Genesis 40:11

11 I was holding the king's cup, so I took the grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I gave it to the king."

Genesis 40:11 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 40:11

And Pharaoh's cup [was] in his hand
So it seemed to him in his dream, as it often had been when in his office: and I took the grapes;
from off the vine that was before him: and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup;
which some think was the custom of those times, to take a bunch of grapes and squeeze them into a cup, especially when they would make trial of what sort of wine they would produce; for it can hardly be thought that this was usually done, or that it was customary to drink such new wine; but it is more probable that the grapes were first pressed into another vessel, and so made wine of, and then poured into Pharaoh's cup, or mixed in it, though this circumstance is omitted. Indeed Herodotus F1 relates of the Egyptian priests, that wine pressed out of the vine is given them: and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand;
as he had used to do.


FOOTNOTES:

F1 Euterpe sive, l. 2. c. 37.

Genesis 40:11 In-Context

9 So the man who served wine to the king told Joseph his dream. He said, "I dreamed I saw a vine, and
10 on the vine were three branches. I watched the branches bud and blossom, and then the grapes ripened.
11 I was holding the king's cup, so I took the grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I gave it to the king."
12 Then Joseph said, "I will explain the dream to you. The three branches stand for three days.
13 Before the end of three days the king will free you, and he will allow you to return to your work. You will serve the king his wine just as you did before.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.