"And Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound." Genesis 40:2-3 ASV
<p>Illustration of Joseph in the prison with two of Pharaoh's officers. Joseph leans against the wall between the two men, his left arm raised as he speaks. He wears only a tunic. One prisoner (right), sits on a bench and hides his face, leaning away from Joseph. The other man (left) sits on a bench and looks up at Joseph with hands clasped as if begging. Three small steps lead to a wooden door on the left.

Joseph in Prison with the Cup-Bearer and the Chief Baker

"And Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief…

An illustration of a man holding a large bread board and a young girl holding a tray with a loaf of bread.

Man & Child Baking Bread

An illustration of a man holding a large bread board and a young girl holding a tray with a loaf of…

"A baker, from pinsere, to pound, since corn was pounded in mortars before the invention of mills. At Rome bread was originally made at home by the women of the house; and there were no persons at Rome who made baking a trade, or any slaves specially kept for this purpose in private houses, till B.C. 173. The name was also given to pastry-cooks and confectioners, in which case they were usually called pistores dulciarii or candidarii. Bread was often baked in moulds called artoptae, and the loaves thus baked were termed artopticii. In one of the bake-houses discovered at Pompeii, several loaves have been found apparently baked in moulds, which may therefore be regarded as artoptieii; they are represented in the preceding cut. They are flat, and about eight inches in diameter. Bread was not generally made at home at Athens, but was sold in the market-place chiefly by women. These women seem to have been what the fish-women of London are at present; they excelled in abuse." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Pistor

"A baker, from pinsere, to pound, since corn was pounded in mortars before the invention of mills. At…