Genesis 40:13

Gen 40:13 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.

Ver. 13. Yet within three days.] Joseph foresaw the time of the butler’s deliverance; he knew not the time of his own. In good hope he was, that now he should have been delivered, upon the restoration of the butler, and his intercession for him; but he was fain to stay two years longer; "till the time that God’s word came: the word of the Lord tried him"; {Psa 105:19} by trying, as in a fire, his faith and patience in afflictions.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 40:13. Lift up thy head — Raise thee from thy state of dejection and sorrow, and advance thee to thy former dignity; for in this sense, the same phrase is used, 2Ki 25:27, and Psa 110:7. The expression, however, may be rendered, shall reckon thy head, that is, thy name or person, namely, among his servants, which interpretation seems to agree better with the verse where the same phrase is used also of the chief baker who was hanged. It is supposed to refer to a custom which the kings of Egypt, and probably other governors observed, of having the names of all their servants called over on their birthdays, and at other set times; when such as were judged to be guilty of great crimes were struck off the list and punished, and the less guilty were pardoned, and if they had been imprisoned, were released and restored to their former trusts and offices.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hebrew, place.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

13. lift up thine head] i.e. “will lift it up with favour,” as in 2Ki_25:27; Jer_52:31. The “countenance,” which is sad, or in trouble, hangs down and needs to be lifted up: see note on Gen_4:6-7. As the phrase is also used of “the chief baker” in an unfavourable sense (Gen_40:19-20), it might conceivably be employed for the official notice of release to a prisoner, either for pardon or for punishment. But this is not probable; see note on Gen_40:19.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head,.... The Targum of Jonathan adds, with glory; and the sense is, either that Pharaoh would raise him up from the low estate in which he now was, to the same exalted station in which he had been before; or that he would reckon and number him among his servants, when he should take a catalogue of them, or make a new list, so Jarchi and Aben Ezra; and this phrase is used of taking the sum of persons, or the number of them, and is so rendered, Exo 30:12; the allusion is thought to be to a custom used by great personages, to have the names of their servants called over on a certain day, as Pharaoh perhaps used to do on his birthday, Gen 40:20; when they struck out of the list or put into it whom they pleased, and pardoned or punished such as had offended; and this sense is the rather inclined to, because Pharaoh is said to lift up the head of both the butler and the baker, Gen 40:20; yet it may be observed, that the phrases used by Joseph concerning them differ; for of the baker he says, "Pharaoh shall lift up thy head from off thee", Gen 40:19; wherefore, though the heads of them both were lift up, yet in a different sense: the one was lifted up to the gallows, and the other to his former dignity, as follows:

and restore thee unto thy place: to his office in ministering: to Pharaoh as his cup bearer:

and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler; which was signified in the dream, by squeezing the grapes into Pharaoh's cup he had in his hand, and gave unto him.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Lift up thine head, i.e. advance thee to thy former dignity. So that phrase is used 2Ki 25:27; Psa 110:7. Or, reckon thy head, i.e. thy name or thy person, to wit, among his servants, which is added, Gen 40:20. According to the custom, which was this: at set times governors of families used to take an account of their servants, and to have the names of their servants read to them, and they either left them in the catalogue, or put any of them out, as they saw fit, and inflicted such further punishments upon any of them as they deserved. This seems the truer interpretation, because it is said that Pharaoh lifted up the head of his butler, and of his baker, Gen 40:20, and therefore the phrase must be so expounded, as to agree equally to both.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. Lift up thine head — Lift it up from its present degradation in prison and in sadness. Comp. Gen_40:19, note.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

ישא פרעה את ראשך PHARAOH SHALL LIFT UP THY HEAD — The words נשא ראש denote to count (cf. Exodus 30:12). When he musters his other servants to wait upon him during the meal he will count you also among them.

כנך means THY POST and thy place.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

As was your previous practice. Before you became an official.

When you were his butler. When you used to serve him personally — Pharaoh will have you do this to demonstrate that you are again in his favor.

Sforno on the Tanakh — English translation: “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ישא פרעה את ראשך, he will elevate your head. The verb is appropriate as the head of the cup-bearer while in prison was held low, he dared not hold up his head.

והשיבך, the letter ו has the vowel patach, as opposed to Deuteronomy 28,68 והשיבך ה' מצרים, “G’d will bring you back to Egypt.” [compare Rash’bam on verse 13 above where he explains the meaning of the difference. Ed.]

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.