Bible Strands
Genesis 40:21
Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Pharaoh acts during his birthday feast after Joseph interprets the dreams, formally reinstating the imprisoned chief cupbearer to his former court office.
The words — וַ/יָּ֛שֶׁב (va/yashév) translates literally as “and he restored” or “he returned,” while מַשְׁקֶה (mashqeh) denotes the official title “cupbearer” responsible for the king’s drink.
The thread — This event fulfills Joseph’s earlier prediction in Genesis 40:13 and establishes the cupbearer’s administrative role that later appears in Nehemiah 2:1.
Why it lands — It demands recognition that spoken prophecy aligns with historical action, requiring the reader to acknowledge that divine timing governs institutional restoration.
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 he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:
Cross-references
- Genesis 40:13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did when you were his cupbearer.
- Nehemiah 2:1 Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence,