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.
39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. 4 He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. 5 39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. 6 39:23 The warden did not concern himself 7 with anything that was in Joseph’s 8 care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.
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.
2 sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.
3 tn Heb “from the hand of.”
4 tn Heb “and he extended to him loyal love.”
5 tn Or “the chief jailer” (also in the following verses).
6 tn Heb “all which they were doing there, he was doing.” This probably means that Joseph was in charge of everything that went on in the prison.
7 tn Heb “was not looking at anything.”
8 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.