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Genesis 40 · a question people ask

Why did the cupbearer forget Joseph?

In the text

Genesis doesn't say why. It says only, "the chief cup bearer didn’t remember Joseph, but forgot him" (40:23). Two full years pass (41:1) before he speaks up: "I remember my faults today" (41:9).

The verses

“Yet the chief cup bearer didn’t remember Joseph, but forgot him.”
Genesis 40:23 · World English Bible
“At the end of two full years, Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river.”
Genesis 41:1 · World English Bible
“Then the chief cup bearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I remember my faults today.”
Genesis 41:9 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Genesis 40

Genesis 40: Remember me

In prison Joseph noticed two sad officers and interpreted their dreams, saying, "Don’t interpretations belong to God?" Pharaoh lifted up the cupbearer's head to restore him and the baker's to hang him, just as Joseph said. Joseph asked the cupbearer, "remember me", but he forgot him.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions