It’s a universal sting, and even Joseph, the dreamer of dreams himself, wasn't immune. Book of Jasher and see how this plays out.
So, Joseph is still stuck in that Egyptian prison. The Book of Jasher tells us that at this time, Pharaoh’s cupbearer (the butler) and baker are also cooling their heels behind bars, having displeased the king. Imagine the scene: the butler pours wine, the baker presents bread... but disaster strikes! Flies in the wine, nitre (a kind of saltpeter, basically a mineral impurity) in the bread! Talk about a kitchen nightmare.
Joseph, ever the resourceful one, is assigned as their attendant during their year-long confinement. One night, they both have incredibly vivid dreams. They are understandably troubled. "We dreamed a dream," they say to Joseph, "and there is no one to interpret it!" Can you feel their desperation?
Joseph, with unwavering faith, responds, "Relate, I pray you, your dream unto me, and God shall give you an answer of peace as you desire.” It's a beautiful sentiment, reflecting the idea that dream interpretation isn't just about skill, but about divine guidance.
The butler goes first. "I saw in my dream a large vine... three branches... grapes... I pressed them into a cup and gave it to Pharaoh." Simple. Not quite. Joseph interprets: "The three branches are three days. Within three days, you'll be restored to your position!" He then adds a crucial plea: "Remember me to Pharaoh! Get me out of this prison! I was stolen from Canaan!" He also insists he was wrongly accused regarding his master's wife.
The butler, overjoyed, promises to do everything Joseph asks.
Now it's the baker's turn. Seeing Joseph's success, he eagerly shares his dream: "Three white baskets on my head, filled with baked goods for Pharaoh... and birds are eating them!" Uh oh.
Joseph’s interpretation? Not so rosy. "The three baskets are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will take off your head, and hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh.” Grim stuff.
And guess what? It all comes true. The Book of Jasher then mentions that the queen gives birth, and Pharaoh throws a massive eight-day party. A celebration filled with "musical instruments, with timbrels and with dances."
But here’s the kicker, the detail that really hits home. The butler, the one whose life Joseph saved, forgets all about him. The text explicitly states, "the butler... forgot Joseph, and he did not mention him to the king as he had promised." Ouch. It adds a theological note: "for this thing was from the Lord in order to punish Joseph because he had trusted in man." As we see in numerous places, including the Zohar and Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, it's a recurring theme: placing complete trust in humans can lead to disappointment.
So, Joseph languishes in prison for another two years, twelve in total. Can you imagine the frustration, the despair? After all this time, and despite his gifts and faithfulness, he remains forgotten.
This chapter is a potent reminder of the unpredictability of life and the fallibility of human promises. It speaks to the pain of being overlooked, even when we’ve done everything right. And it subtly asks: where do we place our trust? In fleeting human favor, or in something more enduring?
Sacred-texts Apocrypha Index Previous Next Book of Jasher, Chapter 46 1 In those days Joseph was still confined in the prison house in the land of Egypt. 2 At that time the attendants of Pharaoh were standing before him, the chief of the butlers and the chief of the bakers which belonged to the king of Egypt. 3 And the butler took wine and placed it before the king to drink, and the baker placed bread before the king to eat, and the king drank of the wine and ate of the bread, he and his servants and ministers that ate at the king's table. 4 And whilst they were eating and drinking, the butler and the baker remained there, and Pharaoh's ministers found many flies in the wine, which the butler had brought, and stones of nitre were found in the baker's bread. 5 And the captain of the guard placed Joseph as an attendant on Pharaoh's officers, and Pharaoh's officers were in confinement one year. 6 And at the end of the year, they both dreamed dreams in one night, in the place of confinement where they were, and in the morning Joseph came to them to attend upon them as usual, and he saw them, and behold their countenances were dejected and sad. 7 And Joseph asked them, Why are your countenances sad and dejected this day? and they said unto him, We dreamed a dream, and there is no one to interpret it; and Joseph said unto them, Relate, I pray you, your dream unto me, and God shall give you an answer of peace as you desire. 8 And the butler related his dream unto Joseph, and he said, I saw in my dream, and behold a large vine was before me, and upon that vine I saw three branches, and the vine speedily blossomed and reached a great height, and its clusters were ripened and became grapes. 9 And I took the grapes and pressed them in a cup, and placed it in Pharaoh's hand and he drank; and Joseph said unto him, The three branches that were upon the vine are three days. 10 Yet within three days, the king will order thee to be brought out and he will restore thee to thy office, and thou shalt give the king his wine to drink as at first when thou wast his butler; but let me find favor in thy sight, that thou shalt remember me to Pharaoh when it will be well with thee, and do kindness unto me, and get me brought forth from this prison, for I was stolen away from the land of Canaan and was sold for a slave in this place. 11 And also that which was told thee concerning my master's wife is false, for they placed me in this dungeon for naught; and the butler answered Joseph, saying, If the king deal well with me as at first, as thou last interpreted to me, I will do all that thou desirest, and get thee brought out of this dungeon. 12 And the baker, seeing that Joseph had accurately interpreted the butler's dream, also approached, and related the whole of his dream to Joseph. 13 And he said unto him, In my dream I saw and behold three white baskets upon my head, and I looked, and behold there were in the upper-most basket all manner of baked meats for Pharaoh, and behold the birds were eating them from off my head. 14 And Joseph said unto him, The three baskets which thou didst see are three days, yet within three days Pharaoh will take off thy head, and hang thee upon a tree, and the birds will eat thy flesh from off thee, as thou sawest in thy dream. 15 In those days the queen was about to be delivered, and upon that day she bare a son unto the king of Egypt, and they proclaimed that the king had gotten his first born son and all the people of Egypt together with the officers and servants of Pharaoh rejoiced greatly. 16 And upon the third day of his birth Pharaoh made a feast for his officers and servants, for the hosts of the land of Zoar and of the land of Egypt. 17 And all the people of Egypt and the servants of Pharaoh came to eat and drink with the king at the feast of his son, and to rejoice at the king's rejoicing. 18 And all the officers of the king and his servants were rejoicing at that time for eight days at the feast, and they made merry with all sorts of musical instruments, with timbrels and with dances in the king's house for eight days. 19 And the butler, to whom Joseph had interpreted his dream, forgot Joseph, and he did not mention him to the king as he had promised, for this thing was from the Lord in order to punish Joseph because he had trusted in man. 20 And Joseph remained after this in the prison house two years, until he had completed twelve years. Next: Chapter 47 Sacred Texts | Christianity « Previous: Book of Jasher, Chapter 45 Index Next: Book of Jasher, Chapter 47 »
