We are moving into chapter 40 of Genesis with our word for today with both the noun and verb forms used for the first time in the Bible in our chapter. פִּתָּרוֹן meaning, interpretation, an explanation that results from interpreting something. It is used 5 times in the Old Testament. The verb פָּתַר interpret, solve is used 9 times in the Old Testament. So both noun and verb forms are used 14 times in the Old Testament our chapter for today uses our word 7 times. Since our chapter uses the word half of the time in the Old Testament it is helpful in our understanding of the word. What is interesting is that the other 7 uses are in the next chapter of Genesis which involve Joseph as we will see in the days to come. So all of the uses of our word are related to Joseph and his experience interpreting dreams for the cup bearer, the baker and Pharaoh.
As we saw earlier back in March when we looked at our word for dream that God has severe warnings to those who would claim to speak for God. People definitely took advantage of others by claiming that they have a vision of what God would do because they had a dream from God. This is why God gives these instructions when people make these claims. Deuteronomy 13:1-5 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul...That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. God takes speaking for him very seriously because of the influence one can have on others relationship with God. God is not shy about people using dreams to lead people away from God into evil. Warnings are good and healthy so that we make wise discernments. At the same time the Bible has many examples of God using dreams to communicate his picture of the future. We will look at people like Joseph, Pharaoh, Gideon, Daniel, and many others in the days to come who had these experiences with God. For today we will just look at Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams in our chapter.
Genesis 40:5, 8, 12, 16, 22 And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own כְּפִתְר֣וֹן interpretation… They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to וּפֹתֵ֖ר interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not פִּתְרֹנִ֔ים interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”…Then Joseph said to him, “This is its פִּתְרֹנ֑וֹ interpretation: the three branches are three days… When the chief baker saw that the פָּתָ֑ר interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head… And Joseph answered and said, “This is its פִּתְרֹנ֑וֹ interpretation: the three baskets are three days…But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had פָּתַ֛ר interpreted to them. The key observation I see is that Joseph correctly understands that all giftedness or ability comes from God. He is quick to give credit to God being the one who is giving him the insight to what is going on with the dreams. And God used this to bring credibility to himself and Joseph as well as navigate Joseph’s eventual release from prison. I’ll close with the encouraging verse reminding us what all ability and giftedness from God are for. Ephesians 4:11-13, 15-16 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
