Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him: did not remember Joseph is the narrator’s way of saying he did not speak to the king about Joseph. It is possible to translate this verse in terms of not speaking to the king about Joseph or not remembering him. For example, we may say “In spite of being restored, the wine servant did not speak to the king about Joseph” or “After he had his former job again, the wine servant did not give Joseph a thought. He forgot him.”

We must remember that the silence of the wine servant is a device of the narrator for building suspense in the story. Also it is important that the two officials never replied to anything Joseph said when he interpreted their dreams. The narrator has carefully developed the complications in the story. Since coming to Egypt Joseph’s initial rise to influence in Potiphar’s house ended in his imprisonment. While in prison he again rose to a position of trust only to be abandoned, at least for the next two years, by the one man who could speak to the king for him.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .