Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Genesis 40:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Pharaoh restores the chief cupbearer to his office, and the cup again passes from his hand into Pharaoh's hand. The result matches Joseph's interpretation and the dream's service scene.
Read It With
- Genesis 40:1–23
Read verses 9–15 and 20–23. Dream, interpretation, restoration, Joseph's appeal, and the cupbearer's forgetting belong together.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The cupbearer's exact restoration confirms the favorable dream interpretation and gives him the access Joseph requested.
Read Genesis 40:20–23 together
Why these verses belong together: The third-day feast, opposite outcomes, confirmation of Joseph's interpretations, and the cupbearer's forgetting close the chapter.
Verse 20. 20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
Verse 21. 21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:
Verse 22. 22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
Verse 23. 23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
What Remains True
Restored access creates responsibility to remember truth and people whose needs can now be brought before power.
How It Can Shape Life
- When a position or relationship is restored, identify promises and obligations formed during hardship and act on them promptly.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 40:1–23 — Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners' Dreams—and Is ForgottenSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? very strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed text, prison context, paired dreams, fulfillment, forgetting, and later remembrance.
Exact location: Genesis 40:1–23; 39:20–23; 41:1–16 in the pinned standardized 1769 KJV
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Dream and interpretation terms, downcast faces, head idiom, hesed, emphatic kidnapping, basket wording, dungeon, fulfillment, and forgetting.
Exact location: WLC Genesis 40:1–23, especially vv. 5–8, 12–15, 16–20, 23
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Court-office limits, service, unspecified custody, downcast faces, interpretation, head idiom and wordplay, hesed, kidnapping, basket proposals, execution wording, birthday, and emphatic forgetting.
Exact location: NET Genesis 40 notes for vv. 1–23, especially court titles, vv. 4–8, 13–16, 19–20, 23
Open NET Genesis 40 ↗