Genesis 40:19

Hang thee on a tree] rather, 'impale thee on a stake 'after being beheaded. Hanging as a form of punishment is not referred to, except in the book of Esther, the scene of which is laid in Persia. The birds shall eat, etc.] The Egyptians held that after a stay of 3000 years in the unseen world, the soul re-entered its former body, and commenced a fresh existence on the earth. They therefore took the greatest pains to preserve the bodies of the dead: see on Genesis 50:2. For a body to be devoured by the birds, as Joseph foretold, would be regarded as a terrible doom.