Dreams come true

Genesis 40: the baker and the cupbearer

Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as we discover new insights and new perspectives from a very old book.

I’m reading Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Some striking differences between the YLT and NRSV in the early verses. In the YLT the two servants “sinned against” the king of Egypt, whereas in the NRSV they “offended” him. “Sin against” implies that an actual wrong was done, whereas “offended” in today’s language often implies an imagined wrong. So we’re left with the mystery of whether these two were actually criminally corrupt or if they merely had the misfortune of serving a temperamental king.

One would hope that Pharaoh had good reasons to forgive the one and execute the other.

As discussed in my commentary on the last chapter, “Eunuch” in the YLT definitely means “officer” as the NRSV has it. The YLT says “butler” where the NRSV has “cupbearer.” Maybe that’s the original meaning of “butler” anyway.

Otherwise, unlike some previous chapters, the YLT is a pretty easy read.

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