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John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 40:16

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good ,.... Meaning not that it was right and just, though it was; but that it was agreeable and pleasing, and portended good in the event; and therefore hoped a like interpretation would be given of his dream, and this encouraged him to tell it, which perhaps otherwise he would not have done: he said unto Joseph, I also was in a dream ; or had a dream, and in it things were represented to his mind as follows: and, behold, I had ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 40:17

And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh ,.... All sorts of pastry, as tarts, pies, &c.; Josephus F2 Antiqu. l. 2. c. 5. sect. 3. says, two of the baskets were full of bread, and the third had various sorts of food, such as is usually, prepared for kings: and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head ; all the three baskets were upon his head, but this seems to be the uppermost, which the birds could more easily come at; though... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 40:18

And Joseph answered and said ,.... Immediately, directly, without any further thought and meditation, being divinely instructed: this is the interpretation thereof ; of the above dream: the three baskets are three days ; signify three days. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 40:19

Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head from off thee ,.... Order thee to be beheaded; so the Targum of Jonathan and Ben Melech interpret it,"Pharaoh shall remove thy head from thy body with a sword:" and shall hang thee on a tree ; his body after his head was severed from it, this should be hung upon a gallows or gibbet, and there continue: and the birds shall eat the flesh from off thee ; as they usually do when bodies are thus hung up, see 2 Samuel 21:9 ; this was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 40:20

And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday ,.... The third day from the time the dreams were told, and the interpretation of them given, was the birthday of Pharaoh; either the day in which a son of his was born, or in which he himself was born, as Ben Melech observes; but the latter is more probable, since the former could not with propriety be called Pharaoh's birthday; and this might be either the day of his natural birth, or of his political birth, the time of his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 40:21

And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again ,.... Put him into the same office he was in before: and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand ; ministered to him in his office the same day, according to his dream and the interpretation of it: the Targum of Jonathan adds this as a reason of his being restored,"because he found that he was not in that counsel,'in which it was consulted to poison Pharaoh; see Gill on Genesis 40:1 . read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 40:22

But he hanged the chief baker ,.... The is, he ordered him to be hanged; because, as the same Targum says, he consulted to kill him (Pharaoh): as Joseph had interpreted to them ; the events as to both answered to the interpretation Joseph had given of their several dreams. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 40:8

There is no interpreter - They either had access to none, or those to whom they applied could give them no consistent, satisfactory meaning. Do not interpretations belong to God? - God alone, the Supreme Being, knows what is in futurity; and if he have sent a significant dream, he alone can give the solution. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 40:11

And I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup - From this we find that wine anciently was the mere expressed juice of the grape, without fermentation. The saky, or cup-bearer, took the bunch, pressed the juice into the cup, and instantly delivered it into the hands of his master. This was anciently the יין yain of the Hebrews, the οινος of the Greeks, and the mustum of the ancient Latins. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 40:12

The three branches are three days - That is, The three branches signify three days; so, this Is my body, that is, this bread signifies or represents my body; this cup is my blood, Represents my blood; a form of speech frequently used in the sacred writings, for the Hebrew has no proper word by which our terms signifies, represents, etc., are expressed; therefore it says such a thing Is, for represents, points out, etc. And because several of our ancestors would understand such words in their... read more

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