sequent promotion are described in terms nearly identical with those of vv.1-6.—In J, the governor of the prison is anonymous, and Joseph is made superintendent of the other prisoners.
Ch. XL.—Joseph proves his Gift of interpreting Dreams (E).
Joseph is appointed to wait on two officers of the court who have been put under arrest in his master's house (1-4), and finds them one morning troubled by dreams for which they have no interpreter (5-8). He interprets the dreams (9-19), which are speedily verified by the event (20-22). But his eager request that the chief butler would intercede for him with Pharaoh (14f.) remains unheeded (23).
Source.—The main narrative, as summarised above, obviously belongs
to E (see p. 456 f.). Joseph is not a prisoner (as in J 3920ff.), but
the servant of the captain of the guard (cf. 3736 4112); the officers are
not strictly imprisoned, but merely placed 'in ward' ((
Hebrew characters)) in Potiphar's
house (3. 4. 7); and Joseph was 'stolen' from his native land (15a; cf. 3728a),
not sold by his brethren as 3728b (J).—Fragments of a parallel narrative
in J can be detected in 1aβb (a duplicate of 2), 3aβ (from (Hebrew characters)) b
(Joseph a prisoner), 5b (the officers imprisoned), and 15b.—In the
phraseology note J's (Hebrew characters), (Hebrew characters), 1. 5b ‖ E's (Hebrew characters), (Hebrew characters), 2. 9. 16. 20. 21.
22. 23; J (Hebrew characters), 3aβ. 5b E (Hebrew characters), 3aα. 4. 7.; while (Hebrew characters), 3. 4, and (Hebrew characters), 2. 7,
connect the main narrative with 3736 (E).—That in J the turn of Joseph's
fortune depended on the successful interpretation of dreams does not
explicitly appear, but may be presumed from the fact that he was
afterwards brought from the dungeon to interpret them (4114aβ J).
1-8. Pharaoh's officers in disgrace: their dreams.—1.
the butler . . . the baker] J writes as if the king had
only one servant of each class: his notions of a royal
establishment are perhaps simpler than E's. In Babylonia
the highest and oldest court offices are said to have been
those of the baker and the butler (ATLO2, 54; cf. Zimmern,
ZDMG, liii. 119 f.).—2. chief of the butlers . . . bakers (E)]
Ex. 321 113 1236† ) gen. of obj. = 'favour towards him.'—22. (Hebrew characters)] On
omission of subj., see G-K. § 116 s.—(Hebrew characters)] GA, al. om.—23. (Hebrew characters)]
G (Greek characters).—(Hebrew characters)] G + (Greek characters).
1. (Hebrew characters)—(Hebrew characters)] On the synt., see G-K. §§ 128 a, 129 h; Dav. § 27 (b):
cf. v.5.—2. (Hebrew characters) is the regular continuation of the time-clause in 1a (E).—(Hebrew characters)]
with so-called qamez impurum; so always except in const. st.
