The KJV Holy Bible

 

Genesis Chapter Forty

 

1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.

2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.

3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.

4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.

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.

6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.

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?

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.

9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;

10 And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:

11 And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.

12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:

13 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.

14 But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:

15 For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.

16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:

17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.

18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:

19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.

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.

21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand:

22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.

23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

 

 

Esoteric Interpretation & Commentary

 

The Hermetic Blueprint of Genesis: The Judgment of the Subconscious and the Dual Faculties of the Vessel

"Genesis Chapter Forty takes place entirely within the dark, subterranean depths of the Subconscious Mind (the prison in Egypt). Here, the Supreme Spiritual Intuition (Joseph) finds itself placed between two vital, fundamental faculties of the physical vehicle: the Butler (the fluidic, vital, and emotional nature) and the Baker (the dense, solid, and biological appetites). This chapter illustrates the critical Alchemical process of Inner Judgment. The Higher Intuition must decipher the True Nature of these Internal Functions, determining which one will be Purified and Restored to serve the Conscious Mind, and which one must be dissolved and cast out."

 

 

Verses 1-4: The Imprisonment of the Faculties - "And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt... And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound." 

The King of Egypt (Pharaoh) represents the Ruling Conscious ego of the physical matrix. The Butler (cupbearer) handles the wine—symbolizing the blood, the vital fluids, and the emotional/astral body. The Baker handles the bread—symbolizing dense physical matter, bodily tissue, and the lower appetites. Both have "offended" the ruling ego and are cast down into the Subconscious (the prison). They are placed under the care of Joseph. This Reveals a Profound Hermetic Truth: when the biological and emotional functions of the body fall into discord, they are subjected to the silent, Observing Power of the Divine Intuition for healing and realignment.

 

 

Verses 5-8: The Blindness of the Flesh and the Light of the Spirit - "And they dreamed a dream both of them... 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." 

In the darkness of the Subconscious, both the fluidic (Butler) and solid (Baker) aspects of the physical form receive symbolic messages, but they are entirely blind to their meaning. Matter and emotion cannot understand themselves; they are purely reactive. Joseph declares that "interpretations belong to God." The Pure Spiritual Intuition is the only faculty capable of decoding the symbolic language of the Subconscious matrix and shining the Light of Divine Reason into the darkness.

 

 

Verses 9-15: The Butler's Dream and the Restoration of the Vital Force - "And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph... and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand." 

The Butler dreams of a vine with three branches, blossoming and producing grapes, which he presses directly into the King's cup. The vine is a Universal Esoteric symbol for the Vital Life Force, the nervous system, and the Purified emotional body. The extraction of the wine represents the Alchemical distillation of raw experience into Spiritual Essence. Joseph prophesies that in three days (a complete cycle of manifestation), the Butler will be restored. The fluidic, emotional, and Vital Energies are absolutely necessary for the functioning of the Great Work; they must be Purified, Elevated, and Restored to properly serve the Conscious Mind (Pharaoh). Joseph asks only that the Butler remember him—the Intuition hoping that a Purified Emotional State will Elevate the Conscious Mind enough to release the Spirit from the Subconscious.

 

 

Verses 16-19: The Baker's Dream and the Dissipation of the Lower Appetites - "When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head: And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head." 

The Baker sees three baskets of baked goods on his head, but instead of delivering them to the King, the birds of the air eat them. In Alchemical Symbolism, the baked meats represent the heavy, unrefined, base physical appetites and attachments. The birds of the air represent scattered, chaotic external forces and lower mental static. Because the Baker's offerings are exposed and consumed by external forces, they never nourish the Central Consciousness. Joseph prophesies dissolution: in three days, the Baker will be hanged, and the birds will eat his flesh. The dense, unrefined, and wasteful material attachments must be completely severed from the Mind (his head lifted from him) and dissolved back into nature.

 

 

Verses 20-23: The Forgetfulness of the Restored Matrix - "And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday... he restored the chief butler unto his butlership... But hanged the chief baker... Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him." 

On Pharaoh's birthday (the celebration and exaltation of the physical ego), the judgment is executed exactly as the Intuition foresaw. The Vital Force is Restored, and the base attachments are destroyed. However, once the physical/emotional vehicle (the Butler) is comfortable and restored to its position of power, it completely forgets the Spiritual Intuition that Enlightened it. This is the tragic cycle of human Consciousness: once the crisis of the Subconscious is resolved and the physical form is at peace, the Mind easily forgets the Divine Spirit, leaving it trapped in the darkness until a much greater Cosmic Crisis Forces it to the surface.

 

The Alchemical board is now perfectly set for Pharaoh's own dreams in Chapter 41, which will bring Joseph out of the subterranean depths and into Total Universal Sovereignty.