Genesis 40:1 - Exposition

And it came to pass (literally, and it was ) after these things (literally, words , i.e. after the transactions just recorded), that the butler — מָשְׁקֶה , the hiph. part. of שָׁקָה , to drink, signifies one who causes to drink, hence cupbearer (cf. Genesis 40:11 )— of the king of Egypt and his baker— the אֹפֶה (part. of אָפָה , to cook or bake) was the officer who prepared the king's food. The monuments show that the Egyptians had carried the arts of the confectioner and cook to a high degree of perfection— had offended (or sinned against) their lord (literally, against, the preposition being repeated) the king of Egypt —whom they had attempted to poison (the Targum of Jonathan), though this of course is only a conjecture in the absence of specific information.