Genesis 41:9 Meaning: Remembering at Just the Right Time

The Hebrew verb behind “remember” here is mazkir, a form of zakhar that carries an active, deliberate sense: bringing something to mind, making mention of it, causing it to be recalled. This is not a passive memory that just happens; it is a choice. The cupbearer is not simply remembering, he is bringing to remembrance. That fits his situation. He has had two years to remember Joseph. He chooses to do so now.

The word for “faults” is chet, the same word used throughout the Old Testament for sin, guilt, or failure. It means missing the mark. The cupbearer uses this strong word in reference to himself. Commentators disagree on what faults he means, whether he is finally admitting his ingratitude toward Joseph, or whether he is tactfully acknowledging the old crime that landed him in prison, so that Pharaoh will see he has no grudge against the king. Either way, the word is serious. He is not making a light excuse. He is confessing something real, whether it is the right thing.

Christians have read this confession in two main ways. Some see it as a genuine, though late, acknowledgment of the cupbearer's ingratitude toward Joseph. Matthew Henry writes that he “makes a fair confession” and that his faults included forgetting Joseph. Others read it differently. Calvin and Gill argue that the cupbearer is referring to his original offense against Pharaoh, not his neglect of Joseph. They point out that he could not tell his story about prison without risking the king's displeasure. By first owning that he had been rightly imprisoned, he made it safe to mention the young Hebrew who interpreted his dream. Both readings see a man who finally speaks up, but they differ on what is driving his words, guilt toward Joseph or care for his own standing before Pharaoh.