French pistor; English, kneader.
Ibn Ezra
"They sinned" — sin against the authority of the crown.
Sforno
חטאו משקה מלך מצרים והאופה, the underlings of the chief cup-bearer and the underlings of the Chief of the bakers were guilty of a misdemeanour.
Chizkuni
חטאו משקה מלך מצרים, “the cup bearer and the baker of the King of Egypt committed a transgression. The former had mixed water in the king’s cup, the latter had mixed some stones in the dough of the King’s bread. According to Rashi, the former was guilty of allowing a fly to settle on the brim of the king’s cup פיילי פושרין, but פושרין seems to be a copyist error, since in the Arukh it is said that one calls a cup in the Greek language פוטירי, and this is the correct form (Compare Bereshit Rabba 88,1 where this subject is discussed)
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויהי אחר הדברים האלה, “it was after these events, (words), etc.” After the cursed woman had caused the subject of Joseph and his supposed misdemeanors to become the talk of the town, G’d wanted that subject to take a back seat. He therefore contrived to have the Chief of the butlers and the Chief of the bakers put in jail so that their fate would become the talk of the town, and in order that both these prisoners would have to turn to Joseph whose esteem in the eyes of his contemporaries would rise as a result of his ability to interpret the dreams of these two prisoners correctly. חטאו שר המשקה מלך מצרים והאופה, “The chief butler of the king of Egypt and the baker sinned.” The Torah does not specify their sins, but our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 88,2 state that the Chief butler was guilty of allowing a fly to fall into the cup of Pharaoh, whereas the baker was guilty of a pebble which was found inside one of the rolls served to Pharaoh This is why Pharaoh was angry at both of them. The pebble in the roll was a clear case of negligence on the part of the baker, and this is why he was hanged. The fly which fell into the cup could not be accounted as negligence on the part of the butler as it fell into the cup after the butler had mixed the wine. It was an accident. לאדוניהם למלך מצרים, “against their master, the King of Egypt.” Actually, the Torah should have added the word לפרעה, before the words למלך מצרים. In the next verse the Torah mentions Pharaoh as being angry without saying that “Pharaoh” and the “King of Egypt” were one and the same person. We may explain this apparent inconsistency in the syntax of the Torah as the Torah giving us a hint of what would be in store for the King of Egypt at the hands of the Israelites at a future time. This is why the Torah made a distinction between the Kingdom of Egypt as such and between the person of Pharaoh as an individual in his own right. You will find that the Torah makes a similar distinction at the time the Israelites were engaged in crossing the sea of reeds with Pharaoh in hot pursuit. In Exodus 14,5 the Torah writes ויגד למלך מצרים כי ברח העם ויהפך לבב פרעה, “the King of Egypt was told that the people had fled, and Pharaoh’s heart was completely changed, etc.,” whereas the Torah should have written ויגד לפרעה מלך מצרים, “Pharaoh the King of Egypt was told, etc.” The reason the Torah separated these two “titles,” was to hint that the individual Pharaoh would be deprived of his title “King of Egypt” at a future time. On the other hand, when the Torah describes Pharaoh’s obstinacy such as in Exodus 14,8 we read ויחזק ה' את לב פרעה מלך מצרים, “G’d strengthened the heart of Pharaoh the King of Egypt.” At that point in time, the Torah was intent on demonstrating that Pharaoh, though himself a powerful man as well as in charge of a powerful country, Egypt, was no match for G’d who proved that He was many times more powerful than the combined might of both Pharaoh and the Egyptian Empire. Solomon alluded to this in Proverbs 21,1 פלגי-מים לב מלך ביד ה', “the king’s heart is in the Lord’s hands like channels of water.” [According to Rabbi Moshe Alshich, kings do not enjoy the freedom of choice enjoyed by private citizens as they are G’d’s representatives on earth, not unlike angels who do not enjoy any freedom of choice for that very reason. Hence the words פלגי מים are a reference to “channels” within which water run; the waters must not leave the channels assigned to them. Ed.]
Kli Yakar
The cupbearer and baker of the king of Egypt sinned. Initially, they were called [simply] cupbearer and baker but afterwards it states Pharaoh became angry with his two courtiers, with the chief cupbearer and chief baker. Some say this reflects the common practice where every chief official has subordinates serving under them who serve the king regularly, while the chiefs themselves would serve only occasionally at grand feasts as a matter of honor. This sin was not committed by the chiefs but rather by their subordinates — the cupbearer and baker. Nevertheless, the main anger was directed at the chiefs for appointing such common people who were not careful with the king’s honor. And regarding the dream, where it mentions [simply] the cupbearer and baker without the title “chief,” this is because it only needed to indicate the nature of the dream, each according to their occupation — one concerning drinks and one concerning baking. And it seems to me to resolve this as follows: We find in Genesis Rabbah (88:2) a dispute between the Rabbis and Rabbi Evyatar. The Rabbis say that [regarding the sin of Pharaoh’s officers] one was found with a fly in his cup and the other was found with a pebble in his bread roll. Rabbi Evyatar says they attempted to be intimate with the king’s daughter. Rashi agrees with the Rabbis’ opinion. It appears that his proof comes from the fact that the verse refers to them as cupbearer and baker without mentioning the title “chief,” indicating that their sin was not connected to their positions of authority. For this sin of attempting to be intimate with [the king’s] daughter would undoubtedly be connected to their being chiefs and dignitaries, as they sought to lay hands on the king [by attempting relations with] his daughter due to their hearts being haughtily corrupted. Therefore, the text simply calls them cupbearer and baker both when mentioning their sin and when recounting their dreams. The same reason applies to both instances — to indicate that their sin was related to matters of drink-serving and baking, and was not a sin connected to their positions of authority. Similarly, in the dream they are called this way to indicate that the dream was about matters of drink-serving and baking. And for this reason it states “the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and the baker sinned,” and it is difficult [to understand] — why not combine them and state “the cupbearer and the baker sinned” — why insert king of Egypt between them? Rather, this certainly comes to teach that each one sinned in their own distinct matter — this one with a fly and this one with a pebble. And it appears that the negligence regarding the pebble was greater than the negligence regarding the fly, because a fly is considered an unavoidable accident while a pebble is considered negligence. Therefore it states cupbearer of the king of Egypt because if he had done this to another person, he would not have been called negligent, as it was close to being an unavoidable accident, but for the king it was negligence because one must be extremely precise regarding the king’s honor. However, the baker’s sin was unbearably great even if he had done so to another person who wasn’t king, therefore it simply states the baker and doesn’t say “baker of the king of Egypt.” And [when it says] Pharaoh was angry with the chief cupbearer“ — it mentions the term of authority in connection with the anger, because just as the Holy One, Blessed be He is more exacting with the righteous to a hairsbreadth than He is with others, so too these officials, by virtue of being officials and especially close to the king, should have been more careful with the king’s honor. And if they had been common people, such anger would not have come upon them — and this is a precious interpretation.
And Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
verse value 3290
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 41 letters. The shortest word is "upon" (עַ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "his·courtiers" (סָרִיסָ֑יו, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 500: chief, chief. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·was·angry" (וַיִּקְצֹ֣ף), "his·courtiers" (סָרִיסָ֑יו), "the·bakers" (הָאוֹפִֽים). The root על appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Pharaoh" (root פרעה, 94x in Genesis); "upon" (root על, 90x in Genesis); "two" (root שנים, 57x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·courtiers', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיִּקְצֹ֣ף [and·was·angry] (286) + פַּרְעֹ֔ה [Pharaoh] (355) + עַ֖ל [upon] (100) + שְׁנֵ֣י [two] (360) + סָרִיסָ֑יו [his·courtiers] (346) + עַ֚ל [upon] (100) + שַׂ֣ר [chief] (500) + הַמַּשְׁקִ֔ים [the·cupbearers] (495) + וְעַ֖ל [and·upon] (106) + שַׂ֥ר [chief] (500) + הָאוֹפִֽים [the·bakers] (142) = 3290.
Onkelos
And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers — the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.
Ramban
AGAINST TWO ‘SARISAV’ (OF HIS EUNUCHS). These two lords were both castrates, for as they also acted as the chiefs of the butlers and bakers in the women’s quarters in the royal apartments, the kings would customarily castrate them. Onkelos’ opinion though is that sarisim means lords and chiefs. Thus he says of Potiphar, who is called sris par’oh, “the officer of Pharaoh,” and in the present verse he similarly translates, “against his two officers.” And so did the Targum Yonathan translate: And they shall be ‘sarisim’ in the palace of the king of Babylon. Yonathan translated this as: “And they shall be officers.”
Ibn Ezra
The reason the samekh of סְרִיסָיו does not change is that the letter serves as a marker: the resh ought to have taken a dagesh, and the samekh therefore takes a full qamatz in compensation for the missing dagesh.
Sforno
ויקצף פרעה על שני סריסיו, because they had not supervised their underlings carefully, as was their task.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויקצוף פרעה על שני סריסיו, “Pharaoh was angry at his two courtiers.” G’d contrived to make Pharaoh angry at his servants in order to rescue the righteous Joseph from the dungeon. We see that history repeated itself in Shushan when G’d contrived to make Achashverosh angry at Haman in order to save Mordechai and the Jewish people (Bereshit Rabbah 88,2). [I suppose the point of the Midrash is the superfluous word שני, “two,” before the word סריסיו. Ed.]
Tur HaArokh
על שני סריסיו. “at his two ministers.” The expression סריס implies: “holder of distinguished office.” This is why Onkelos translates it in this fashion. [the term is not used in that manner in modern Hebrew. Ed.] Some commentators understand the word here literally, i.e. “eunuchs.” The reason why these officials had to be castrated was that they performed their duties also in the palaces set aside for Pharaoh’s women.
And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
verse value 4638
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "chief" (שַׂ֥ר, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·guards" (הַטַּבָּחִ֖ים, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "confined" (אָס֥וּר). The root בית appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "there" (root שם, 180x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis). First appearance of the root משמר ("in·custody") in Genesis. First appearance of the root אסר ("confined") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·prison', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיִּתֵּ֨ן [and·put] (466) + אֹתָ֜ם [them] (441) + בְּמִשְׁמַ֗ר [in·custody] (582) + בֵּ֛ית [house·of] (412) + שַׂ֥ר [chief] (500) + הַטַּבָּחִ֖ים [the·guards] (74) + אֶל־בֵּ֣ית [to·the·house·of] (443) + הַסֹּ֑הַר [the·prison] (270) + מְק֕וֹם [the·place·of] (186) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [which] (501) + יוֹסֵ֖ף [Joseph] (156) + אָס֥וּר [confined] (267) + שָֽׁם [there] (340) = 4638.
Onkelos
And he placed them in custody in the house of the chief executioner, in the prison house, the place where Joseph was imprisoned.
Ibn Ezra
"In the guardhouse of the house of the captain of the guard" — a place where they would be kept under watch so that they could not escape.
Chizkuni
ויתן אותם במשמר בית שר הטבחים, “He placed them under protective custody in the house of the chief of the executioners.” This was the customary place where prisoners whose crime carried the death penalty if proven guilty would be placed pending judgment.
Rabbeinu Bahya
מקום אשר יוסף אסור שם, “the place where Joseph was kept imprisoned.” All of these “coincidences” were designed to bring about the descent to Egypt by Yaakov and his family in accordance with the prediction in Genesis 15,13 “for your descendant will be a stranger, etc.” [without overt interference with the free choice of either party. Ed.]
And the captain of the guard charged Joseph to be with them, and he ministered to them; and they continued a season in ward.
verse value 3848
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 44 letters. Verse gematria: 3848 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "chief" (שַׂ֣ר, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·guards" (הַטַּבָּחִ֧ים, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 441: with·them, them. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·were" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "days" (root ים, 55x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'them', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַ֠יִּפְקֹ֠ד [and·assigned] (200) + שַׂ֣ר [chief] (500) + הַטַּבָּחִ֧ים [the·guards] (74) + אֶת־יוֹסֵ֛ף [Joseph] (557) + אִתָּ֖ם [with·them] (441) + וַיְשָׁ֣רֶת [and·served] (916) + אֹתָ֑ם [them] (441) + וַיִּהְי֥וּ [and·were] (37) + יָמִ֖ים [days] (100) + בְּמִשְׁמָֽר [in·custody] (582) = 3848.
Onkelos
And the chief executioner appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended to them; and they spent days in custody.
Rashi
ויפקד שר הטבחים את יוסף AND THE OFFICER OF THE EXECUTIONERS APPOINTED JOSEPH — to be WITH THEM (i.e. supply the word להיות to complete the sense). ויהיו ימים במשמר AND THEY WERE A YEAR IN WARD — ימים means twelve months (cf. Rashi on Genesis 24:55).
Ibn Ezra
"The captain of the guard charged Joseph" — when these officials were placed in the house of the captain of the guard, he appointed Joseph over them. According to the great grammarian, the sense is that he recalled his words and brought him to his house and placed him in the pit, which is the prison. In my own view, the prison was located within the house of the captain of the guard, and Joseph was already there; proof of this is the phrase "the place where Joseph was imprisoned." The captain of the guard then commanded that Joseph attend them, since they held high rank, being officials.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויהיו ימים במשמר, ”they remained in custody for a year.” The word ימים meaning “year” appears in Leviticus 25,29 “its period of redemption is a full year.”
And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison.
verse value 5275 — אֶחָ֔ד = 13 (echad/ahavah)
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 82 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֔ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "man" (אִ֤ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·dreamed" (וַיַּֽחַלְמוּ֩, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: which, which. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·dreamed" (וַיַּֽחַלְמוּ֩), "the·cupbearer" (הַמַּשְׁקֶ֣ה). The root חלום appears 3 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "man" (root איש, 153x in Genesis); "in·the·house·of" (root בית, 121x in Genesis). First appearance of the root פתר ("interpretation") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·dream', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 9 words.
Onkelos
And they both dreamed a dream — each man his own dream, in a single night — each man according to the interpretation of his dream: the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt who were imprisoned in the prison house.
Rashi
ויחלמו חלום שניהם means AND BOTH OF THEM DREAMED A DREAM — This is the real meaning (that שניהם is the subject of ויחלמו and is not to be connected with חלום). A Midrashic explanation is, taking חלום as construct case: each dreamed the dream of both of them — i.e. he dreamed his own dream and the interpretation of the other’s dream. This is what it means when it states (v. 16) “And the chief baker saw that he had interpreted well”). (Genesis Rabbah 88:4; Berakhot 55a). איש כפתרון חלמו EACH MAN ACCORDING TO THE INTERPRETATION OF HIS DREAM — each dreamed a dream consistent with the interpretation which foretold the future that was to befall them.
Ramban
EACH MAN ACCORDING TO THE INTERPRETATION OF HIS DREAM. The expression “interpreting dreams” means relating the events which will happen in the future, and he who foretells that future is called potheir (interpreter). In the opinion of many scholars the word pithron signifies “meaning.” And the interpretation of the verse, Each man according to the interpretation of his dream, is that each dreamed a dream consistent with the interpretation (Tur.) which foretold the future that was to befall them. This is Rashi’s language. Now what sense does it make for Pharaoh’s chief butler to say, “We have dreamed a dream consistent with the interpretation,” thereby minimizing the wisdom of the interpreter. Besides, Pharaoh’s dream [related later on] may not have been so, [that is, consistent with the interpretation], and Joseph would not know it. Why then did he not fear for his life in recommending Joseph to the king? Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra says in explanation of the verse that each saw in his dream the truth concerning the future as the interpretation would indicate, meaning that it was a true dream, not the kind which comes from many worries, of which only a part is fulfilled. This is the correct interpretation.
Ibn Ezra
"They dreamed" — as in the sense of "each man according to the interpretation of his dream," for each one saw in his dream the interpretation of his dream concerning what was to come and what would happen to him.
Sforno
סריסי פרעה אשר אתו במשמר בית אדוניו, seeing that his master had entrusted their well being to him, as we know from verse 4 “the official in charge appointed Joseph to be with them.” If it had not been for this, it would not have been appropriate for Joseph to enquire into the private affairs of these ministers awaiting their final sentence.
Chizkuni
איש כפטרון חלומו, “Each one interpreted his dream in accordance with what he thought was applicable to his personality,” as opposed to interpretations that seemed irrelevant. [As a result they were very disturbed. Ed.]
Tur HaArokh
איש כפתרון חלומו, “each man according to its interpretation.” According to Rashi each man dreamt a dream that was roughly in accordance with the eventual interpretation offered for it as forecasting his fate. In other words, the cupbearer dreamt something which was enjoyable for him, i.e. he saw grapes which he could convert into wine, whereas the chief baker dreamt something that was disturbing, i.e. the bird consumed what he had meant to serve the King. Joseph interpreted the dreams to correspond to the mood that these dreams evoked in their principals. [the author’s version of Rashi’s commentary must have differed from that found in most of our Chumashim nowadays. Ed.] Nachmanides writes that such a commentary does not reflect what the chief of the cupbearers said to Pharaoh in 41,11; “we had dreamt a dream that corresponded to Joseph’s interpretation of it.” If Rashi’s interpretation were correct, it would have diminished Joseph’s reputation as an interpreter of dream rather than have enhanced it. What the chief of the cupbearers meant to imply was that Joseph knew how to interpret the dream although on the face of it, it did not resemble the eventual interpretation at all. Ibn Ezra writes that each of the two ministers dreamt his own dream plus the interpretation that applied to the dream of his colleague. [there is also confusion between what Nachmanides quotes Ibn Ezra as saying, and the version found in recent, amended versions of Ibn Ezra’s commentary by Asher Weiser. Ed.] Ibn Ezra’s major point [according to Nachmanides as per version in Rabbi Chavell’s edition] is that as opposed to Solomon’s statement in Kohelet 5,2 each party dreamt a precise forecast of his fate, there was no extraneous matter in the dream that would have confused the potential interpreter. [Rabbi Chavell quotes our author‘s interpretation of Ibn Ezra. Ed.]
And Joseph came in to them in the morning, and saw them, and, behold, they were sad.
verse value 1531 — אֲלֵיהֶ֛ם = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 33 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֛ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "them" (אֹתָ֔ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֛ם, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "distraught" (זֹעֲפִֽים). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·them" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "and·came" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·morning', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיָּבֹ֧א [and·came] (19) + אֲלֵיהֶ֛ם [to·them] (86) + יוֹסֵ֖ף [Joseph] (156) + בַּבֹּ֑קֶר [in·the·morning] (304) + וַיַּ֣רְא [and·saw] (217) + אֹתָ֔ם [them] (441) + וְהִנָּ֖ם [and·behold] (101) + זֹעֲפִֽים [distraught] (207) = 1531.
Onkelos
And Joseph came to them in the morning, and he saw them, and behold, they were troubled.
Rashi
זעפים means SAD. Similar are (1 Kings 20:43) “sullen and displeased (וזעף)”; (Micah 7:9) “I will bear the displeasure (זעף) of the Lord (the sadness which the Lord has imposed on me).’
Ibn Ezra
"Troubled" — agitated, as in the sense of "the sea ceased from its raging" (Jonah 1:15). "And he came to them" — it is possible that at night he would lodge in the pit.
Or HaChaim
והנם זועפים, and they were distressed. According to our sages in Berachot 55 the reason that both of them were distressed was that they both dreamt the meaning of the other's dream. The chief butler was distressed having seen in his dream what was going to happen to his companion the chief baker. Whereas the chief baker had seen in his dream that the chief butler would be reinstated he had nonetheless prepared himself for adversity and could not bring himself to have peace of mind.
Chizkuni
והנה זועפים, “and they looked very distressed.” As they considered themselves innocent in accordance with their dreams, they did not understand why they were still in jail, and considered appealing to Pharaoh who might have forgotten about them. This caused their distress.
And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his master's house, saying: "Why do you look so sad today?"
verse value 4388
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "which" (אֲשֶׁ֨ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·courtiers·of" (אֶת־סְרִיסֵ֣י, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·courtiers·of" (אֶת־סְרִיסֵ֣י), "your·faces" (פְּנֵיכֶ֥ם). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "your·faces" (root פנים, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיִּשְׁאַ֞ל [and·asked] (347) + אֶת־סְרִיסֵ֣י [the·courtiers·of] (741) + פַרְעֹ֗ה [Pharaoh] (355) + אֲשֶׁ֨ר [which] (501) + אִתּ֧וֹ [with·him] (407) + בְמִשְׁמַ֛ר [in·custody] (582) + בֵּ֥ית [house·of] (412) + אֲדֹנָ֖יו [his·lord] (71) + לֵאמֹ֑ר [saying] (271) + מַדּ֛וּעַ [why] (120) + פְּנֵיכֶ֥ם [your·faces] (200) + רָעִ֖ים [downcast] (320) + הַיּֽוֹם [today] (61) = 4388.
Onkelos
And he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, saying: Why are your faces downcast today?
Ramban
AND HE ASKED PHARAOH’s OFFICERS THAT WERE WITH HIM IN THE WARD OF HIS MASTER’s HOUSE. It would be proper for Scripture to say; “And he asked them, saying.” Instead, Scripture speaks at length about it for its desire is to speak in praise of Joseph. Here is a servant lad who is enquiring of two great officers who are wards in the house of his master who hates him,260“Who hates him.” Ramban is here writing from the standpoint of the butler and the baker, who must have thought that Joseph’s master imprisoned him because he hated him, not being aware, as explained above, that he did so to protect his family’s reputation. and each of whom could command his hanging. Thus, as explained further on by Ramban, if the baker had been restored to his position, he would have seen to it that Joseph pay for his mistake with his life. Yet he was not afraid of them, and asked them their dreams and told them his opinion with respect to the interpretation because he trusted in his wisdom. Had the lord of the bakers been saved and restored to his position by the king, he would have hung him for his false interpretation.
Sforno
סריסי פרעה אשר אתו במשמר בית אדוניו, seeing that his master had entrusted their well being to him, as we know from verse 4 “the official in charge appointed Joseph to be with them.” If it had not been for this, it would not have been appropriate for Joseph to enquire into the private affairs of these ministers awaiting their final sentence.
Or HaChaim
וישאל את סריסי פרעה, He enquired from Pharaoh's ministers, etc. Why did the Torah have to add the words: "who were with him in jail?" Also, why did the Torah add: "in the house of his master?" Perhaps the Torah provided us with the reason why Joseph enquired from the two ministers as to why they seemed so distressed. It was certainly unbecoming for people of inferior standing to enquire into the state of mind of their superiors. The Torah says: "Joseph enquired from Pharaoh's ministers," i.e. although Joseph was only a slave whereas they were ministers of the king he still decided to ask them. The reason was that as of then they were both in jail, normal distinctions between their standing in society did not apply. He may also have thought that their distress had something to do with him personally. The reason the Torah underlined: "in the house of his master," is that Joseph wondered if the distress of the ministers was directed against Joseph's superior, the chief warden. Joseph who was a loyal servant wanted to know if he could perhaps do a service to his master by finding out the reason for the ministers' distress. Joseph added: היום, "this day," meaning that he did not refer to their general distress about being in jail which is something they had reason to be distressed about already yesterday and the day before, but about their special distress on that day.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וישאל את סריסי פרעה אשר אתו במשמר בית אדוניו לאמר, He asked the courtiers of Pharaoh who were with him in the custody of the house of his master to tell, etc.” What was the need for the Torah to write this cumbersome introduction? Did we not know that these courtiers were in jail together with Joseph? All the Torah had to write was that Joseph asked the courtiers why they were so glum. It is possible to understand the wording of the Torah here in light of what had been written before in verse four that Joseph was with these courtiers in the same jail and that he who was in jail with them performed personal valet service for them; these services were rendered to these prisoners only because they were of such an elevated stature. Now that the boot was on the other foot, the Torah wanted to mention that they were with him, i.e. that they depended upon him to enlighten them. The Torah wrote: “the courtiers of Pharaoh who were with him,” to draw our attention to the fact that they were now secondary to Joseph instead of Joseph being secondary to them. Furthermore, the Torah wanted to explain why Joseph had the audacity to mix into the private affairs of such highly placed personages as the Chief of the butlers, etc. The Torah illustrates the point that when lowly prisoners, slaves, foreigners such as Joseph and highly placed personages such as these two courtiers find themselves in similar circumstances, i.e. in a dungeon, considerations such as their former status vanish and there is established a form of equality based on a common fate. This is what gave Joseph the courage to comment on the glum expressions of the Chief of the butlers and the Chief of the bakers. Joseph was concerned with their well-being although they were wicked people serving a wicked King.
Tur HaArokh
וישאל את סריסי פרעה אשר אתו במשמר, “he enquired from Pharaoh’s ministers, the ones in the same jail as he, etc.” We would have expected the Torah to write: “וישאל אותם,” he asked them.” The only reason why the Torah chose more cumbersome wording is to tell us of the praiseworthy conduct of Joseph who, although he found himself in the presence of two prisoners vastly superior to him in personal power even while in jail, and moreover, in the jail of his former master Potiphar, who by now hated him, i.e. people who could have ordered his execution without worrying about their being held accountable, nonetheless had the courage to interpret their dreams, although at least one of them would be frustrated with his interpretation. He had confidence in his wisdom, for if the chief of the bakers had been pardoned, he would surely have hung Joseph for having made him deathly afraid for a number of days.
And they said to him: "We have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it." And Joseph said to them: "Do not interpretations belong to God? tell it me, I pray you."
verse value 3546
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 66 letters. Verse gematria: 3546 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "to·me" (לִֽי, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·they·said" (וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "interpretations" (פִּתְרֹנִ֔ים), "tell·please" (סַפְּרוּ־נָ֖א). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "to·God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "to·him" (root אל, 242x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'it', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 8 words.
Onkelos
And they said to him: We have dreamed a dream, and there is no one to interpret it. And Joseph said to them: Are not interpretations of dreams from before Hashem? Relate them now to me.
Ramban
AND THERE IS NO INTERPRETER OF IT. The meaning thereof is that “there is no one to inform us concerning the future which can be derived from the dream.”It is possible that they sent for some magicians in the morning, or that there were people with them in the prison, but no one could interpret it. It may be that they said; “There is no one in the world, in our opinion, who can interpret it, for it is very obscure.” DO NOT (‘HALO’) INTERPRETATIONS BELONG TO G-D? Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained it as saying that “future events destined to come as indicated in dreams belong to G-d, for He alone brings on the dream and lets the future be known, and it is He who makes peace, and creates evil, but in my speaking to you there is neither benefit nor loss.” This he said so that they should not punish him if evil should befall them, or so that they should tell him the dreams and not scorn him. But if so, there is no sense for the word halo (do not) in this context. ” the interrogative form of the word halo is out of place. Perhaps its meaning is the same as that of the word hinei (behold). Thus Joseph is saying, “Behold, to G-d alone belong interpretations, but not to man the interpreter.”In my opinion the correct interpretation is that Joseph is saying; “Do not interpretations of all dreams which are obscure and confined belong to G-d? He can make known the interpretation of your dreams. Now if it is obscure to you tell it to me; perhaps He will be pleased to reveal His secret to me.”
Ibn Ezra
The meaning of "Do not interpretations belong to God?" is that the interpretation of dreams belongs to Hashem, for He knows what is to come and reveals in dreams what will be to whomever He wishes. If I interpret it for good or for ill, it will neither help nor harm. Since this is so, and since all interpretation of dreams belongs to Hashem, do not hesitate to tell me your dreams. As for the rabbinic saying "all dreams follow the mouth" (Berakhot 55b) — that is an individual opinion.
Sforno
הלא לאלוקים פתרונים? The wisdom to interpret a dream is something divinely inspired, seeing that man has been created in G’d’s image. It is therefore possible that even I may have been endowed with such wisdom, even though I am a lowly servant and on top of my misfortune I am in jail. It may therefore be possible that you erred when you said that there is no one who can interpret your dreams.
Or HaChaim
ויאמרו אליו…ופותר אין אתו, "and there is no one to interpret it." They meant that there was no one to interpret it at all, as distinct from Pharaoh's dream (41,8) when a variety of interpretations were offered, none of which satisfied Pharaoh. הלא לאלוקים פתרונים, "don't interpretations belong to G'd?" This was Joseph's way of saying that although he offered his services as an interpreter they should not think that he claimed to boast about his ability, but that G'd had many interpreters at His disposal; he, Joseph, was only one of them. He invited them to tell him their dreams. When Joseph referred to "interpretations" in the plural, he alluded to a story from the Talmud Berachot 55 according to which there were twenty four regular dream-interpreters in Jerusalem. All of them interpreted the dream of Rabbi Banah, each one offering a different interpretation. All their interpretations happened to come true. This is what Joseph had in mind when he said: "G'd has interpretations." Joseph meant that a dream is capable of many different interpretations all of which are correct. Joseph had two reasons for saying נא, please, when inviting the ministers to tell him their dreams. 1) An interpretation can only claim to be accurate when it is given on the day after the night the dream has occurred, and this is the reason that one may fast even on the Sabbath after having had a bad dream; on the other hand, if one delayed fasting, one may not fast on the Sabbath on account of that dream. Joseph's use of the word נא, meant that he urged the ministers to tell him their dreams at once before the interpretations would become useless to them. The second reason Joseph said נא, is also related to a statement in the Talmud on the next folio. We are told there that most dreams follow the mouth, i.e. the interpreter [I have explained this on page 301. Ed.]. This is why Joseph was anxious that they should tell their dreams to him rather than to someone else in order that his interpretation would be fulfilled. He said: ספרו נא, "please tell now!" Although we have mentioned that there were twenty four interpreters in Jersualem each one of whom was able to give a different yet true interpretation to the same dream, I maintain that this was so only because none of the twenty four interpretations contradicted one another. If, for instance, the first interpreter would say that the prisoner would be released whereas the second interpreter would say that the prisoner would remain in jail until dead, only the first interpretation would be fulfilled. Joseph urged them to make him the first interpreter of their dreams for their sakes.
Chizkuni
ופוטר אין אותו, seeing that they were held in communicado with the outside world, they had no one who could bring their plight to Pharaoh’ attention, or at least to consult with any of the professional sorcerers of Egypt.?הלא לאלו־הים פתרונים, “since interpretations of dreams is a matter for G-d, perhaps He has decreed that I could interpret it?”
Rabbeinu Bahya
הלא לאלו-הים פתרונים, ”are not the interpretations a matter for G’d?” Joseph meant that future events foreshadowed by dreams are something known only to G’d who is the One who sends the dream to the person whom He wants to warn through a dream. He is the only One who can reveal the future, make peace and initiate evil (Isaiah 45,7). Joseph wanted to reassure the two courtiers that they would neither profit nor suffer any harm by revealing their dreams to him, seeing it was G’d who would determine their future.
Tur HaArokh
פותר אין אותו, “there was no one who would interpret it.” There was no one in the whole world that knew how to interpret it. Alternately, these ministers had sent messengers to a number of well known dream experts, both within the jail and beyond, and none of those had any explanation to offer. הלא לאלוקים פתרונים, “is not the subject of interpreting dreams something reserved for G’d? Ibn Ezra says that Joseph meant that G’d exclusively, knows of the interpretation that will come true in the future. Only He knows the future and sees fit to reveal some of it to whosoever needs to know it. Joseph continued: “if I explain the dream to you in a manner that will please you, or even in a manner which will not reflect its true meaning, this will not affect your future fate at all.” He may have said this to them in order to encourage them to tell him their dreams, or as reinsurance so that they would have no reason to punish him if it was found that he erred in his interpretations. Nachmanides writes that the correct interpretation of our verse in his opinion, is that Joseph explained to them that for all the dreams which defy our ability to interpret correctly there is an explanation which G’d knows of, and this is a knowledge that He has granted to some people to share with Him. If he were to offer an explanation for their dreams, it would be the result of knowledge granted to him by G’d. If they were to tell him the details of their dreams, perhaps G’d would enlighten him concerning the meaning.
And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him: "In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;
verse value 2780 — ל֔וֹ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 48 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֔וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֔וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "chief·cupbearer" (שַֽׂר־הַמַּשְׁקִ֛ים, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·behold·a·vine" (וְהִנֵּה־גֶ֖פֶן). The root חלום appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "to·Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "before·me" (root פנים, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·Joseph', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיְסַפֵּ֧ר [and·told] (356) + שַֽׂר־הַמַּשְׁקִ֛ים [chief·cupbearer] (995) + אֶת־חֲלֹמ֖וֹ [his·dream] (485) + לְיוֹסֵ֑ף [to·Joseph] (186) + וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [and·said] (257) + ל֔וֹ [to·him] (36) + בַּחֲלוֹמִ֕י [in·my·dream] (96) + וְהִנֵּה־גֶ֖פֶן [and·behold·a·vine] (199) + לְפָנָֽי [before·me] (170) = 2780.
Onkelos
And the chief cupbearer recounted his dream to Joseph and said to him: In my dream, behold, a vine was before me.
Or HaChaim
בחלומי, "in my dream." Since he had dreamt the interpretation of his companion's dream, he now emphasised what he had seen in his own dream, i.e. the dream he had dreamt concerning himself.
Rabbeinu Bahya
בחלומי, והנה גפן לפני, “in my dream- behold there was a grapevine in front of me.” It behooves a person to be extremely careful when he begins to relate a dream he has dreamt. You note that the Chief of the butlers prefaced telling his dream with the words: “in my dream.” The word בחלומי is an expression of “recovering from a sickness and an expression denoting good health.” The expression is related to Isaiah 38,16 ותחלימני והחייני, “You have restored me to health and You have revived me.” Following the opening remark of the butler it is not surprising that he was saved from the dungeon and restored to his position. The Chief of the bakers made the mistake of saying אף, before commencing to relate his dream. The word אף, of course, refers to anger. As a result he was sentenced to death and was hanged. Bereshit Rabbah 88,5 writes that “four people began their comments with the word אף, and all of them perished. They were: the original serpent, the Chief of the bakers, the congregation of Korach, and Haman.” We have mentioned this already in connection with our commentary on Genesis 3,1 on the words אף כי אמר אלו-הים.
and in the vine were three branches; and as it was budding, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes,
verse value 3996 — וְהִ֤וא = 18 (chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 48 letters. Notable word values: "and·it" (וְהִ֤וא) = 18, chai, 'life'. Verse gematria: 3996 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "its·blossoms" (נִצָּ֔הּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "its·clusters" (אַשְׁכְּלֹתֶ֖יהָ, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·on·the·vine" (וּבַגֶּ֖פֶן), "branches" (שָׂרִיגִ֑ם), "as·budding" (כְפֹרַ֙חַת֙). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis); "came·up" (root עלה, 60x in Genesis); "three" (root שלוש, 29x in Genesis). First appearance of the root ענב ("grapes") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'branches', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 7 words. Full calculation: וּבַגֶּ֖פֶן [and·on·the·vine] (141) + שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה [three] (635) + שָׂרִיגִ֑ם [branches] (553) + וְהִ֤וא [and·it] (18) + כְפֹרַ֙חַת֙ [as·budding] (708) + עָלְתָ֣ה [came·up] (505) + נִצָּ֔הּ [its·blossoms] (145) + הִבְשִׁ֥ילוּ [ripened] (353) + אַשְׁכְּלֹתֶ֖יהָ [its·clusters] (766) + עֲנָבִֽים [grapes] (172) = 3996.
Onkelos
And on the vine were three branches, and as it budded, it brought forth blossoms, and it blossomed, and in their ripening its clusters became grapes.
Rashi
שריגם BRANCHES — long branches called in old French. vitis. והיא כפרחת means AND IT WAS AS THOUGH IT BUDDED — it seemed to me in my dream as though it budded, and after the bud its blossom sprang up — i.e. it began to flower; old French spanier — and after that the clusters brought forth ripe grapes. The Targum has והיא כד אפרחת אפיקת לבלבין “and it, when it budded, brought forth blossoms”, These words (ע״כ, abbreviation for עד כאן “till here”. The abbreviation is employed to show where a quotation ends.) are the translation of the word פרחת"” only. A נץ is larger than a פרח (i.e. נץ is a later stage of the bud), as it is written (Isaiah 18:5) “and the blossom (נצה) becometh a ripening grape”, and it is written (Numbers 17:23) “And it brought forth buds (פרח)” and afterwards it states “it brought forth (ציץ) blossoms”.
Ramban
AND IT WAS AS THOUGH IT BUDDED AND ITS BLOSSOM WENT UP. “It seemed as though it budded. And it was as though it budded, i.e., it seemed to me in my dream as though it budded, and after the bud its blossom shot up, and after that it brought forth the clusters and then the ripe grapes. Onkelos translates: ‘And, when it buddeth, it brought forth sprouts.’ These words are the translation of the word porachath alone.” Rashi’s intent, in quoting the Targum, is to say that Onkelos’ words, apeikath lavlevin (brought forth sprouts), is an expression which Onkelos appended to his translation of the Hebrew word porachath. Ramban will later differ with this opinion, holding that it constitutes Onkelos’ rendition of the Hebrew word althah, and signifies: “And it, when it budded, immediately brought forth sprouts.” See below, Note 271. Thus far the words of Rashi. This is not correct. If he is speaking in terms of appearances because they are matters of a dream, he should say, “Behold, like a vine was before me, and on the vine like three shoots.” And on the vine were three shoots.”(Verses 9-10.) This kaph of comparison is found neither in the dream of the chief of the bakers nor in the dream of Pharaoh. Why then should the chief of butlers use the comparative form more than the others? Instead, in all three dreams it says v’hinei (and behold)., in the dream of the butler; Verse 16, in the dream of the baker, and in Chapter 41, Verse 3, the word v’hinei is used in connection with Pharaoh’s dream. It is this word which indicates comparison, for its meaning is “as if.”But the explanation of the verse before us, And it was ‘keporachath’ its blossoms shot up, is that he saw that immediately as it budded, its blossoms shot up and its clusters ripened into grapes. This was to indicate that G-d was hastening to do it. This is how Joseph recognized that the “three shoots” indicated three days, and not months or years, and he himself deduced that on the same day the two will be summoned before the king. It may be [that this was also indicated by the dreams] because both of them dreamed in one night. Thus there is no need for the words of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, who says that Joseph knew of Pharaoh’s birthday. This usage of a kaph to indicate immediacy is found in many places: And it came to pass, ‘k’meishiv’ (as he drew back) his hand; ‘k’vo Avram’ (as Abram came); ‘uk’eith’ (and at the time) of her death the women that stood by her said, and many others. Onkelos’ rendition into Aramaic stating, “And when it budded, it brought forth sprouts,” [means to say that the expression “brought forth sprouts”] is a translation of the Hebrew word althah, meaning that it immediately brought forth sprouts of the vine. That is, as soon as it budded, it brought forth large sprouts, its blossoms shot up, and its clusters ripened into grapes. Ramban however says that it is the translation only of the word nitzah, for althah (shoot up) could not refer to nitzah (sprouts). This is why, according to Ramban, Onkelos translated the word althah as apeikath lavlevin (it brought forth sprouts). In brief, according to Rashi’s understanding of the Targum, the Hebrew v’hi keporachath is rendered by the Targum as kad aphrachath apeikath lavlevin. The Hebrew althah nitzah is rendered va’aneitzath neitz. In the opinion of Ramban, v’hi keporachath is rendered by the Targum as kad aphrachath; the Hebrew althah is rendered apeikath lavlevin, and the Hebrew nitzah has its equivalent in Onkelos’ va’aneitzath nitzah. Onkelos would not apply the word althah (shoot up) to nitzah (sprouts), as they do not “shoot up.”
Ibn Ezra
"Its blossom came up" — as in "the pomegranates were in bloom" (Song of Songs 7:13). "Its clusters ripened" — the opposite of unripe grapes. Similarly, "for the harvest is ripe" (Joel 4:13) — even though these are two different verbal stems.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ובגפן שלשה שריגים, “and there were three tendrils on the grapevine.” The expression שריגים is equivalent to the word זמורות. We find it again in Joel 1,7 הלבינו שריגיה, “their tendrils turned white.” והיא כפורחת, “and it appeared as if it was blossoming.” The meaning is that as soon as it budded its blossoms opened up. This is equivalent to the expression סמדר, compare Song of Songs 7,13. He noticed that the clusters had immediately ripened into grapes. The thrust of the images in the dream was that G’d would hasten to bring about whatever the dream presaged. He pressed the juice of the grapes, extracted the wine and placed it in the cup of Pharaoh. Seeing that the butler had observed in his dream a whole sequence of natural developments condensed into a very small time frame, Joseph was astute enough to realise that the number three referred to three days within which the fate of the butler would change. This is why he did not suggest that it referred to three weeks or three months or even three years. The word שריגים is also one which occurs in Mishnaic Hebrew meaning שרגא,”light.” Similarly, the words שלשה סלי חורי, “three wicker baskets” mentioned as a feature in the baker’s dream also refer to a time frame of three days even though according to the plain meaning of the text the word חורי is similar to חררה, a large griddle cake, something which might have prompted Joseph to think in terms of a longer time frame such as three months or three years. The word חורי, also means “whitish,” i.e. that the baker saw in his dream three large white breads in the baskets. We have a verse in Exodus 33,23 וראית את אחורי, normally translated as G’d saying to Moses: “you will see My rear,’” which (according to the Zohar?) may mean that G’d would appear to Moses in a very bright light, almost white. The word חורי then is related to אור. We find it in this sense in Nechemyah 5,7 את החורים ואת הסגנים. Nechemyah appears to compare prominent, important people, to light. The insignificant people who have nothing distinguished about them are compared to darkness. Moreover, the numerical value of the words שלשת הסלים is equivalent to שלשת ימים הם, “they represent three days.” (1175 each). Another reason that may account for Joseph interpreting both the three tendrils and the three baskets of white bread as signifying three days rather than three months or three years, is that he considered that the three grapevines and tendrils were equal to one another as were the three baskets. Three months or three years are never of identical length each. Only three days may be described as three units of time which are practically identical one to another. Hence Joseph concluded that the time frame to which the dream referred had to be days. A Midrashic approach based on Chulin 92. The word גפן, grapevine is a reference to the people of Israel, Psalms 80,9 mentions גפן ממצרים תסיע, “You (G’d) have picked up a vine from Egypt,” an obvious reference to the Jewish people. The שלשת שריגים are a reference to the three festivals a year during which the Jewish people make their pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. The words והיא כפורחת, refer to the time when it is the turn to the Jewish people to blossom and spread out in all directions as do the buds which break out in blossoms. We find references to such development by the Jewish people in Exodus 1,6: “and the children of Israel were fruitful and there were swarms of them.” This means that the nation budded, broke out in blossoms. Isaiah, speaking about the time of redemption, says (Isaiah 63,3) “their life-blood (נצחם=wine) bespattered My garments.” This is a prologue to G’d redeeming Israel. The words הבשילו אשכלותיה ענבים, “its clusters of grapes were ripe,” mean that the time is ripe for Israel’s redemption, i.e. for Egypt to drink the cup of retribution. The word כוס, cup, occurs four times in this brief passage and refers to the four exiles Israel would experience. The fact that our enemies will have to drink four cups of retribution is alluded to in four separate verses in the Books of the Prophets and in the Hagiography. Compare: Jeremiah 25,15; Jeremiah 51,7; Psalms 75,9; Psalms 11,6. The Talmud in Chulin 92 also explains the verse ובגפן שלשה שריגים, saying that גפן refers to the Torah, שלשה שריגים to the three miracles the Israelites experienced in the desert — the traveling well of water, the manna, and the protective shield (cloud) of G’d which enveloped the whole camp of the Israelites. The words והיא כפורחת עלתה נצה are understood by the Talmud there as a reference to the first ripe fruit offered to G’d by the Israelites, whereas the words הבשילו אשכלותיה are understood as an allusion to the drink-offerings (of wine) presented on the altar with most sacrifices.
Tur HaArokh
והיא כפורחת, “and it seemed to be blossoming, etc.” according to Rashi this means that it seemed to the cupbearer in his dreams if the vines were blossoming. Nachmanides queries that if we were to base this interpretation on the presence of the כף הדמיון, the prefix letter כ, which is a frequent phenomenon, and it is used here because everything that one sees in a dream is not real but only imaginary, then the proper place for this letter would have been at the beginning of the image, and the Torah, instead of writing והנה גפן, “behold there was a vine,” should have written והנה כגפן “and behold there was something like a vine, etc.” In his opinion, the reason the Torah writes the letter כ only when it does, is to portray the development of this vine into fruit and ultimately wine which is offered by the dreamer to Pharaoh’s lips, as something occurring with unreal speed. It is this element that prompted Joseph to foresee fulfillment of the message contained in the dream not as occurring three months or longer after the vine begins to blossom, but as occurring within three days.
and Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand."
verse value 3907 — בְּיָדִ֑י = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 59 letters. Notable word values: "in·my·hand" (בְּיָדִ֑י) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "them" (אֹתָם֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·grapes" (אֶת־הָֽעֲנָבִ֗ים, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 355: Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Pharaoh. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·the·cup·of" (וְכ֥וֹס), "the·grapes" (אֶת־הָֽעֲנָבִ֗ים), "and·I·pressed" (וָֽאֶשְׂחַ֤ט). The root כוס appears 3 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·I·placed" (root נתן, 150x in Genesis); "and·I·took" (root לקח, 142x in Genesis); "Pharaoh" (root פרעה, 94x in Genesis). First appearance of the root כוס ("and·the·cup·of") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·my·hand', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 10 words. Full calculation: וְכ֥וֹס [and·the·cup·of] (92) + פַּרְעֹ֖ה [Pharaoh] (355) + בְּיָדִ֑י [in·my·hand] (26) + וָאֶקַּ֣ח [and·I·took] (115) + אֶת־הָֽעֲנָבִ֗ים [the·grapes] (578) + וָֽאֶשְׂחַ֤ט [and·I·pressed] (324) + אֹתָם֙ [them] (441) + אֶל־כּ֣וֹס [into·the·cup·of] (117) + פַּרְעֹ֔ה [Pharaoh] (355) + וָאֶתֵּ֥ן [and·I·placed] (457) + אֶת־הַכּ֖וֹס [the·cup] (492) + עַל־כַּ֥ף [on·the·palm·of] (200) + פַּרְעֹֽה [Pharaoh] (355) = 3907.
Onkelos
And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I placed the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
Rashi
ואשחט translate it as the Targum AND I PRESSED — The word occurs frequently in the Mishna (but only here in the Bible).
Ibn Ezra
"I pressed them" — as in "those who slaughter the children" (Isaiah 57:5), and not as the Gaon [Saadia] explained.
Kli Yakar
“And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand.” In Genesis Rabbah (88:5), they said from here the Sages instituted the four cups of wine on Passover, corresponding to the four times the word “cup” is mentioned here. One must wonder what did the Holy One, Blessed be He, show the chief butler in this, and what is the connection between the four cups of Passover and the chief butler’s dream? It seems to me that it is known that drinking from a cup symbolizes salvation from some trouble, as it is written I will lift up the cup of salvation (Psalms 116:13), and the four cups of Passover prove this. Every prisoner is surrounded by four evil families that are mentioned in the book of Jeremiah (15:2): Thus says the Lord: Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for famine, to famine; and those for captivity, to captivity. And in Bava Batra (8b), Rabbi Yochanan said that each punishment mentioned later in the verse is harder than the previous one, until captivity, which includes them all. For it is in the master’s hand to punish him with the sword, to kill him, to starve him, and to afflict him with imprisonment. Thus, every prisoner in the dungeon, when he leaves prison, it is appropriate that he should drink four cups of salvation. Since captivity includes all the other afflictions, when he leaves the prison he is saved from all four. Therefore, the word “cup” is mentioned four times regarding the chief butler, for it was shown to him in the dream that he would leave the dungeon and be saved from these four evils, and would be worthy of drinking four cups of salvation. Consequently, our Sages learned from here that on Passover every person is obligated to drink four cups, because the Israelites were also captives in Egypt, and captivity includes all other afflictions. Therefore, it is appropriate that they drink four cups of salvation corresponding to being saved from all four afflictions, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not only redeem our ancestors from Egypt, but He redeemed us with them as well. This is a precious interpretation. From here Joseph judged with his intellect that the chief butler would leave prison and return to his position, but regarding the chief baker, he saw nothing indicating his redemption and the ransom of his soul. And perhaps this is the intention of our Sages of blessed memory, in their interpretation (in Tractate Chullin 92) of and in the vine were three branches [sarigim] [as referring to] three ministers of nations [sarei goyim], etc., or Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, etc., and it was interpreted in several different ways regarding the success of Israel. And what did they show to the chief cupbearer in this? Rather, all these are the cause of Israel’s redemption from captivity, and the first redemption of Joseph was through the chief cupbearer, and through him Joseph merited all those destinies, and this is easy to understand.
And Joseph said to him: "This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days;
verse value 3960 — לוֹ֙ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 38 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (לוֹ֙) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 3960 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "to·him" (לוֹ֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·branches" (הַשָּׂ֣רִגִ֔ים, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 1030: three, three. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·branches" (הַשָּׂ֣רִגִ֔ים). The root שלוש appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "this" (root זה, 76x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'interpretation', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֤אמֶר [and·said] (257) + לוֹ֙ [to·him] (36) + יוֹסֵ֔ף [Joseph] (156) + זֶ֖ה [this] (12) + פִּתְרֹנ֑וֹ [interpretation] (736) + שְׁלֹ֙שֶׁת֙ [three] (1030) + הַשָּׂ֣רִגִ֔ים [the·branches] (558) + שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת [three] (1030) + יָמִ֖ים [days] (100) + הֵֽם [they] (45) = 3960.
Onkelos
And Joseph said to him: This is its interpretation — the three branches are three days.
Rashi
שלשת ימים ARE THREE DAYS — They are a symbol to you of three days. There are many Midrashic explanations of these words (cf. Chullin 92a).
Ibn Ezra
"Its interpretation" — its meaning. We find the word פִּתְרוֹן only in connection with a dream. Some ask: how did Joseph know that the three branches signified days rather than months or years? It is possible that this refers to the birthday of Pharaoh — the very day on which he was born — for there are kings who make a feast on the anniversary of their year and summon all their servants and give them gifts. Alternatively, it is possible that the queen was pregnant. The first explanation seems closer to me.
Targum Yonatan
And Joseph said to him, This is the end of the interpretations of the dream. The three branches are the three Fathers of the world, Abraham, Izhak, and Jakob, the children of whose sons are to be enslaved in Mizraim in clay and brick (work,) and in all labour of the face of the field: but afterwards shall the be delivered by the hand of three shepherds. As thou hast said, I took the grapes and expressed them into Pharoh's cup, and gave the cup Into Pharoh's hand: It is the vial of wrath which Paroh (himself) is to drink at the last. But thou, the chief butler shalt receive a good reward concerning the good dream which thou hast dreamed; and the interpretation of it, to thyself, is this: The three branches are three days until thy liberation.
within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up your head, and restore you to your office; and you shall give Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when you were his butler.
verse value 7040
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 74 letters. The shortest word is "will·lift" (יִשָּׂ֤א, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·cup·of·Pharaoh" (כוֹס־פַּרְעֹה֙, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·will·restore·you" (וַהֲשִֽׁיבְךָ֖), "to·your·post" (עַל־כַּנֶּ֑ךָ), "and·you·will·place" (וְנָתַתָּ֤). The root פרעה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "you·were" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "and·you·will·place" (root נתן, 150x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·your·post', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 8 words.
Onkelos
At the end of three days Pharaoh will recall your head and restore you to your post, and you will place Pharaoh's cup in his hand, as was the former custom when you were his cupbearer.
Rashi
ישא פרעה את ראשך PHARAOH SHALL LIFT UP THY HEAD — The words נשא ראש denote to count (cf. Exodus 30:12). When he musters his other servants to wait upon him during the meal he will count you also among them. כנך means THY POST and thy place.
Ibn Ezra
"Pharaoh will lift your head" — he will raise it. The correct understanding is that this is an expression of enumeration; proof is "He lifted the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants" (Genesis 40:20). I will explain this further in the portion Ki Tissa. "Your position" — your former post, your fixed station, and your established rank. It may derive from the root כֵּן. Similarly, "he shall stand in his place" (Daniel 11:21).
Sforno
As was your previous practice. Before you became an official. When you were his butler. When you used to serve him personally — Pharaoh will have you do this to demonstrate that you are again in his favor.
Chizkuni
בעוד שלשת ימים, “within another three days;” the reason why Joseph felt that the events foreshadowed were to occur so soon, was that in the cupbearer’s dream the development of the budding grapes to becoming wine were described as being so rapid. He therefore also took his cue from the cupbearer’s dream to interpret the solution to the baker’s dream to become evident within three days. והשיבך, “he will restore you;” the letter ו in this word is vocalised with a patach (instead of a semivowel sh’va and the letter ה with an abbreviated patach.
Cross-references: Psalms 80:16; Genesis 40:19; Genesis 40:20; II Kings 25:27
But have me in your remembrance when it shall be well with you, and show kindness, I pray you, to me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house.
verse value 4990
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 68 letters. The shortest word is "that" (כִּ֧י, 2 letters) and the longest is "if·you·remember·me" (אִם־זְכַרְתַּ֣נִי, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "if·you·remember·me" (אִם־זְכַרְתַּ֣נִי), "it·goes·well" (יִ֣יטַב), "and·do·please" (וְעָשִֽׂיתָ־נָּ֥א). The root זכר appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "that" (root כי, 167x in Genesis); "and·do·please" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'loyalty', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: כִּ֧י [that] (30) + אִם־זְכַרְתַּ֣נִי [if·you·remember·me] (728) + אִתְּךָ֗ [with·you] (421) + כַּאֲשֶׁר֙ [as] (521) + יִ֣יטַב [it·goes·well] (31) + לָ֔ךְ [to·you] (50) + וְעָשִֽׂיתָ־נָּ֥א [and·do·please] (837) + עִמָּדִ֖י [with·me] (124) + חָ֑סֶד [loyalty] (72) + וְהִזְכַּרְתַּ֙נִי֙ [and·mention·me] (698) + אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה [to·Pharaoh] (386) + וְהוֹצֵאתַ֖נִי [and·bring·me·out] (568) + מִן־הַבַּ֥יִת [from·the·house] (507) + הַזֶּֽה [this] (17) = 4990.
Onkelos
But remember me with you when it goes well for you, and do me this kindness now: mention me before Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison house.
Rashi
כי אם זכרתני אתך means: You will be restored to your post and will have great influence (cf. Nehemia’s position as cupbearer at the Persian court), so that. (כי) if (אם) thou at all bear me in mind after it is well with thee as I have interpreted. ועשית נא עמדי חסד THEN SHOW KINDNESS I PRAY THEE UNTO ME — The word נא is an expression of entreaty.
Ramban
BUT HAVE ME IN THY REMEMBRANCE. “If you will remember me when it will be well with you, I now pray for the kindness and truth you will do to me by making mention of me to Pharaoh.” And if the word na In the explanation above the Hebrew word na was understood in the sense of ‘now’: “If you will remember me then… I now pray for the kindness and truth you would show me.” But according to the second interpretation, the word na is understood as supplication, as explained in the text. is to be understood as expressing supplication, the sense of the verse is: “If you will remember me and would, in your mercy, do me a kindness, I beg that you remember me to Pharaoh.”The sense of the word itcha (with thee) is that “you should remember to show me mercy in the very same way that it has been shown to you, i.e., that you went out from prison.” The interpretation may be that “you should remember me in your heart as if I am with you.”The purport of mentioning him before Pharaoh is that he should praise him by saying, “Now in the house of the chief of the officers there is an excellent servant fit to enter the service of kings.”It further appears to me correct that Joseph is saying: “If you will remember me to be with you when all goes well with you and you return to your high position, and you should want to do me this kindness, then make mention of me to Pharaoh, saying to him, ‘I remember a lad who served me in the prison; give him to me to be my servant.’ And bring me out of this house for it is a great sin to those who retain me here.”It may be that the meaning of the expression, And make mention of me to Pharaoh, is that “Pharaoh saw me when I was a servant to his minister, in charge of all he had and performing my duties before him, ” and if you will remember me before him you will bring about my release from here. I have committed no sin, and it is befitting the king to release me and thereby save me from the hands of my oppressors, for there is no matter hid from the king if he desires.”
Sforno
כי אם זכרתני אתך, how would I know that you are really friendly to me, כאשר ייטב לך, if you will remember me also when you are well off, and you will find an hour when it suits you to display such an act of friendship. והזכרתני אל פרעה, and you will bring my situation to the attention of Pharaoh who had gotten to know me when I had been a servant in the house of Potiphar. והוצאתני, you will thereby cause him to release me without doubt.
Or HaChaim
כי אם זכרתני, "if you would only remember me, etc." Perhaps Joseph made his favourable interpretation conditional on the chief of the butlers remembering him. The reason that Joseph placed his hopes in the chief butler was that the Jewish people have been compared to a vine, as has been pointed out in Chulin 92. והנה גפן לפני, "there was a vine in front of me;" Joseph reasoned that if the dream only concerned matters related to the chief butler, all that needed to be shown in the dream was that the chief butler held Pharaoh's cup in his hand. He reasoned that the additional information referred to himself in jail; when the Torah goes on to describe how that vine was blooming, Joseph took this as a sign that the vine would prosper; he took the word נצה to mean that his rise would be progressively higher. This is why when he explained the dream to the chief butler he added that it was important that the chief butler remember Joseph during better times. In due course Joseph was proven right, for ultimately the chief butler did recall him and this started Joseph's dramatic rise to power. The reason Joseph was punished was because he imagined that his own advancement would depend on the goodwill of the chief butler. While G'd did use the chief butler as His instrument in advancing Joseph's fortune, the chief butler did not act voluntarily. He was prompted by fear to recall his days in jail (41,12). Joseph had to be taught the lesson not to rely on man.
Chizkuni
כי אם זכרתני, “if you would only remember me;” he meant that if the cup bearer would bring his plight to Pharaoh’s attention, perhaps he would reopen his case, as a result of which he would be released seeing that he had been completely innocent.
Rabbeinu Bahya
כי אם זכרתני אתך, “if only you would remember me with you, etc.” Joseph made two requests of the Chief of the butlers. 1) That he personally should remember who had foretold him his good fortune. 2) He should bring Joseph’s plight to the attention of Pharaoh. It is because of these two separate requests that the Torah reported at the very end of our Parshah that 1) the Chief of the butlers did “not remember Joseph”, and 2) that “he forgot him (mentioning him to Pharaoh).” We must not commit the error of believing that Joseph placed his faith in the Chief of the butlers. He most certainly placed his faith exclusively in G’d. He only thought that G’d might employ the Chief of the butlers as a tool to bring about his release from the dungeon. He had some reason to believe this seeing that the dream the Chief of the butler had dreamt in jail in which Joseph was imprisoned appeared to him as part of a miraculous chain of circumstances. How do we reconcile this with the comment of Bereshit Rabbah 89,3 that Joseph had two years added to the time he had to stay in jail because he said the above-cited two words to the Chief of the butlers (as we pointed out in our commentary on 39,5) that he was punished for pleading with the Chief of the butlers to become the instrument of orchestrating his release? It was not fitting for someone of Joseph’s caliber to be on the lookout for an instrument that G’d should appoint to bring about changes in his fate. He should have been content to trust that G’d would be able to find such opportunities when He deemed the time right for this. G’d does not need Joseph or anyone else to prompt Him in such matters. Joseph’s conduct was accounted a sin only because he was on such a high moral level, and G’d is especially strict in His dealings with people who have attained such a level (Baba Kama 50). To illustrate how someone else behaved in similar circumstances, compare the situation of the prophet Elijah in Kings I 17,6. The prophet was hiding in an inhospitable part of the country and had no access to food. He was told by G’d to drink from the waters of the river Krit (there could not have been much water due to the drought) and G’d told him that He would summon the raven to bring him food. He followed G’d’s instructions. The instrument of keeping him alive, i.e. providing him with food, was the raven. It is also possible that the food the ravens brought Elijah came from the palace of Yehoshaphat, King of Yehudah (compare Vayikra Rabbah 19). In either event the provision G’d made for Elijah was of a miraculous nature. Elijah did not involve himself in bringing about means of sustaining himself in a natural way. At any rate, Joseph did not think of the butler as the source of his release from jail but as an instrument to be used by G’d to that end. He should not even have done this and this is why he was punished.
Tur HaArokh
כי אם זכרתני אתך, “if only you will remember me, etc.” according to Nachmanides Joseph asks the cupbearer to remember him after he had been reinstated and then bring him to Pharaoh’s attention as another innocent sitting in jail, something he would consider an act of loving kindness on the part of the cupbearer. Another possible explanation of the phrase is that Joseph pleads with the cupbearer to remember him as if he were still in his presence, i.e.אתך. [otherwise the word אתך appears as somewhat redundant. Ed.] Yet another possible meaning is that Joseph said: “the favour you can do me after you have been reinstated and you reminded yourself that I had predicted your reinstatement, is to plead my case before Pharaoh, seeing that I, like yourself, am in jail due to trumped up charges against me.” Still another possibility is that Joseph did not ask the cupbearer to plead his case before Pharaoh but only to mention his name to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh who knew Joseph from the days when he was prominent in Potiphar’s household, would realize that his sitting in jail proved that he was actually free from sin, as otherwise his master would have executed him.
For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the pit."
verse value 3252
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "me" (אֹתִ֖י, 3 letters) and the longest is "I·did·not·do" (לֹא־עָשִׂ֣יתִֽי, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "for·surely" (כִּֽי־גֻנֹּ֣ב), "the·Hebrews" (הָעִבְרִ֑ים), "and·also·here" (וְגַם־פֹּה֙). The root גנב appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "I·did·not·do" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis); "and·also·here" (root גם, 50x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·Hebrews', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: כִּֽי־גֻנֹּ֣ב [for·surely] (85) + גֻּנַּ֔בְתִּי [kidnapped] (465) + מֵאֶ֖רֶץ [from·the·land] (331) + הָעִבְרִ֑ים [the·Hebrews] (327) + וְגַם־פֹּה֙ [and·also·here] (134) + לֹא־עָשִׂ֣יתִֽי [I·did·not·do] (821) + מְא֔וּמָה [anything] (92) + כִּֽי־שָׂמ֥וּ [that·they·put] (376) + אֹתִ֖י [me] (411) + בַּבּֽוֹר [in·the·pit] (210) = 3252.
Onkelos
For indeed I was stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and here too I have done nothing, yet they put me in this prison house.
Ramban
THE LAND OF THE HEBREWS. This means the land of Hebron, wherein dwelt Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham, the head of the lineage, was called “Abraham the Hebrew” since he came from across the River Euphrates, and he was honored among the nations for in him was fulfilled the blessing, And I will make thy name great. It is for this reason that all of his seed are called Ivrim (Hebrews). They hold on to this name in order not to intermingle with the various peoples in the Canaanite lands, and this name has been established as the name for all Israel’s seed forever. This is the meaning of the verse, He hath brought in a Hebrew unto us, since Joseph told them “I am a Hebrew,” and he did not want them to take him as a Canaanite. And the land where they resided was called “the land of the Hebrews,” that is to say, the land in which the Hebrews are. It may be that it was so called because they were its leaders and nobles, even as it says, Thou art a prince of G-d in the midst of us, and it is further written, Touch not My anointed ones.
Ibn Ezra
"From the land of the Hebrews" — I will explain this in the verse "When you acquire a Hebrew slave" (Exodus 21:2).
Sforno
כי גנב גנבתי וגם פה לא עשיתי מאומה, the reason why he will have me released will be due to your words, for it will be found that neither my status as slave nor that as prisoner is due to any fault of mine. I have never had a trial nor been convicted of any wrongdoing.
Or HaChaim
כי גנוב גנבת, "for I have been kidnapped, etc." The reason the word גנבתי is repeated here is that Joseph endured a double kidnapping. His body was kidnapped, and the people who bought him were fooled because they thought they had bought a slave, whereas in fact they paid for a free man. As a result the people who had paid for Joseph did not really own him. Perhaps Joseph wanted to explode the myth that no slave could ever rule nor wear royal robes in Egypt by explaining that this did not apply to him seeing he had never been a slave (compare Bereshit Rabbah 89,7). Since Joseph realised that the chief butler's dream indicated that he, Joseph, would rise to greatness, he was insistent that the chief butler be aware that he had been born free, that his present status as a slave was due only to his having been kidnapped from his homeland. Joseph added גם פה, that even while in Egypt he was innocent of the charges that had landed him in jail. He explained that the so-called evidence of sperm on the gown of his accuser had been refuted by the clergy (compare Targum Yonathan ben Uzziel on 39,14). This is why Joseph later on treated the Egyptian clergy with extreme leniency during the years of famine (47,22). Had it not been for the clergy's objectivity at the time, Joseph did not need to make any concessions to them as Pharaoh had authorised him על פיך ישק כל עמי, that Joseph's authority extended over the entire nation (41,40).
Chizkuni
כי גונב גונבתי מארץ העברים, “for I have been kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews;” Joseph merited being buried in the land of Israel because he was proud to acknowledge that he was a Hebrew. Moses, on the other hand, who had allowed the daughters of Yitro to describe him as an Egyptian, was denied that privilege. (Compare Exodus2,19.) [This editor has never understood this, as at the time described in that verse, Moses was still at the watering troughs and could not have heard it. Ed.]
Tur HaArokh
כי גנוב גנבתי, “for I have been twice kidnapped, etc.” Not only was I kidnapped from my homeland, but here too I have not committed any wrong that would justify my being in jail. מארץ העברים, “from the land of the Hebrews.” Clearly, Joseph did not speak about a state ruled by Hebrews, but he used this adjective to recall that he was descended from Avraham who had been the first עברי to take up residence in the land of Canaan after leaving Mesopotamia.
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph: "I also saw in my dream, and, behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head;
verse value 3892
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·chief·baker" (שַׂר־הָאֹפִ֖ים, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·chief·baker" (שַׂר־הָאֹפִ֖ים), "also·I" (אַף־אֲנִי֙), "baskets·of" (סַלֵּ֥י). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "for" (root כי, 167x in Genesis); "to·Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis). First appearance of the root סל ("baskets·of") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'he·had·interpreted', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 9 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֥רְא [and·saw] (217) + שַׂר־הָאֹפִ֖ים [the·chief·baker] (636) + כִּ֣י [for] (30) + ט֣וֹב [good] (17) + פָּתָ֑ר [he·had·interpreted] (680) + וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ [and·said] (257) + אֶל־יוֹסֵ֔ף [to·Joseph] (187) + אַף־אֲנִי֙ [also·I] (142) + בַּחֲלוֹמִ֔י [in·my·dream] (96) + וְהִנֵּ֗ה [and·behold] (66) + שְׁלֹשָׁ֛ה [three] (635) + סַלֵּ֥י [baskets·of] (100) + חֹרִ֖י [white·bread] (218) + עַל־רֹאשִֽׁי [on·my·head] (611) = 3892.
Onkelos
And the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, and he said to Joseph: I too — in my dream, behold, there were three wicker baskets upon my head.
Rashi
In our country there are many such baskets and sellers of fancy rolls — old French oublies — usually put them in these baskets.
Ramban
THAT THE INTERPRETATION WAS GOOD. Onkelos rendered it that he interpreted it well. A similar use is found in the verses: Teach me fair discernment and knowledge; That they were ‘tovoth’ (fair), which means “pretty.” The intent of the verse is to state that this man [the lord of the bakers] had scorned Joseph, thinking of him as not ever knowing how to interpret the dream, and he would never have told him the dream had he not seen that he interpreted for his friend in a fair and proper manner. It may be that the verse is saying: “And the lord of the bakers saw that he gave a favorable interpretation to the lord of the butlers and he rejoiced. He then told him his own dream which had caused him more anguish than that of his friend.” BASKETS OF ‘CHORI.’”Baskets made of peeled willows, made so that they have many holes.” This is Rashi’s language. Rav Saadia Gaon interpreted it as “baskets of white bread,” white as befits the king’s bread, with the word chori being derived from the Hebrew, Neither shall his face now wax white (‘yechvaru’), as well as from the Aramaic where the word chivar means “white.” This is the correct interpretation, for all the baskets in the dream contained the king’s bread, and in the uppermost basket there were all manner of baked goods for Pharaoh. You find it similarly in the language of our Rabbis in the Mishnah: “Large loaves and white cakes (v’chivri) [may be baked on a Festival Day].” And in the Jerusalem Talmud on this Mishnah: “The Rabbis [in discussing the permissibleness of baking extra fine white breads on the Festival Day even though they require more work than ordinary bread] derived the meaning of chori from this verse: And, behold, I had three baskets of ‘chori’ on my head. “ For just as in the case of the king’s bread it means “large and white,” as befits such bread, so does it have a similar meaning in the Mishnah. It is thus obvious that the Rabbis understood the word chori, as did Rav Saadia Gaon, to mean “white.”Mikeitz.
Ibn Ezra
After every dream in Scripture, the word הִנֵּה means "as if." "White baskets" — the Gaon [Saadia] said this means white bread, like "the nobles of Judah" (Jeremiah 27:20).
Sforno
כי טוב פתר, he was encouraged to think that Joseph would also come up with positive explanation of his own dream. Our sages use the words “as Joseph had interpreted to them,” (verse 22) to state that most dreams turn out to be in accordance with how the interpreter saw them.
Or HaChaim
וירא שר האופים כי טוב פתר, When the chief of the bakers saw that Joseph had interpreted well, etc. Since he himself had dreamt the interpretation of the dream of the chief butler he was in a position to evaluate Joseph's interpretation. The same could not be said of the chief butler as the latter did not know whether Joseph's interpretation would prove correct until it would be fulfilled. The words טוב פתר could also mean that Joseph had given a favourable interpretation to the dream of the chief butler. Thus encouraged, the chief of the bakers told Joseph his own dream hoping that Joseph would have a favourable interpretation for him also. His hope was based on the prophecy of Jewish exile that the dream contained. He saw the nations of the world who are compared to vultures consume the Jewish people (compare Targum Yonathan on Genesis 15,11). Israel, on the other hand, is compared to bread as we know from Psalms 14,4: אוכלי עמי אכלו לחם, "who devour My people as they devour bread." When the chief of the bakers spoke about carrying the baskets על ראשי, on my head, he hinted that Israel would be on top of all the nations. You will note that in the description of Pharaoh's activities in the dream of the chief butler, he is not described as drinking the wine, i.e. consuming the Jewish people. He only held the wine in his hand, an expression of paying homage to its worth. Contrast this with the fact that in the dream of the chief of the bakers, Pharaoh, i.e. the vultures, are reported as consuming part of the Jewish people.
Chizkuni
כי טוב פתר, “that he had predicted something positive, and he believed him;” his reasoning had been that if someone interprets untruthfully, he does not take a chance to be called a liar after three days.
Tur HaArokh
כי טוב פתר, “that he had interpreted the dream positively;” the fact that Joseph predicted fulfillment of the dream within three days convinced the baker that he was telling the truth as otherwise he would be proven a liar within such a short span of time. סלי חורי, “baskets of patisserie.” Rashi explains the word חורי as describing the kinds of baskets, i.e. wicker work. Rabbeinu Saadyah Gaon explains the word חורי as referring to bread made of white flour, a delicacy reserved for kings. Linguistically, the word would be related to חיור, “ (Arabic word?)
And Joseph answered and said: "This is the interpretation of it: the three baskets are three days;
verse value 3647
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "this" (זֶ֖ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·said" (וַיֹּ֔אמֶר, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 1030: three, three. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·baskets" (הַסַּלִּ֔ים). The root שלוש appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "this" (root זה, 76x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'interpretation', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֤עַן [and·answered] (136) + יוֹסֵף֙ [Joseph] (156) + וַיֹּ֔אמֶר [and·said] (257) + זֶ֖ה [this] (12) + פִּתְרֹנ֑וֹ [interpretation] (736) + שְׁלֹ֙שֶׁת֙ [three] (1030) + הַסַּלִּ֔ים [the·baskets] (145) + שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת [three] (1030) + יָמִ֖ים [days] (100) + הֵֽם [they] (45) = 3647.
Onkelos
And Joseph answered and said: This is its interpretation — the three baskets are three days.
Or HaChaim
זה פתרונו, "this is its meaning." This expression is a necessary formula if the statement of "most of the dreams go after the mouth" which we referred to earlier is to become true. Once the mind has been tuned in to a certain "wavelength," something that is facilitated by the listener having been told "this is its interpretation," the words of the interpretation will superimpose themselves on the dream, i.e. its message. We shall have more to say about this when discussing Pharaoh's dream.
Targum Yonatan
Joseph answered and said, This is its interpretation. The three baskets are the three enslavements with which the house of Israel are to be enslaved. But thou, the chief of the bakers, wilt receive an evil award, by the dream which thou hast dreamed. And Joseph explained it, as it was proper in his eyes and said to him: This is its interpretation to thyself. The three baskets are three days until thy death.
within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up your head from off you, and shall hang you on a tree; and the birds shall eat your flesh from off you."
verse value 5409
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "will·lift" (יִשָּׂ֨א, 3 letters) and the longest is "your·head" (אֶת־רֹֽאשְׁךָ֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 170: from·upon, from·upon·you. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "upon·a·tree" (עַל־עֵ֑ץ), "your·flesh" (אֶת־בְּשָׂרְךָ֖). The root על appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Pharaoh" (root פרעה, 94x in Genesis); "from·upon" (root על, 90x in Genesis); "and·will·eat" (root אכל, 74x in Genesis). First appearance of the root תלה ("and·hang") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·a·tree', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 4 words. Full calculation: בְּע֣וֹד [while·still] (82) + שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת [three] (1030) + יָמִ֗ים [days] (100) + יִשָּׂ֨א [will·lift] (311) + פַרְעֹ֤ה [Pharaoh] (355) + אֶת־רֹֽאשְׁךָ֙ [your·head] (922) + מֵֽעָלֶ֔יךָ [from·upon] (170) + וְתָלָ֥ה [and·hang] (441) + אוֹתְךָ֖ [you] (427) + עַל־עֵ֑ץ [upon·a·tree] (260) + וְאָכַ֥ל [and·will·eat] (57) + הָע֛וֹף [the·birds] (161) + אֶת־בְּשָׂרְךָ֖ [your·flesh] (923) + מֵעָלֶֽיךָ [from·upon·you] (170) = 5409.
Onkelos
Within three days Pharaoh will remove your head from you and will hang you on a gallows, and the birds will eat your flesh from you.
Ibn Ezra
"In yet" — before yet, meaning: no more such time will pass before this happens. "Pharaoh will lift your head off you" — he will lift it from its place; meaning, he will remove it, or: he will raise it onto a pole.
Tur HaArokh
ישא פרעה את ראשך, “Pharaoh will raise your head.” The meaning of the word ישא when used in conjunction with the cupbearer is not the same as the same word used by the Torah (Joseph) in connection with the chief of the bakers. In the case of the former, it denotes a promotion, as when the Children of Israel were to be numbered in Exodus 30,12 כי תשא את ראש וגו'. Numbering people means each individual has a distinct value on its own, not only as a member of a larger number. In our context, the meaning of the word נשא as “raising” applies equally to “raising” someone’s head by hanging it from a gallows, instead of by promoting the owner of the head.
Rashbam
ישא פרעה את ראשך, in this instance the words are to be taken literally, מעליך, as the Chief of the bakers would be beheaded.
And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast to all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his servants.
verse value 7576
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 82 letters. The shortest word is "chief" (שַׂ֣ר, 2 letters) and the longest is "for·all·his·servants" (לְכׇל־עֲבָדָ֑יו, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 500: chief, chief. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·birthday·of" (הֻלֶּ֣דֶת), "the·head·of" (אֶת־רֹ֣אשׁ), "and·the·head·of" (וְאֶת־רֹ֛אשׁ). The root יום appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "the·birthday·of" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "and·made" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'for·all·his·servants', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 9 words.
Onkelos
And it came to pass on the third day, the day of Pharaoh's birth, that he made a banquet for all his servants, and he recalled the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants.
Rashi
יום הלדת את פרעה HIS (PHARAOH’S) BIRTHDAY. It is called (Avodah Zarah 10a) “The birthday festival”. The causative passive form (הלדת) is used because the infant is born only by the assistance of others, for the midwife delivers the woman. On this account a midwife is called מילדת a Piel form “one who brings to birth”. This passive form occurs similarly (Ezekiel 16:4) “And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born (הולדת אתך)”. A similar passive form is used in (Leviticus 13:55) “after the plague (הכבס) is washed away”, because the washing is done by others). ‘וישא את ראש וגו means he counted them amongst his other servants — because he counted those who might serve him at his feast — and he remembered these amongst them. The phrase is similar to (Numbers 1.2) “שא את ראש” which signifies counting.
Ibn Ezra
"His being born" — this is a verbal noun from the passive-voice conjugation, the construction in which the name of its agent is not mentioned.
Rabbeinu Bahya
יום הולדת את פרעה, “Pharaoh’s’ birthday.” On that day a son was born for the king who was also named Pharaoh. It was a custom to make a feast on the anniversary of one’s birth. וישא את ראש שר המשקים ואת ראש שר האופים בתוך עבדיו, “and he counted the Chief of the butlers and the Chief of the bakers amongst his servants.” The Torah enumerates the names of these two courtiers as amongst the servants of the King. The expression וישא is related to the expression כי תשא in Exodus 30,12 where it means “you will count.” Seeing that the Torah mentions these courtiers as included in the courtiers of Pharaoh, the Torah wanted to inform us about their respective fates telling us that Pharaoh took the opportunity of that feast to publicise the final disposition of the cases which had been pending against both the Chief of the butlers and the Chief of the bakers. The former was acquitted and restored to his position whereas the latter was found guilty and hung. This apparently historically insignificant event contains an important lesson for all of us. It teaches that man must constantly be alert to the fact that all his activities are apt to be judged in light of the system of reward and punishment which the fate of mankind both collectively and individually is based on, and that everyone will have to render an account of his activities as well as of the omissions he has been guilty of before the One Who created this universe The thrust of this paragraph is to tell us that it is proper to seek out the goodwill of the ruler and to be careful not to incur his wrath. This is also why Solomon warns in Proverbs 16,14 חמת מלך מלאכי מות, “the king’s wrath is a messenger of death,” and in 19,12 he says נהם ככפיר זעף מלך וכטל על עשב רצונו, “the rage of a king is like the roaring of a lion; but his favour like dew on the grass.” We also find a verse in Proverbs 16,15 באור פני מלך חיים ורצונו כעב מלקוש, “in the light of the king’s face there is life; his favour is like a cloud in the spring rain.” Solomon compared the king’s goodwill to the dew which is so essential in making things grow, whereas anger and wrath are harbingers of destruction. In all his comments Solomon wants us to apply the logic that if falling out of favor of a terrestrial king is a disaster of no small dimensions, how much more must we be on our guard so that we will not fall out of favor in the eyes of the Lord our G’d. This is why good sense alone should suffice to cause us to conduct ourselves in a manner which is bound to please the Lord. The prophet Amos (3,8) phrases it thus: “when the lion roars, who will not become afraid?” On the other hand, Hoseah 14,6 assures us that “ I will be like dew for Israel, it will blossom forth like a lily and strike roots like (the poplar in) Lebanon.”
And he restored the chief butler back to his butlership; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
verse value 3377
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "and·restored" (וַיָּ֛שֶׁב, 4 letters) and the longest is "over·his·cupbearing" (עַל־מַשְׁקֵ֑הוּ, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·chief·of" (אֶת־שַׂ֥ר), "over·his·cupbearing" (עַל־מַשְׁקֵ֑הוּ), "the·cup" (הַכּ֖וֹס). The root משקה appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·gave" (root נתן, 150x in Genesis); "Pharaoh" (root פרעה, 94x in Genesis); "and·restored" (root שוב, 67x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'over·his·cupbearing', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיָּ֛שֶׁב [and·restored] (318) + אֶת־שַׂ֥ר [the·chief·of] (901) + הַמַּשְׁקִ֖ים [the·cupbearers] (495) + עַל־מַשְׁקֵ֑הוּ [over·his·cupbearing] (551) + וַיִּתֵּ֥ן [and·gave] (466) + הַכּ֖וֹס [the·cup] (91) + עַל־כַּ֥ף [on·the·palm·of] (200) + פַּרְעֹֽה [Pharaoh] (355) = 3377.
Onkelos
And he restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearing, and he placed the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
Ibn Ezra
"His cupbearing" — here it is a noun; whereas "that you were his cupbearer" (Genesis 40:13) uses the verbal form.
Chizkuni
וישב את שר המשקים, “he restored the chief of the cupbearers;” because his crime had been unavoidable, something beyond human control. Who can prevent a fly from parking on the rim of a cup?
Targum Yonatan
And he restored the chief butler to his butlership, because he found he had not been in that counsel. And he gave the cup into Pharoh's hand.
But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.
verse value 2910
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "hanged" (תָּלָ֑ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·chief" (וְאֵ֛ת שַׂ֥ר, 5 letters). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "to·them" (root הם, 49x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'hanged', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְאֵ֛ת שַׂ֥ר [and·chief] (907) + הָאֹפִ֖ים [the·bakers] (136) + תָּלָ֑ה [hanged] (435) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר [as] (521) + פָּתַ֛ר [he·had·interpreted] (680) + לָהֶ֖ם [to·them] (75) + יוֹסֵֽף [Joseph] (156) = 2910.
Onkelos
But the chief baker he hanged, just as Joseph had interpreted for them.
Chizkuni
ואת שר האופים תלה, “but he hanged the chief of the bakers.” The pebble that had been found in the king’s breakfast roll was due to negligence by one of his underlings.
Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him.
verse value 2171
Insights
Verse structure: 4 words, 27 letters. Verse gematria: 2171 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "and·did·not·remember" (וְלֹֽא־זָכַ֧ר, 6 letters) and the longest is "chief·cupbearer" (שַֽׂר־הַמַּשְׁקִ֛ים, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·did·not·remember" (וְלֹֽא־זָכַ֧ר), "and·forgot·him" (וַיִּשְׁכָּחֵֽהוּ). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "and·did·not·remember" (root זכר, 24x in Genesis). Full calculation: וְלֹֽא־זָכַ֧ר [and·did·not·remember] (264) + שַֽׂר־הַמַּשְׁקִ֛ים [chief·cupbearer] (995) + אֶת־יוֹסֵ֖ף [Joseph] (557) + וַיִּשְׁכָּחֵֽהוּ [and·forgot·him] (355) = 2171.
Onkelos
Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, and he forgot him.
Rashi
ולא זכר שר המשקים AND THE CHIEF OF THE BUTLERS DID NOT REMEMBER HIM on that day, וישכחהו AND HE FORGOT HIM afterwards. Because Joseph had placed his trust in him that he should remember him he was doomed to remain in prison for two years. So it is said (Psalms 40:5) “Happy is the man who maketh the Lord his trust and turneth not to (רהבים) the arrogant” — i.e. doth not trust in the Egyptians who are called arrogant (Genesis Rabbah 89:3 cf. Isaiah 30:7).
Ibn Ezra
"The chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph" — he did not mention him aloud to Pharaoh. Similarly: "and the burden of Hashem you shall mention no more" (Jeremiah 23:36); and "he remembered Vashti" (Esther 2:1). "But he forgot him" — in his heart.
Or HaChaim
ולא זכר שר המשקים את יוסף, and the chief butler did not remember Joseph, etc. This means that although he had not yet forgotten him, he did not remember him either. At the beginning he simply did not recall Joseph's name, something that Joseph had asked him to remember. This verse also informs us that the chief butler subsequently forgot Joseph completely, he erased the incident from his heart. The Torah indicates that once one has decided not to remember something or somebody such a memory can be blocked out completely. Unless the chief butler had made a conscious effort to blot Joseph from his mind he would have remembered the incident from time to time. Perhaps the Torah wrote וישכחהו, he forgot him, in order to hint that this was a deliberate act of forgetting. Alternatively, as long as G'd did not remember Joseph's condition there was no point in the chief butler remembering him either. It could also be that the word וישכחהו means that only he forgot Joseph whereas G'd most certainly did not forget him.
Chizkuni
ולא זכר שר המשקים את יוסף, “but the chief of the cup bearers did not remember Joseph. Since he did not bring Joseph’s plight to Pharaoh’s attention as soon as he had been released, he forgot him totally, erased him from his memory.
Kli Yakar
And the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, and he forgot him. Since one transgression leads to another transgression, initially, even though Joseph came to his mind, nevertheless he did not mention him favorably before Pharaoh. This [first transgression] led him to eventually forget Joseph completely, such that he didn’t even come to mind. Regarding these two transgressions, he [the cupbearer] said I recall my sins today, referring to these two sins — the sin against Joseph and against Pharaoh. Our Sages of blessed memory said (Genesis Rabbah 89:3) that Joseph sinned in this matter by placing his trust in the chief cupbearer, and he used the language of remembrance twice: remember me and mention me. Correspondingly, he was punished with a double forgetting: the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, and he forgot him. And regarding this allusion we can say that at the time when Joseph said if you remember me — which is conditional language, as if saying “if you remember me there is hope, and if not, hope is lost” — we find that these two words contain the essence of the sin. Therefore, corresponding to them, a heavenly voice came forth and said “tishkach” [you will forget], because “tishkach” has the same numerical value as im zechartani [if you remember me]. Therefore, it was decreed that he would remain imprisoned for two more years, because the days of the year are 365 days, and twice 365 equals 730, which is the numerical value of “tishkach.” Thus, justice demanded that he remain imprisoned for two more years, as at the end of two years indicates that they were complete years from day to day in order to fulfill the numerical value of “tishkach,” plus two additional days corresponding to the two words he said: remember me and take me out. This explanation is clearer than what some have said that these two years correspond to these two words, for it would be difficult to understand why specifically years and not months or days. According to our explanation, there were indeed two days corresponding to them, and this will be further explained shortly in Parashat Miketz, God willing.
Tur HaArokh
ולא זכר שר המשקים, “but the chief of the cupbearers did not remember.” The repetition means that he neither remembered Joseph by mentioning him, nor even by recalling him in his heart. Some commentators claim that the word וישכחהו is meant to tell the reader that the cupbearer did not fail to remember Joseph because of hatred, but only because he really forgot him.
Onkelos
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Sforno
Chizkuni
Rabbeinu Bahya
Kli Yakar