Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Genesis 40:6 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 6. 6And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
In the morning Joseph looks at the officials and sees that they are troubled or downcast. His attention to their faces prepares his question rather than a diagnosis.
Read It With
- Genesis 40:1–23
Read verses 5–8. The dreams occur, the officials appear troubled, Joseph asks why, and they explain that they lack an interpreter.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Joseph's observation of their faces moves the story from private dreams to personal care and conversation.
Read Genesis 40:5–8 together
Why these verses belong together: The paired dreams, visible distress, Joseph's question, lack of an interpreter, and God-centered response belong together.
Verse 5. 5 And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.
Verse 6. 6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
Verse 7. 7 And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day?
Verse 8. 8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
What Remains True
Attentive care notices distress and opens space for a person to speak without pretending to know the cause.
How It Can Shape Life
- When someone seems distressed, ask a respectful question and listen before diagnosing, advising, or spiritualizing the emotion.
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 ↗