Genesis 24:2

24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one ¹  in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh ² 

Genesis 24:10

24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. ³  He journeyed ⁴  to the region of Aram Naharaim ⁵  and the city of Nahor.

Genesis 39:4-6

39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. ⁶  Potiphar appointed Joseph ⁷  overseer of his household and put him in charge ⁸  of everything he owned. 39:5 From the time ⁹  Potiphar ¹⁰  appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed ¹¹  the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both ¹²  in his house and in his fields. ¹³  39:6 So Potiphar ¹⁴  left ¹⁵  everything he had in Joseph’s care; ¹⁶  he gave no thought ¹⁷  to anything except the food he ate. ¹⁸ 

Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. ¹⁹ 

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 ²⁰  such a great evil and sin against God?”

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.

Genesis 44:1

The Final Test

44:1 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.

Proverbs 17:2

17:2 A servant who acts wisely ²¹  will rule

over ²²  an heir ²³  who behaves shamefully, ²⁴ 

and will share the inheritance along with the relatives. ²⁵ 

[24:2]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).

[24:2]  ² sn Put your hand under my thigh. The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, “Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath,” BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.

[24:10]  ³ tn Heb “and every good thing of his master was in his hand.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, explaining that he took all kinds of gifts to be used at his discretion.

[24:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he arose and went.”

[24:10]  ⁵ tn The words “the region of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[39:4]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “put into his hand.”

[39:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “and it was from then.”

[39:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:5]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:5]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:6]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

[39:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “did not know.”

[39:6]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel.

[39:9]  ²⁰ tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.

[17:2]  ²¹ sn The setting is in the ancient world where a servant rarely advanced beyond his or her station in life. But there are notable exceptions (e.g., Gen 15:3 where the possibility is mentioned, 1 Chr 2:35 where it changed through marriage, and 2 Sam 16:1-4; 19:24-30, with the story of Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth). This proverb focuses on a servant who is wise, one who uses all his abilities effectively – a Joseph figure.

[17:2]  ²² sn The parallelism indicates that “ruling over” and “sharing in the inheritance” means that the disgraceful son will be disinherited.

[17:2]  ²³ tn Heb “son.”

[17:2]  ²⁴ tn The form מֵבִישׁ (mevish) is a Hiphil participle, modifying בֵן (ben). This original heir would then be one who caused shame or disgrace to the family, probably by showing a complete lack of wisdom in the choices he made.

[17:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “in the midst of the brothers”; NIV “as one of the brothers.”