Genesis 39-40

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 39:1 tn The disjunctive clause resumes the earlier narrative pertaining to Joseph by recapitulating the event described in 37:36. The perfect verbal form is given a past perfect translation to restore the sequence of the narrative for the reader.
2. Genesis 39:1 sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.
3. Genesis 39:1 tn Heb “from the hand of.”
4. Genesis 39:2 tn Heb “and he was a prosperous man.” This does not mean that Joseph became wealthy, but that he was successful in what he was doing, or making progress in his situation (see 24:21).
5. Genesis 39:2 tn Heb “and he was.”
6. Genesis 39:3 tn The Hebrew text adds “in his hand,” a phrase not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7. Genesis 39:4 sn The Hebrew verb translated became his personal attendant refers to higher domestic service, usually along the lines of a personal attendant. Here Joseph is made the household steward, a position well-attested in Egyptian literature.
8. Genesis 39:4 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9. Genesis 39:4 tn Heb “put into his hand.”
10. Genesis 39:5 tn Heb “and it was from then.”
11. Genesis 39:5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12. Genesis 39:5 sn The Hebrew word translated blessed carries the idea of enrichment, prosperity, success. It is the way believers describe success at the hand of God. The text illustrates the promise made to Abraham that whoever blesses his descendants will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3).
13. Genesis 39:5 tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
14. Genesis 39:5 sn The passage gives us a good picture of Joseph as a young man who was responsible and faithful, both to his master and to his God. This happened within a very short time of his being sold into Egypt. It undermines the view that Joseph was a liar, a tattletale, and an arrogant adolescent.
15. Genesis 39:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16. Genesis 39:6 sn The Hebrew verb translated left indicates he relinquished the care of it to Joseph. This is stronger than what was said earlier. Apparently Potiphar had come to trust Joseph so much that he knew it was in better care with Joseph than with anyone else.
17. Genesis 39:6 tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.
18. Genesis 39:6 tn Heb “did not know.”
19. Genesis 39:6 sn The expression except the food he ate probably refers to Potiphar’s private affairs and should not be limited literally to what he ate.
20. Genesis 39:6 tn Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel.
21. Genesis 39:7 tn Heb “she lifted up her eyes toward,” an expression that emphasizes her deliberate and careful scrutiny of him.
22. Genesis 39:7 tn Heb “lie down with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) “to lie down” can be a euphemism for going to bed for sexual relations.sn The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife has long been connected with the wisdom warnings about the strange woman who tries to seduce the young man with her boldness and directness (see Prov 5-7, especially 7:6-27). This is part of the literary background of the story of Joseph that gives it a wisdom flavor. See G. von Rad, God at Work in Israel, 19-35; and G. W. Coats, “The Joseph Story and Ancient Wisdom: A Reappraisal,” CBQ 35 (1973): 285-97.
23. Genesis 39:8 tn Heb “and he said.”
24. Genesis 39:8 tn Heb “know.”
25. Genesis 39:8 tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
26. Genesis 39:8 tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.
27. Genesis 39:9 tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.
28. Genesis 39:10 tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator, followed by the infinitive construct with the preposition כ (kaf). This clause could therefore be taken as temporal.
29. Genesis 39:10 tn Heb “listen to.”
30. Genesis 39:10 tn Heb “lie down with her to be with her.” See note at v. 7.
31. Genesis 39:11 tn Heb “and it was about this day.”
32. Genesis 39:11 tn Heb “the men of the house.”
33. Genesis 39:12 tn Heb “lie down with.” See note at v. 7.
34. Genesis 39:12 tn Heb “he fled and he went out.” The construction emphasizes the point that Joseph got out of there quickly.
35. Genesis 39:12 sn For discussion of this episode, see A. M. Honeyman, “The Occasion of Joseph’s Temptation,” VT 2 (1952): 85-87.
36. Genesis 39:14 tn The verb has no expressed subject, and so it could be treated as a passive (“a Hebrew man was brought in”; cf. NIV). But it is clear from the context that her husband brought Joseph into the household, so Potiphar is the apparent referent here. Thus the translation supplies “my husband” as the referent of the unspecified pronominal subject of the verb (cf. NEB, NRSV).
37. Genesis 39:14 sn A Hebrew man. Potiphar’s wife raises the ethnic issue when talking to her servants about what their boss had done.
38. Genesis 39:14 tn Heb “to make fun of us.” The verb translated “to humiliate us” here means to hold something up for ridicule, or to toy with something harmfully. Attempted rape would be such an activity, for it would hold the victim in contempt.
39. Genesis 39:14 tn Heb “He approached me to lie down with me.” Both expressions can be a euphemism for sexual relations. See the note at 2 Sam 12:24.
40. Genesis 39:14 tn Heb “and I cried out with a loud voice.”
41. Genesis 39:15 tn Heb “that I raised.”
42. Genesis 39:17 tn Heb “and she spoke to him according to these words, saying.”
43. Genesis 39:17 sn That Hebrew slave. Now, when speaking to her husband, Potiphar’s wife refers to Joseph as a Hebrew slave, a very demeaning description.
44. Genesis 39:17 tn Heb “came to me to make fun of me.” The statement needs no explanation because of the connotations of “came to me” and “to make fun of me.” See the note on the expression “humiliate us” in v. 14.
45. Genesis 39:19 tn Heb “and when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying.”
46. Genesis 39:19 tn Heb “according to these words.”
47. Genesis 39:19 tn Heb “did to me.”
48. Genesis 39:19 tn Heb “his anger burned.”
49. Genesis 39:20 tn Heb “the house of roundness,” suggesting that the prison might have been a fortress or citadel.
50. Genesis 39:20 sn The story of Joseph is filled with cycles and repetition: He has two dreams (chap. 37), he interprets two dreams in prison (chap. 40) and the two dreams of Pharaoh (chap. 41), his brothers make two trips to see him (chaps. 42-43), and here, for the second time (see 37:24), he is imprisoned for no good reason, with only his coat being used as evidence. For further discussion see H. Jacobsen, “A Legal Note on Potiphar’s Wife,” HTR 69 (1976): 177.
51. Genesis 39:21 tn Heb “and he extended to him loyal love.”
52. Genesis 39:21 tn Or “the chief jailer” (also in the following verses).
53. Genesis 39:22 tn Heb “all which they were doing there, he was doing.” This probably means that Joseph was in charge of everything that went on in the prison.
54. Genesis 39:23 tn Heb “was not looking at anything.”
55. Genesis 39:23 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
56. Genesis 40:1 sn The Hebrew term cupbearer corresponds to the Egyptian wb’, an official (frequently a foreigner) who often became a confidant of the king and wielded political power (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 248). Nehemiah held this post in Persia.
57. Genesis 40:1 sn The baker may be the Egyptian retehti, the head of the bakers, who had privileges in the royal court.
58. Genesis 40:1 sn The Hebrew verb translated offended here is the same one translated “sin” in 39:9. Perhaps there is an intended contrast between these officials, who deserve to be imprisoned, and Joseph, who refused to sin against God, but was thrown into prison in spite of his innocence.
59. Genesis 40:2 tn The Hebrew word סָרִיס (saris), used here of these two men and of Potiphar (see 39:1), normally means “eunuch.” But evidence from Akkadian texts shows that in early times the title was used of a court official in general. Only later did it become more specialized in its use.
60. Genesis 40:4 sn He served them. This is the same Hebrew verb, meaning “to serve as a personal attendant,” that was translated “became [his] servant” in 39:4.
61. Genesis 40:4 tn Heb “they were days in custody.”
62. Genesis 40:5 tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”
63. Genesis 40:5 tn Heb “a man his dream in one night.”
64. Genesis 40:5 tn Heb “a man according to the interpretation of his dream.”
65. Genesis 40:6 tn The verb זָעַף (zaʿaf) only occurs here and Dan 1:10. It means “to be sick, to be emaciated,” probably in this case because of depression.
66. Genesis 40:7 tn Heb “why are your faces sad today?”
67. Genesis 40:8 tn Heb “a dream we dreamed.”
68. Genesis 40:8 tn The word “them” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
69. Genesis 40:9 tn The Hebrew text adds “and he said to him.” This has not been translated because it is redundant in English.
70. Genesis 40:11 tn Heb “the cup of Pharaoh.” The pronoun “his” has been used here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
71. Genesis 40:11 sn The cupbearer’s dream is dominated by sets of three: three branches, three stages of growth, and three actions of the cupbearer.
72. Genesis 40:12 tn Heb “the three branches [are].”
73. Genesis 40:13 tn Heb “Pharaoh will lift up your head.” This Hebrew idiom usually refers to restoring dignity, office, or power. It is comparable to the modern saying “someone can hold his head up high.”
74. Genesis 40:13 tn Heb “according to the former custom.”
75. Genesis 40:14 tn Heb “but you have remembered me with you.” The perfect verbal form may be used rhetorically here to emphasize Joseph’s desire to be remembered. He speaks of the action as already being accomplished in order to make it clear that he expects it to be done. The form can be translated as volitional, expressing a plea or a request.
76. Genesis 40:14 tn This perfect verbal form with the prefixed conjunction (and the two that immediately follow) carry the same force as the preceding perfect.
77. Genesis 40:14 tn Heb “deal with me [in] kindness.”
78. Genesis 40:14 tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar) in the Hiphil stem means “to cause to remember, to make mention, to boast.” The implication is that Joseph would be pleased for them to tell his story and give him the credit due him so that Pharaoh would release him. Since Pharaoh had never met Joseph, the simple translation of “cause him to remember me” would mean little.
79. Genesis 40:14 tn Heb “house.” The word “prison” has been substituted in the translation for clarity.
80. Genesis 40:15 tn The verb גָּנַב (ganav) means “to steal,” but in the Piel/Pual stem “to steal away.” The idea of “kidnap” would be closer to the sense, meaning he was stolen and carried off. The preceding infinitive absolute underscores the point Joseph is making.
81. Genesis 40:16 tn Heb “that [the] interpretation [was] good.” The words “the first dream” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
82. Genesis 40:16 tn Or “three wicker baskets.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun חֹרִי (khori, “white bread, cake”) is uncertain; some have suggested the meaning “wicker” instead. Comparison with texts from Ebla suggests the meaning “pastries made with white flour” (M. Dahood, “Eblaite ḫa-rí and Genesis 40, 16 ḥōrî,” BN 13 [1980]: 14-16).
83. Genesis 40:18 tn Heb “the three baskets [are].”
84. Genesis 40:19 tn Heb “Pharaoh will lift up your head from upon you.” Joseph repeats the same expression from the first interpretation (see v. 13), but with the added words “from upon you,” which allow the statement to have a more literal and ominous meaning—the baker will be decapitated.
85. Genesis 40:20 tn The translation puts the verb in quotation marks because it is used rhetorically here and has a double meaning. With respect to the cupbearer it means “reinstate” (see v. 13), but with respect to the baker it means “decapitate” (see v. 19).
86. Genesis 40:21 tn Heb “his cupbearing.”
87. Genesis 40:22 tn Heb “had interpreted for them.”sn The dreams were fulfilled exactly as Joseph had predicted, down to the very detail. Here was confirmation that Joseph could interpret dreams and that his own dreams were still valid. It would have been a tremendous encouragement to his faith, but it would also have been a great disappointment to spend two more years in jail.
88. Genesis 40:23 tn The wayyiqtol verbal form here has a reiterative or emphasizing function.