Topic
Cupbearer
14 passages cited, from 3 classic reference works.
These works date from 1884–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Genesis 40:1Smith · ISBE · Nave General scriptures concerning
And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.
- 1 Kings 10:5Smith · ISBE · Nave General scriptures concerning
And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.
- Nehemiah 1:11Smith · ISBE · Nave General scriptures concerning
O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the…
- 2 Chronicles 9:4ISBE · Nave General scriptures concerning
And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.
- Genesis 40:2ISBE
And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
- Genesis 40:11Nave General scriptures concerning
And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.
- Genesis 40:21Smith
And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:
- Genesis 41:9Smith
¶ Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:
- Nehemiah 5:8ISBE
And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer.
- Nehemiah 5:10ISBE
I likewise, and my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury.
- Nehemiah 5:14ISBE
¶ Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor.
- Nehemiah 5:17ISBE
Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, beside those that came unto us from among the heathen that are about us.
Show 2 more
- Isaiah 36:2 ISBE
- Tobit 1:22 ISBE
In the reference works
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) · 5 references
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 11 references
kup'-bar-er (mashqeh, "one giving drink"; oinochoos): An officer of high rank at ancient oriental courts, whose duty it was to serve the wine at the king's table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues, a person must be regarded as thoroughly trustworthy to hold this position. He must guard against poison in the king's cup, and was sometimes required to swallow some of the wine before serving it. His confidential relations with the king often endeared him to his sovereign and also gave him a position of great influence. This officer is first mentioned in Scripture in Ge 40:1 ff, where the Hebrew word elsewhere translated "cupbearer" is rendered "butler." The phrase "chief of the butlers" (Ge 40:2) accords with the fact that there were often a number of such officials under one as chief (compare Xen. Hellen. vii.1, 38). Nehemiah (compare Ne 1:11) was cupbearer to Artaxerxes Longimanus, and was held in high esteem by him, as the record shows. His financial ability (Ne 5:8,10,14,17) would indicate that the office was a lucrative one. Cupbearers are mentioned further in 1Ki 10:5; 2Ch 9:4, where they, among other evidences of royal splendor, are stated to have impressed the queen of Sheba with Solomon's glory. The title Rabshakeh (Isa 36:2), once thought to mean "chief of the cupbearers," is now given a different derivation and explained as "chief of the officers," or "princes" (BDB under the word). See further on cupbearers Herod. iii.34; Xen. Cyrop. i.3, 8, 9; Josephus, Ant, XVI, viii, 1; Tobit 1:22.
Benjamin Reno Downer
In the topical indexes
Texts: Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.