Genesis 26:26

26:26 Now Abimelech had come ¹  to him from Gerar along with ²  Ahuzzah his friend ³  and Phicol the commander of his army.

Genesis 37:36

37:36 Now ⁴  in Egypt the Midianites ⁵  sold Joseph ⁶  to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. ⁷ 

Genesis 40:4

40:4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be their attendant, and he served them. ⁸ 

They spent some time in custody. ⁹ 

Genesis 40:9

40:9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: ¹⁰  “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me.

Genesis 40:21

40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his former position ¹¹  so that he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand,

Genesis 41:9

41:9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures. ¹² 

[26:26]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”

[26:26]  ² tn Heb “and.”

[26:26]  ³ tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.

[37:36]  ⁴ tn The disjunctive clause formally signals closure for this episode of Joseph’s story, which will be resumed in Gen 39.

[37:36]  ⁵ tc The MT spells the name of the merchants as מְדָנִים (mÿdanim, “Medanites”) rather than מִדְיָנִים (midyanim, “Midianites”) as in v. 28. It is likely that the MT is corrupt at this point, with the letter yod (י) being accidentally omitted. The LXX, Vulgate, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Syriac read “Midianites” here. Some prefer to read “Medanites” both here and in v. 28, but Judg 8:24, which identifies the Midianites and Ishmaelites, favors the reading “Midianites.”

[37:36]  ⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:36]  ⁷ sn The expression captain of the guard might indicate that Potiphar was the chief executioner.

[40:4]  ⁷ 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.

[40:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “they were days in custody.”

[40:9]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds “and he said to him.” This has not been translated because it is redundant in English.

[40:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “his cupbearing.”

[41:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “sins, offenses.” He probably refers here to the offenses that landed him in prison (see 40:1).