Genesis 40:12

Summary

Joseph responds to the cupbearer's dream, stating that he will provide its interpretation. He identifies the three branches seen in the dream as a symbol representing three days.

Key words

va-yYomer ("and he said", H0559) — qal verb with narrative vav, marking the sequential action that opens Joseph's speech.

zeh ("this", H2088) — demonstrative particle pointing forward to what follows; introduces the content of the interpretation.

pitroNo ("its interpretation", H6623) — masculine singular noun in construct form with pronominal suffix "its" (H9023), referring back to the dream. The construct state links it to an implied "dream," even though "dream" is not explicitly repeated in the Hebrew clause.

sheLoshet ("three of", H7969) — cardinal number in construct form, appearing twice (positions 9 and 12): once governing ha-sSarigim ("the branches", H8299) and once governing yaMim ("days", H3117G). This repetition creates a grammatical parallel between the two "three" groups.

Hem ("they", H1992) — third person masculine plural pronoun, closing the sentence and grammatically equating the two preceding nouns (branches / days).

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence structure places zeh pitroNo ("this [is] its interpretation") as a short nominal clause without a copula ("is"), which is typical in Biblical Hebrew — the demonstrative zeh and the noun pitroNo stand adjacent, implying the verb "to be" without stating it. The suffix on pitroNo ("its") refers back to the dream discussed in the preceding verses, though the word "dream" itself does not appear in this verse.

The core of the interpretation is built through two parallel construct phrases: sheLoshet ha-sSarigim ("three of the branches") and sheLoshet yaMim ("three of days"). Both use the same numeral sheLoshet in construct form, creating a syntactic mirror between the dream-image (branches) and its real-world referent (days). The final word, Hem ("they"), functions as the predicate pronoun that equates the two groups grammatically — the branches and the days are presented as the same "they," without an explicit verb "to represent" or "to mean."

Differences between versions

The LXX renders pitroNo ("its interpretation", H6623) as ἡ σύγκρισις αὐτοῦ, closely paralleling the Hebrew structure. However, for sheLoshet ha-sSarigim ("three of the branches"), the LXX Swete text reads οἱ τρεῖς πυθμένες ("the three stems/bases"), using πυθμένες rather than a term for "branches," where the Hebrew sarigim (H8299) specifically denotes branches or tendrils. The Vulgate's tres propagines ("three shoots/cuttings") also diverges slightly in imagery from "branches" but remains closer to the Hebrew sense of a vine-shoot than the LXX's πυθμένες.