While reading the story of Joseph in Genesis today, I found myself angered when the chief butler forgot Joseph for two years (Genesis 40:23). No other element of the story is as aggravating: Jacob making public show of favoritism toward Joseph, Joseph’s adolescent error in sharing his dream with his brothers, the other sons of Jacob plotting to kill Joseph, Reuben’s frustrated plot to hide Joseph then sneak him back to Jacob, the sons of Jacob lying to their father about his favorite son’s fate, Joseph’s enslavement, and Joseph’s imprisonment for false accusations. None of them evoke the anger toward a man restored to prominence and who forgets an act of divine and personal benevolence for two years.

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