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Genesis 40

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1 And it was, after these words*, that they sinned, the cupbearer* of the king of Egypt and the baker, against their lord, against the king of Egypt.

2 And Pharaoh was·​·enraged over his two chamberlains, over the prince of the cupbearers, and over the prince of the bakers.

3 And he put them under guard in the house of the prince of the guards, into the jail house, the place where Joseph was bound.

4 And the prince of the guards appointed Joseph over them, and he ministered to them; and they were days under guard.

5 And they dreamed a dream, the two of them, a man his dream in one night, each man according·​·to the interpretation of his dream, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the jail house.

6 And Joseph came to them in the morning, and saw them, and behold, they were gloomy.

7 And he asked the chamberlains of Pharaoh who were with him under guard in the house of his lord, saying, Wherefore are your faces evil today?

8 And they said to him, We have dreamed a dream and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Recount it to me, I pray.

9 And the prince of the cupbearers recounted his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream behold, a vine was before me.

10 And on the vine were three tendrils, and it was as though it flourished, its blossom went·​·up, and its clusters ripened grapes.

11 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 upon the palm of Pharaoh’s hand.

12 And Joseph said to him, This is the interpretation of it. The three tendrils, they are three days.

13 In yet three days shall Pharaoh lift·​·up thy head, and shall return thee to thy position, and thou shalt give the cup of Pharaoh into his hand, according·​·to the former manner* when thou wast his cupbearer.

14 But remember me with thee when it is·​·well for thee, and do mercy, I pray, with·​·me, and make·​·mention of me to Pharaoh, and cause me to come·​·out from this house.

15 For being stolen I was stolen from the land of the Hebrews; and even here I have not done anything that they should set me in the pit.

16 And the prince of the bakers saw that he had interpreted for good, and he said to Joseph, I also was in my dream, and behold, three baskets with·​·holes were on my head.

17 And in the highest basket there was of all the food for Pharaoh, made by the baker; and the fowl ate them from the basket from on my head.

18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation of it. The three baskets, they are three days.

19 In yet three days shall Pharaoh lift thy head from upon thee, and shall hang thee on wood*; and the fowl shall eat thy flesh from on thee.

20 And it was on the third day, the birthday of Pharaoh, and he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the prince of the cupbearers and the head of the prince of the bakers in the midst of his servants.

21 And he returned the prince of the cupbearers to his cupbearing; and he gave the cup on the palm of the hand of Pharaoh.

22 And he hanged the prince of the bakers; as Joseph interpreted to them.

23 And the prince of the cupbearers did not remember Joseph, and he forgot him.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Arcana Coelestia # 5164

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5164. 'in the midst of his servants' means which were among the things present in the exterior natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'in the midst' as among those things; and from the meaning of 'servants' as the things within the exterior natural, dealt with just above in 5161. In the Word all things that occupy a lower position and are therefore subordinate and subject to higher ones are called 'servants'. This is so in the case of things present in the exterior natural - that is, the sensory impressions there - when considered in relation to the interior natural. The things present in this interior natural, when considered in relation to the rational, are also referred to as 'servants'. Consequently every single thing present in a person, inmost ones no less than outermost, are called such when considered in relation to the Divine, since the Divine is the highest of all.

[2] The servants here in whose midst Pharaoh the king passed judgement on the cupbearer and the baker were chief courtiers and nobles. The reason why these, like other subjects belonging to any other rank of society, are called servants when considered in relation to the king is that, as is the case in any kingdom even today, kingship represents the Lord as regards Divine Truth, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966, 5068. Considered in relation to Him all are equally servants, no matter what rank of society they belong to. Indeed in the Lord's kingdom, that is, in heaven, those who are the greatest there, that is, who are the inmost ones, are pre-eminently servants because their obedience is the greatest of all, and their humility is greater than that of any others. These are the ones who are meant by the least who will be the greatest, and the last who will be the first,

The first will be last, and the last will be first. Matthew 19:30; 20:16; Mark 10:31; Luke 13:30.

He who presents himself as least among you will be great. Luke 9:48.

They are also meant by the great who are ministers, and by the first who are servants,

Whoever would be great among you must be your minister; and anyone who would be first among you must be the servant of all. Mark 10:44; Matthew 20:26-27.

[3] They are called 'servants' in relation to the Divine Truth which originates in the Lord and 'ministers' in relation to the Divine Good which originates in Him. The reason 'the last who are the first' are servants, and more so than any others, is that they know, acknowledge, and perceive that the whole of their life, and therefore the whole of the power which they possess, originates in the Lord, and none at all in themselves; and those who do not perceive this because their acknowledgement of it is not so great are 'servants' too, though more because that acknowledgement is one that is on their lips rather than in their hearts. Those however whose attitude is completely the reverse also call themselves servants in relation to the Divine; yet their real wish is to be masters. For they are annoyed and angry if the Divine does not show them favour or so to speak does not obey them, and at length they set themselves against the Divine, when they take away all power from Him and attribute everything to themselves. Very many like these exist within the Church; they do not accept the Lord, though they do say that they acknowledge a supreme being.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.