1
Ge 40:1-8.
英文原文
Ge 40:1-8.
TWO STATE PRISONERS.
1. the butler--not only the cup-bearer, but overseer of the royal vineyards, as well as the cellars; having, probably, some hundreds of people under him.
baker--or cook, had the superintendence of every thing relating to the providing and preparing of meats for the royal table. Both officers, especially the former, were, in ancient Egypt, always persons of great rank and importance; and from the confidential nature of their employment, as well as their access to the royal presence, they were generally the highest nobles or princes of the blood.
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3. 法老把他们下在监里，等——无论他们犯了何罪，都被交在护卫长（即波提乏）的看管之下，候案查办；那王家监狱位于波提乏住宅的外院。
英文原文
3. Pharaoh put them in ward, &c.--Whatever was their crime, they were committed, until their case could be investigated, to the custody of the captain of the guard, that is, Potiphar, in an outer part of whose house the royal prison was situated.
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4. 护卫长把他们交给约瑟——不是看守的人（虽然他极其善待约瑟）；而是波提乏本人，他此时似乎已确信这年轻希伯来人完全无辜；不过大概为了防止家丑外扬，他认为把这少年继续监禁是审慎之举（见
Ps 37:5)。
他们在监里过了一段日子——直译为“日子”，多久不能确定；但因他们是在王的生日被提审，故有人以为他们的罪是在前一周年纪念日所犯的〔CALVIN〕。
英文原文
4. The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them--not the keeper, though he was most favorably disposed; but Potiphar himself, who, it would seem, was by this time satisfied of the perfect innocence of the young Hebrew; though, probably, to prevent the exposure of his family, he deemed it prudent to detain him in confinement (see
Ps 37:5).
They continued a season in ward--literally, "days," how long, is uncertain; but as they were called to account on the king's birthday, it has been supposed that their offense had been committed on the preceding anniversary [CALVIN].
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5-8. 他们各人作了一个梦——约瑟受了真宗教之灵的影响，能体恤别人
(Ec 4:1； Ro 12:15； Php 2:4)。
一日见他们极其愁闷，便问其故；得知是因前一夜各作一梦，他便敬虔地引导他们归向神
(Da 2:30； Isa 26:10)，
又主动表示愿借神的帮助，为他们解明异象的意义。两位官员在同一夜作这样的梦，这奇特的事实可见神旨的影响。神激动人的心灵。
英文原文
5-8. they dreamed a dream--Joseph, influenced by the spirit of true religion, could feel for others
(Ec 4:1; Ro 12:15; Php 2:4).
Observing them one day extremely depressed, he inquired the cause of their melancholy; and being informed it was owing to a dream they had respectively dreamed during the previous night, after piously directing them to God
(Da 2:30; Isa 26:10),
he volunteered to aid them, through the divine help, in discovering the import of their vision. The influence of Providence must be seen in the remarkable fact of both officers dreaming such dreams in one night. He moves the spirits of men.
9
Ge 40:9-15.
Ge 40:9-15.
酒政的梦。
9-11. 我作梦，见面前有一棵葡萄树——所描述的异象场景，似乎表现王在运动，酒政侍候，给他解渴的饮料。在一切场合，古埃及的王都被要求在用酒上有节制〔WILKINSON〕；但在这场景中，他所喝的是一种预备好的饮料，大概是今日的果子露。一切都是当着王的面作的——洗杯，把葡萄汁挤入其中；然后递给他——不是紧握着；而是轻轻地搭在指尖上。
英文原文
Ge 40:9-15.
THE BUTLER'S DREAM.
9-11. In my dream, behold, a vine was before me--The visionary scene described seems to represent the king as taking exercise and attended by his butler, who gave him a cooling draught. On all occasions, the kings of ancient Egypt were required to practice temperance in the use of wine [WILKINSON]; but in this scene, it is a prepared beverage he is drinking, probably the sherbet of the present day. Everything was done in the king's presence--the cup was washed, the juice of the grapes pressed into it; and it was then handed to him--not grasped; but lightly resting on the tips of the fingers.
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12-15. 约瑟说……讲解是这样——他以受感的解梦者身份告诉酒政，三日内他必恢复其职位的一切尊荣和特权；他在作这可喜宣告的同时，也恳切地请求这位官员为他自己的释放出力。在此之前，记录中并未见约瑟的心情；但这恳切的呼吁显出他心中的忧愁和不耐的求释渴望，这是他一切的敬虔和对神的信心所不能驱散的。
英文原文
12-15. Joseph said, . . . This is the interpretation--Speaking as an inspired interpreter, he told the butler that within three days he would be restored to all the honors and privileges of his office; and while making that joyful announcement, he earnestly bespoke the officer's influence for his own liberation. Nothing has hitherto met us in the record indicative of Joseph's feelings; but this earnest appeal reveals a sadness and impatient longing for release, which not all his piety and faith in God could dispel.
16
Ge 40:16-23.
Ge 40:16-23.
膳长的梦。
16. 我头上顶着三个白筐子——所提的细节，正好描述了他的职责；虽有众多助手，他却亲手而作。
白——直译“满有洞”；即柳条筐。肉食以三个筐子顶在头上端到席上，一个叠在另一个之上；最上面的是糕饼。穿过从厨房到餐厅的露天院落时，肉食被兀鹰、鹰、鹮或其他猛禽夺去，在埃及王宫中是常见的事，至今在炎热的东方国家仍是日常的事。在埃及的城中，因这些食肉鸟被视为圣物，杀之为非法，故其危险更大；它们成群结队，给百姓带来极大的烦扰。
英文原文
Ge 40:16-23.
THE BAKER'S DREAM.
16. I had three white baskets--The circumstances mentioned exactly describe his duties, which, notwithstanding numerous assistants, he performed with his own hands.
white--literally, "full of holes"; that is, wicker baskets. The meats were carried to table upon the head in three baskets, one piled upon the other; and in the uppermost, the bakemeats. And in crossing the open courts, from the kitchen to the dining rooms, the removal of the viands by a vulture, eagle, ibis, or other rapacious bird, was a frequent occurrence in the palaces of Egypt, as it is an everyday incident in the hot countries of the East still. The risk from these carnivorous birds was the greater in the cities of Egypt, where being held sacred, it was unlawful to destroy them; and they swarmed in such numbers as to be a great annoyance to the people.
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18, 19. 约瑟说，讲解是这样——意思是三日后他将被处死。约瑟的话详细描述了埃及所行的一种死刑方式；即犯人被斩首，然后其无头之身被悬在路旁的树上，渐渐被猛禽吞食。
英文原文
18, 19. Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation--The purport was that in three days his execution should be ordered. The language of Joseph describes minutely one form of capital punishment that prevailed in Egypt; namely, that the criminal was decapitated and then his headless body gibbeted on a tree by the highway till it was gradually devoured by the ravenous birds.
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20-22. 到了第三天，是法老的生日——这是一个节期，宫中盛大地庆祝，并赐囚犯特赦。因此，酒政和膳长的结局正如约瑟所说。无疑，向膳长传达这样阴郁的消息使他痛苦；但他不能不宣告神所启示给他的；并且为真神的荣耀，他应当明明地说。
英文原文
20-22. it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday--This was a holiday season, celebrated at court with great magnificence and honored by a free pardon to prisoners. Accordingly, the issue happened to the butler and baker, as Joseph had foretold. Doubtless, he felt it painful to communicate such dismal tidings to the baker; but he could not help announcing what God had revealed to him; and it was for the honor of the true God that he should speak plainly.
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23. 酒政却不记念约瑟——这是人性的常态。人在顺境中何等容易忘记并忽略那些在逆境中与自己相伴的人
(摩 6:6)！
然而，这事虽对酒政毫无光彩，在神的护理中，他忘却约瑟却是智慧地安排的。神的旨意要求约瑟须以另一种方式、借着别的途径获得释放。
英文原文
23. yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph--This was human nature. How prone are men to forget and neglect in prosperity, those who have been their companions in adversity
(Am 6:6)!
But although reflecting no credit on the butler, it was wisely ordered in the providence of God that he should forget him. The divine purposes required that Joseph should obtain his deliverance in another way, and by other means.
Ge 40:1-8.
两名囚犯。
1. 酒政——不只是捧杯的人，更是御葡萄园以及酒窖的监督；手下大概有数百人。
膳长——即厨子，掌管为王筵采购与预备肉食的一切事务。这两个职位，特别是前者，在古埃及向来是极为尊贵显要的人物；由于职务的机要性质，以及得以觐见君王的便利，他们通常是最高的贵族或王室宗亲。