Genesis 40:1

A *cup-bearer was an important person. He provided the wine that the king drank. He gave the king’s cup to the king whenever the king drank. But if anybody wanted to poison the king, they might put poison in the wine. So the *cup-bearer guarded the wine carefully. And the *cup-bearer always drank some of the wine before he gave it to the king. That showed that there was no poison in it. So the *cup-bearer was always near to the king. The king trusted him. The *cup-bearer might even give advice to the king, as he did in Genesis 41:9-13. We can be sure that Joseph often talked with the *cup-bearer in the prison. So Joseph heard many things about *Pharaoh and about his court. That was a part of God’s plan. God was preparing Joseph for his future work.

v5 And one night they both dreamed. The king of Egypt’s *cup-bearer dreamed and his baker dreamed. Each one had his own dream and each dream had its own meaning.

v6 In the morning, Joseph came to them. He saw that they were worried. v7 So he spoke to *Pharaoh’s servants who were with him in the prison. He asked them, ‘Why are your faces sad today?’ v8 And they said to him, ‘We have had dreams. And there is nobody who can explain their meanings to us.’ And Joseph said to them, ‘God knows the meanings. Please tell the dreams to me.’