Genesis 15:2

15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, ¹  what will you give me since ²  I continue to be ³  childless, and my heir ⁴  is ⁵  Eliezer of Damascus?” ⁶ 

Genesis 39:4-6

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 

Genesis 43:19

43:19 So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house.

Luke 10:7

10:7 Stay ²¹  in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, ²²  for the worker deserves his pay. ²³  Do not move around from house to house.

Luke 12:42

12:42 The Lord replied, ²⁴  “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, ²⁵  whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, ²⁶  to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?

Luke 16:1-2

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus ²⁷  also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations ²⁸  that his manager ²⁹  was wasting ³⁰  his assets. 16:2 So ³¹  he called the manager ³²  in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? ³³  Turn in the account of your administration, ³⁴  because you can no longer be my manager.’

Luke 16:1

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus ³⁵  also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations ³⁶  that his manager ³⁷  was wasting ³⁸  his assets.

Colossians 4:1-2

4:1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

Titus 1:7

1:7 For the overseer ³⁹  must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, ⁴⁰  not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain.

Titus 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁴¹  a slave ⁴²  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ⁴³  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness,

Titus 1:10

1:10 For there are many ⁴⁴  rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections, ⁴⁵ 

[15:2]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master, Lord”). Since the tetragrammaton (YHWH) usually is pointed with the vowels for the Hebrew word אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “master”) to avoid pronouncing the divine name, that would lead in this place to a repetition of אֲדֹנָי. So the tetragrammaton is here pointed with the vowels for the word אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “God”) instead. That would produce the reading of the Hebrew as “Master, God” in the Jewish textual tradition. But the presence of “Master” before the holy name is rather compelling evidence that the original would have been “Master, Lord,” which is rendered here “sovereign Lord.”

[15:2]  ² tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.

[15:2]  ³ tn Heb “I am going.”

[15:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”

[15:2]  ⁵ tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).

[15:2]  ⁶ sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.

[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.

[10:7]  ²¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:7]  ²² tn Grk “eating and drinking the things from them” (an idiom for what the people in the house provide the guests).

[10:7]  ²³ sn On the phrase the worker deserves his pay see 1 Tim 5:18 and 1 Cor 9:14.

[12:42]  ²⁴ tn Grk “And the Lord said.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[12:42]  ²⁵ tn Or “administrator,” “steward” (L&N 37.39).

[12:42]  ²⁶ tn This term, θεραπεία (qerapeia), describes the group of servants working in a particular household (L&N 46.6).

[16:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:1]  ²⁸ tn These are not formal legal charges, but reports from friends, acquaintances, etc.; Grk “A certain man was rich who had a manager, and this one was reported to him as wasting his property.”

[16:1]  ²⁹ sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

[16:1]  ³⁰ tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

[16:2]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.

[16:2]  ³² tn Grk “him”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ³³ sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.

[16:2]  ³⁴ tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomo").

[16:1]  ³⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:1]  ³⁶ tn These are not formal legal charges, but reports from friends, acquaintances, etc.; Grk “A certain man was rich who had a manager, and this one was reported to him as wasting his property.”

[16:1]  ³⁷ sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

[16:1]  ³⁸ tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

[1:7]  ³⁹ sn The overseer is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in this passage and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between these verses and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[1:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “as God’s steward.”

[1:1]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁴² tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁴³ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

[1:10]  ⁴⁴ tc ‡ The earliest and best mss lack καί (kai) after πολλοί (polloi; so א A C P 088 81 104 365 614 629 630 al sy co), though the conjunction is found in several significant witnesses, chiefly of the Western and Byzantine texts (D F G I Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï lat). Although it is possible that some scribes omitted the word, thinking it was superfluous, it is also possible that others added the conjunction for clarification. Judging by the pedigree of the witnesses and the inconclusiveness of the internal evidence, the shorter reading is considered to be most likely original. NA²⁷ puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[1:10]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” Some translations take this to refer to Jewish converts to Christianity (cf. NAB “Jewish Christians”; TEV “converts from Judaism”; CEV “Jewish followers”) while others are less clear (cf. NLT “those who insist on circumcision for salvation”).