Bible Strands
Genesis 40:18
Joseph replied, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joseph addresses the chief baker after interpreting the cupbearer’s dream, explaining the meaning of the three baskets of baked goods resting on the man’s head. This exchange occurs during their joint imprisonment while both await Pharaoh’s final decision.
The words — The Hebrew פִּתְרוֹנוֹ (pitrono) translates literally as “its interpretation,” marking Joseph’s function as a revealer of divine meaning rather than a creator of it. The phrase שְׁלֹשֶׁת הַסִּלִּים (shloshet hasillim) precisely identifies the “three baskets” as the concrete symbol requiring decoding.
The thread — This interpretive structure recurs in Genesis 40:12 with the three branches and Genesis 41:26 with the seven cows and grain, where Joseph consistently maps dream imagery to fixed time periods. The same pattern of linking physical signs to spiritual realities appears in 1 Corinthians 10:4.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to treat symbolic visions as direct references to historical events rather than open-ended metaphors. It demands acceptance that divine revelation operates through exact, time-bound fulfillment rather than vague assurance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
Cross-references
- Genesis 40:12 Joseph replied, “This is the interpretation: The three branches are three days.
- Genesis 41:26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads of grain are seven years. The dreams have the same meaning.
- 1 Corinthians 10:4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 11:24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”