Genesis 37:36

37:36 Now ¹  in Egypt the Midianites ²  sold Joseph ³  to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. ⁴ 

Genesis 40:4

40:4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be their attendant, and he served them. ⁵ 

They spent some time in custody. ⁶ 

Genesis 39:1

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. ⁷  An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, ⁸  purchased him from ⁹  the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.

Genesis 40:3

40:3 so he imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard in the same facility where Joseph was confined.

Genesis 41:10

41:10 Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards – me and the chief baker.

Genesis 41:12

41:12 Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant ¹⁰  of the captain of the guards, ¹¹  was with us there. We told him our dreams, ¹²  and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. ¹³ 

[37:36]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause formally signals closure for this episode of Joseph’s story, which will be resumed in Gen 39.

[37:36]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:36]  ⁴ sn The expression captain of the guard might indicate that Potiphar was the chief executioner.

[40:4]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “they were days in custody.”

[39:1]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.

[39:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from the hand of.”

[41:12]  ¹³ tn Or “slave.”

[41:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a servant to the captain of the guards.” On this construction see GKC 419-20 §129.c.

[41:12]  ¹⁵ tn The words “our dreams” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he interpreted for us our dreams, each according to his dream he interpreted.”