Dathius, Rosenmiiller, and others), and ac- the instrument or method (Piscator, Lnpide, cords with the e'lidcnce of the monuments, Mercerus, 'Speaker's Commentary '). And which frequently exhibit baskets of wicker- the birds shall eat thy flesh from oft' thee. work (vide Will-i.nsou's 'Ancient Egyptians,' "The tenor of approaching death would be ii. 34, ed. 1878)-on my head. Accordiu"" aggravated to the poor man by the prospect to Herodotus (ii. 35), Egyptian men com~ of the i.ndi~ity with which his body was monly carried on their heads, and Egyptian to be treated" (Lawson). women, like Hagar (eh. xxi. 14), on their Ve~. 20.-And it came to pass (literally, shoulders. And in the uppermost basket and it was, as Joseph had predicted) the (whose contents alone are described, since it t~d day (literally, in, or on, the third day), alone was exposed to the depredations of the which ,vas Phare.oh's birthday, - literally, birds) there was of all manner of bake- the day of Phai-aoh's being born, the inf. meats for Pharaoh-literally, all kinds of hophal being construed wiih an accusative food for Pharaoh, the work of a baker. The (vide Gesenius, 'Gramma1•,' § 143)-that he monuments show that the variety of confec- me.de a feast-a mishteh, i. e. a drinking tionery used in Egypt was exceedingly ex- or banquet (vide eh. xix. 3)-unto e.ll his tensh·e (Hengstcnberg, p. 27). And the birds servants. "The birthdays of the kings of -literally, the bird; a collective sing., as in Egypt were considered holy, and were cele- eh. i. 21, 30 (cf. ver. 19)-md eat the:n out brated with great joy and rejoicing. All of the basket upon my head. business was suspended, and the people Vers. 18, 19.-A.nd Joseph answered and generally took part in the festivities• said (with what reluctance and pathos may (Thornley Smith, •Joseph and his Times,' be imagined), This is the interpretation p. 62; vide Herod., i. 133: 'Hµip1Jv oi a,rn- thereof (the exposition was supplied by God, aiwv µaX,ara i1<,iv7Jv T1µav voµi/;ova,, rfi and, however willing or anxious Josepl1 might E1<aaro, lyiv,ro ; and cf. Matt. xiv. 6 ; Mnrk be to soften its meaning to his auditor, he vi. 21). And he lifted up the head-here could not deviate a hair's-breadth from what the one phrase applies equally, though in he ln1cw to be the mind of God): The three different senses, to both. A similar expres- baskets are three days: yet within three sion occurs in the annals of Assur-nasir-pal days-literally, in three days more (ut su- (Sardanapalus), column ii. line 43: "Their pra, ver. 13)-shall Pharaoh lift up thy beads on the high places of the mountain I head from off thee (i. e. deprive thee of life, lifted up"(' Records of the Past,' vol. iii. p. the phrase containing a resemblance to that 54)-of the chief butler and of the chief employed in ver. 13, and finding its explana- baker among his servants - literally, in tion in the words that follow), and shall their midst, as a public example. hang thee on a tree--i. e. after decapita- Vera. 21, 22.-And he restored the chief tion (c!. Dent. xxi. 22, 23; Josh. x. 26; 2 butler unto his butlership age.in ; and he Sam. iv. 12), which was probably the mode gave the cup into Phe.re.oh's he.nd (liter- of execution at that time practised in Egypt ally, set the cup upon Pharaoh's palm): (Michaelis, Clarke, Keil, Murphy, Alford, but he (i. e. Pharaoh) hanged the chief Inglis, Bush), though some regud the clause baker (vide supra, ver. 19): as Joseph had as a description of the way in which the interpreted to them. baker's life was to be taken from him, viz., Ver. 23.-Yet did not the chief butler re- either by crucifixion (Onkelos, Rosenmiiller, member Joseph (as Joseph had desired, and .Ainsworth) or by hanging (Willet, Patrick, as he doubtless had promised), but forgat T. Lewis), and others view it as simply point- him-as Joseph might almost have expected ing to capital punishment, without indicating (cf. Eccles. ix. 15, 16),
HOMILETICS. Vere. 1-23.-Joseph in the round house.at Heliopolis. I. THE PRISONERS AND 'J'HEIR ATTENDANT. f. The prisoners. (1) Their rank. They were high officers of state-the chief of the butlers and the •hief of the bakers, i. e. the principal cup- bearer and Court purveyor. (2) Their offence. They had sinned against their lord the king of Egypt; in what way it is of no importance to inquire, since "we would have beard nothing about them had their story not been connected with that of Joseph" (Lawson), though the Rabbis allege that they had been detected in 1111 at- tempt at poisoning their master. (3) Their pur.ishment. "The king'1:1 wrath is !lll the roaring of a lion," and" as mesRengers of death" (Prov. xix. 12; xvi. 14); and the two offenders were immediately arrested and thrown into prison, committed to the keeping of the captain of the round house, where Joseph was bound. ( 4) Their privilege. Their punishment was tempered with clemency. In consideration of cu. Xl,. 1-23.J THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 457