Genesis 40:9Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Isaiah notes that this is the experience of those who bask in worldly success: it appears to a man in slumber that he consumes food and drink, and while he dreams, he is sated, but upon waking, he finds himself even more famished; he then comes to understand how trivial were the sustenance and drink perceived in the dream (cf. Is. 29:8). Similarly, the individual who sleeps in this world and remains oblivious to divine mysteries believes that worldly power holds significance, perceiving it as if through a dream. Yet upon awakening, he realizes the futility of worldly desires.

Now, consider that true Hebrew, not merely a dream interpreter (cf. Gen. 37:5-9), but the embodiment of truth and clarity, who descended from the fullness of the Divine (cf. Col. 2:9) and from the grace of heaven into this physical confinement (cf. Gen. 39:20). He could not be swayed by worldly temptations nor corrupted by any earthly desires (cf. Gen. 39:7-9). When confronted by temptation, He stood firm, faced with challenges but unyielding; ultimately, being grasped by the fabric of the body from the deceitful hand of the synagogue (cf. Gen. 39:10-15), He shed His mortal form and ascended, liberated from death. The impure one spread falsehoods (cf. Gen. 39:17-18) when she could not keep Him whom neither prison could intimidate nor the grave could bind. From where He descended, seemingly for judgment, He brought liberation to others. Where mortal restraints were laid upon Him, there He shattered the chains of the dead.