Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him.
All Commentaries on Genesis 40:23 Go To Genesis 40
John Chrysostom
AD 407
See once again the good man, as though competing in some gymnasium or wrestling ring, giving a demonstration of his characteristic virtue by not showing signs of alarm, panic or disappointment. I mean, had it been somebody else, any one of a thousand, he might have said, What’s this? The chief cupbearer was all too ready to regain his former prosperity by my interpreting what he saw in his dream but now has no thought for me despite my predicting it. He is enjoying great relief, whereas I, who committed no crime, am locked up here with murderers, grave robbers, thieves and perpetrators of countless crimes. Joseph said nothing of the sort; he entertained no such thoughts. He realized that the race was longer for him, so that by striving consistently he might win a glorious crown …. Joseph, you see, had to await the right moment for release from there to come his way along with renown. After all, if before Pharaoh’s dreams the chief cupbearer had by his own intervention freed him from prison, perhaps his virtue would not have become known to many people. As it was, however, the wise and creative Lord, who like a fine craftsman knew how long the gold should be kept in the fire and when it ought be taken out, allowed forgetfulness to affect the chief cupbearer for a period of two years so that the moment of Pharaoh’s dreams should arrive and that by force of circumstances the good man should become known to the whole of Pharaoh’s kingdom.
