Discovery BoxGenesis 39:1-23
Context39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. 1 An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, 2 purchased him from 3 the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful 4 and lived 5 in the household of his Egyptian master. 39:3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful. 6 39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. 7 Potiphar appointed Joseph 8 overseer of his household and put him in charge 9 of everything he owned. 39:5 From the time 10 Potiphar 11 appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed 12 the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both 13 in his house and in his fields. 14 39:6 So Potiphar 15 left 16 everything he had in Joseph’s care; 17 he gave no thought 18 to anything except the food he ate. 19
Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. 20 39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of 21 Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” 22 39:8 But he refused, saying 23 to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought 24 to his household with me here, 25 and everything that he owns he has put into my care. 26 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 27 such a great evil and sin against God?” 39:10 Even though she continued to speak 28 to Joseph day after day, he did not respond 29 to her invitation to have sex with her. 30
39:11 One day 31 he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants 32 were there in the house. 39:12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran 33 outside. 34 39:13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 39:14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought 35 in a Hebrew man 36 to us to humiliate us. 37 He tried to have sex with me, 38 but I screamed loudly. 39 39:15 When he heard me raise 40 my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”
39:16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 39:17 This is what she said to him: 41 “That Hebrew slave 42 you brought to us tried to humiliate me, 43 39:18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”
39:19 When his master heard his wife say, 44 “This is the way 45 your slave treated me,” 46 he became furious. 47 39:20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, 48 the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. 49
39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. 50 He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. 51 39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. 52 39:23 The warden did not concern himself 53 with anything that was in Joseph’s 54 care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.
Genesis 30:27
Context30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, 55 for I have learned by divination 56 that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.”
Job 22:12-14
Context22:12 “Is not God on high in heaven? 57
And see 58 the lofty stars, 59 how high they are!
22:13 But you have said, ‘What does God know?
Does he judge through such deep darkness? 60
22:14 Thick clouds are a veil for him, so he does not see us, 61
as he goes back and forth
in the vault 62 of heaven.’ 63
Psalms 123:1
ContextA song of ascents. 65
123:1 I look up 66 toward you,
the one enthroned 67 in heaven.
Ecclesiastes 5:2
Context5:2 Do not be rash with your mouth or hasty in your heart to bring up a matter before God,
for God is in heaven and you are on earth!
Therefore, let your words be few.
Isaiah 57:15
Context57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,
the one who rules 68 forever, whose name is holy:
“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,
but also with the discouraged and humiliated, 69
in order to cheer up the humiliated
and to encourage the discouraged. 70
Matthew 6:9
Context6:9 So pray this way: 71
[39:1] 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.
[39:1] 2 sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.
[39:1] 3 tn Heb “from the hand of.”
[39:2] 4 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).
[39:3] 6 tn The Hebrew text adds “in his hand,” a phrase not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[39:4] 7 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.
[39:4] 8 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[39:4] 9 tn Heb “put into his hand.”
[39:5] 10 tn Heb “and it was from then.”
[39:5] 11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[39:5] 12 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).
[39:5] 13 tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[39:5] 14 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.
[39:6] 15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[39:6] 16 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.
[39:6] 17 tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.
[39:6] 18 tn Heb “did not know.”
[39:6] 19 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.
[39:6] 20 tn Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel.
[39:7] 21 tn Heb “she lifted up her eyes toward,” an expression that emphasizes her deliberate and careful scrutiny of him.
[39:7] 22 tn Heb “lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
[39:8] 23 tn Heb “and he said.”
[39:8] 25 tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[39:8] 26 tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.
[39:9] 27 tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.
[39:10] 28 tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator, followed by the infinitive construct with the preposition כְּ (kÿ). This clause could therefore be taken as temporal.
[39:10] 29 tn Heb “listen to.”
[39:10] 30 tn Heb “to lie beside her to be with her.” Here the expression “to lie beside” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
[39:11] 31 tn Heb “and it was about this day.”
[39:11] 32 tn Heb “the men of the house.”
[39:12] 33 tn Heb “he fled and he went out.” The construction emphasizes the point that Joseph got out of there quickly.
[39:12] 34 sn For discussion of this episode, see A. M. Honeyman, “The Occasion of Joseph’s Temptation,” VT 2 (1952): 85-87.
[39:14] 35 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).
[39:14] 36 sn A Hebrew man. Potiphar’s wife raises the ethnic issue when talking to her servants about what their boss had done.
[39:14] 37 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.
[39:14] 38 tn Heb “he came to me to lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
[39:14] 39 tn Heb “and I cried out with a loud voice.”
[39:15] 40 tn Heb “that I raised.”
[39:17] 41 tn Heb “and she spoke to him according to these words, saying.”
[39:17] 42 sn That Hebrew slave. Now, when speaking to her husband, Potiphar’s wife refers to Joseph as a Hebrew slave, a very demeaning description.
[39:17] 43 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.
[39:19] 44 tn Heb “and when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying.”
[39:19] 45 tn Heb “according to these words.”
[39:19] 46 tn Heb “did to me.”
[39:19] 47 tn Heb “his anger burned.”
[39:20] 48 tn Heb “the house of roundness,” suggesting that the prison might have been a fortress or citadel.
[39:20] 49 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.
[39:21] 50 tn Heb “and he extended to him loyal love.”
[39:21] 51 tn Or “the chief jailer” (also in the following verses).
[39:22] 52 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.
[39:23] 53 tn Heb “was not looking at anything.”
[39:23] 54 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:27] 55 tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[30:27] 56 tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the
[22:12] 57 tn This reading preserves the text as it is. The nouns “high” and “heavens” would then be taken as adverbial accusatives of place (see GKC 373-74 §118.g).
[22:12] 58 tn The parallel passage in Isa 40:26-27, as well as the context here, shows that the imperative is to be retained here. The LXX has “he sees.”
[22:12] 59 tn Heb “head of the stars.”
[22:13] 60 sn Eliphaz is giving to Job the thoughts and words of the pagans, for they say, “How does God know, and is there knowledge in the Most High?” (see Ps 73:11; 94:11).
[22:14] 61 tn Heb “and he does not see.” The implied object is “us.”
[22:14] 62 sn The word is “circle; dome”; here it is the dome that covers the earth, beyond which God sits enthroned. A. B. Davidson (Job, 165) suggests “on the arch of heaven” that covers the earth.
[22:14] 63 sn The idea suggested here is that God is not only far off, but he is unconcerned as he strolls around heaven – this is what Eliphaz says Job means.
[123:1] 64 sn Psalm 123. The psalmist, speaking for God’s people, acknowledges his dependence on God in the midst of a crisis.
[123:1] 65 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
[123:1] 66 tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”
[123:1] 67 tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12).
[57:15] 68 tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.
[57:15] 69 tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.
[57:15] 70 tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”
[6:9] 71 sn Pray this way. What follows, although traditionally known as the Lord’s prayer, is really the disciples’ prayer. It represents how they are to approach God, by acknowledging his uniqueness and their need for his provision and protection.
[6:9] 72 sn God is addressed in terms of intimacy (Father). The original Semitic term here was probably Abba. The term is a little unusual in a personal prayer, especially as it lacks qualification. It is not the exact equivalent of “daddy” (as is sometimes popularly suggested), but it does suggest a close, familial relationship.
