Bible Strands
Genesis 40:23
The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot all about him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative reports the chief cupbearer’s response immediately after Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams and the chief baker is executed. The focus rests on the cupbearer’s inaction following his release.
The words — The Hebrew זָכַר (za.Khar) means "he remembered," paired with the verb for forgetting in the same clause. The text literally states the cupbearer neither remembered Joseph nor acted on his request.
The thread — This motif of human abandonment and delayed deliverance appears in Job 19:14 and Psalms 31:12, while Psalms 105:19 contextualizes such waiting periods as the time before God’s word proves true.
Why it lands — The verse demands the reader note that human failure to act does not nullify a divine promise, requiring observation of how narrative tension persists until the stated prediction is fulfilled.
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
Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
Cross-references
- Job 19:14 My kinsmen have failed me, and my friends have forgotten me.
- Psalms 31:12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind. I am like a broken vessel.
- Psalms 105:19 until his prediction came true and the word of the LORD proved him right.
- Amos 6:6 You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
- Ecclesiastes 9:15 Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.