Genesis 39:1

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39:1 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.

Genesis 41:46

41:46 Now Joseph was 30 years old ⁴  when he began serving ⁵  Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by ⁶  Pharaoh and was in charge of ⁷  all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 42:6

42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. ⁸  Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down ⁹  before him with ¹⁰  their faces to the ground.

Genesis 46:4

46:4 I will go down with you to Egypt and I myself will certainly bring you back from there. ¹¹  Joseph will close your eyes.” ¹² 

[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.”

[41:46]  ⁴ tn Heb “a son of thirty years.”

[41:46]  ⁵ tn Heb “when he stood before.”

[41:46]  ⁶ tn Heb “went out from before.”

[41:46]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he passed through all the land of Egypt”; this phrase is interpreted by JPS to mean that Joseph “emerged in charge of the whole land.”

[42:6]  ⁷ tn The disjunctive clause either introduces a new episode in the unfolding drama or provides the reader with supplemental information necessary to understanding the story.

[42:6]  ⁸ sn Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. Here is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams (see Gen 37). But it is not the complete fulfillment, since all his brothers and his parents must come. The point of the dream, of course, was not simply to get the family to bow to Joseph, but that Joseph would be placed in a position of rule and authority to save the family and the world (41:57).

[42:6]  ⁹ tn The word “faces” is an adverbial accusative, so the preposition has been supplied in the translation.

[46:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I, I will bring you up, also bringing up.” The independent personal pronoun before the first person imperfect verbal form draws attention to the speaker/subject, while the infinitive absolute after the imperfect strongly emphasizes the statement: “I myself will certainly bring you up.”

[46:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes.” This is a promise of peaceful death in Egypt with Joseph present to close his eyes.