'Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; and he took her and went in to her. ' Genesis 38:2
I think it's significant that Judah took a Caananite woman as a wife, defiling the holy line. You can sort of see (in a thematic sense) why they were so evil and were smited--they were Caananites!
'He said, therefore, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She said, moreover, “Will you give a pledge until you send it? ” He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” And she said, “Your seal and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. ' Genesis 38:17-18
While Judah gives his staff, seal, and cord as a pledge of the goat to come, our Lord gave the staff of Aaron, the seal of the Law, and the scarlet cord of the priest's bloody garments to Israel and He gives us the cross, the seal of the Holy Ghost, and His very blood, the scarlet cord connected to the anchor of our souls, as a pledge for the Lamb who was, who is, and who is to come.
'Then she arose and departed, and removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments. ' Genesis 38:19
Perhaps this is a foreshadowing of the Church, made up of repentant sinner who took off their sinful garments and put on Christ, whose sacrifice made us widows.
'He asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the temple prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?” But they said, “There has been no temple prostitute here.” So he returned to Judah, and said, “I did not find her; and furthermore, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no temple prostitute here.’” Genesis 38:21-22
This really points out Judah's wickedness. Not only did he come up with the idea to sell Joseph, but he took a Caananite for a wife and even went into what he thought was a cult prostitute (the chicks who make giants), showing his absolute depravity and lack of care for the commandments of God. I think this is why the Lord orchestrated things to go this way. Judah's line would've been corrupted by unrepentant Caananites (re: giants), but this way, the children would remain among his people.
'The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the L ord made to prosper.' Genesis 39:22-23
Quodvultdeus, one of Augustine's students, said that Joseph being put in charge of the prisoners corresponds to the harrowing of hell, so that Christ took the keys of hell, taking charge of all the prisoners, and making all of them prosper in the Lord by taking them to heaven.
'Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned. ' Genesis 40:2-3
He also says that the two eunuchs imprisoned with Joseph correspond to the two theives Christ was crucified by, and this also fits because one died eternally and one was saved.
'So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me; and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes. Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”...When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; and in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” ' Genesis 40:9-11,16-17
I think the dreams are also somewhat significant. First of all, the two things are bread and wine, obviously significant for the Christian life in the Eucharist. Also, I think they may show the humiliation and exaltation of our Lord. The baker bears good food and yet is torn apart by birds, a symbol for the damned, and in the same way, our Lord was "counted among the transgressors" when He suffered death. The cupbearer, on the other hand, bears wine and presents the wine of His blood to the Lord, which is also the role of Christ in His exaltation as He intercedes for us to the Father.
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