Genesis 31:14

31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance ¹  in our father’s house?

Genesis 39:2

39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful ²  and lived ³  in the household of his Egyptian master.

Genesis 27:15

27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.

Genesis 34:29

34:29 They captured as plunder ⁴  all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, including everything in the houses.

Genesis 39:8

39:8 But he refused, saying ⁵  to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought ⁶  to his household with me here, ⁷  and everything that he owns he has put into my care. ⁸ 

Genesis 39:11

39:11 One day ⁹  he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants ¹⁰  were there in the house.

Genesis 39:20

39:20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, ¹¹  the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. ¹² 

Genesis 42:19

42:19 If you are honest men, leave one of your brothers confined here in prison ¹³  while the rest of you go ¹⁴  and take grain back for your hungry families. ¹⁵ 

Genesis 39:5

39:5 From the time ¹⁶  Potiphar ¹⁷  appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed ¹⁸  the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both ¹⁹  in his house and in his fields. ²⁰ 

Genesis 39:9

39:9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do ²¹  such a great evil and sin against God?”

Genesis 39:22

39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. ²² 

Genesis 40:5

40:5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream ²³  the same night. ²⁴  Each man’s dream had its own meaning. ²⁵ 

¹ tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”

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).

³ tn Heb “and he was.”

³ tn Heb “they took captive and they plundered,” that is, “they captured as plunder.”

⁴ tn Heb “and he said.”

⁵ tn Heb “know.”

⁶ tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁷ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

⁵ tn Heb “and it was about this day.”

⁶ tn Heb “the men of the house.”

⁶ tn Heb “the house of roundness,” suggesting that the prison might have been a fortress or citadel.

⁷ 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.

⁷ tn Heb “bound in the house of your prison.”

⁸ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-temporal.

⁹ tn Heb “[for] the hunger of your households.”

⁸ tn Heb “and it was from then.”

⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ 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).

¹¹ tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹² 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.

⁹ tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

¹² tn Heb “a man his dream in one night.”

¹³ tn Heb “a man according to the interpretation of his dream.”