2sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.

3tn Heb “from the hand of.”

4tn Heb “and he was a prosperous man.” This does not mean that Joseph became wealthy, but that he was successful in what he was doing, or making progress in his situation (see 24:21).

5tn Heb “and he was.”

6tn The Hebrew text adds “in his hand,” a phrase not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

7sn 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.

8tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

9tn Heb “put into his hand.”

10tn Heb “and it was from then.”

11tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

12sn 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).

13tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

14sn 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.

15tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

16sn 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.

17tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

18tn Heb “did not know.”

19sn The expression except the food he ate probably refers to Potiphar’s private affairs and should not be limited literally to what he ate.

20tn Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel.

21tn Heb “she lifted up her eyes toward,” an expression that emphasizes her deliberate and careful scrutiny of him.

22tn Heb “lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

sn The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife has long been connected with the wisdom warnings about the strange woman who tries to seduce the young man with her boldness and directness (see Prov 5-7, especially 7:6-27). This is part of the literary background of the story of Joseph that gives it a wisdom flavor. See G. von Rad, God at Work in Israel, 19-35; and G. W. Coats, “The Joseph Story and Ancient Wisdom: A Reappraisal,” CBQ 35 (1973): 285-97.

23tn Heb “and he said.”

24tn Heb “know.”

25tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

26tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

27tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.

28tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator, followed by the infinitive construct with the preposition כְּ (k˙). This clause could therefore be taken as temporal.

29tn Heb “listen to.”

30tn Heb “to lie beside her to be with her.” Here the expression “to lie beside” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

31tn Heb “and it was about this day.”

32tn Heb “the men of the house.”

33tn Heb “he fled and he went out.” The construction emphasizes the point that Joseph got out of there quickly.

34sn For discussion of this episode, see A. M. Honeyman, “The Occasion of Joseph’s Temptation,” VT 2 (1952): 85-87.

35tn The verb has no expressed subject, and so it could be treated as a passive (“a Hebrew man was brought in”; cf. NIV). But it is clear from the context that her husband brought Joseph into the household, so Potiphar is the apparent referent here. Thus the translation supplies “my husband” as the referent of the unspecified pronominal subject of the verb (cf. NEB, NRSV).

36sn A Hebrew man. Potiphar’s wife raises the ethnic issue when talking to her servants about what their boss had done.

37tn Heb “to make fun of us.” The verb translated “to humiliate us” here means to hold something up for ridicule, or to toy with something harmfully. Attempted rape would be such an activity, for it would hold the victim in contempt.

38tn Heb “he came to me to lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

39tn Heb “and I cried out with a loud voice.”

40tn Heb “that I raised.”

41tn Heb “and she spoke to him according to these words, saying.”

42sn That Hebrew slave. Now, when speaking to her husband, Potiphar’s wife refers to Joseph as a Hebrew slave, a very demeaning description.

43tn Heb “came to me to make fun of me.” The statement needs no explanation because of the connotations of “came to me” and “to make fun of me.” See the note on the expression “humiliate us” in v. 14.

44tn Heb “and when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying.”

45tn Heb “according to these words.”

46tn Heb “did to me.”

47tn Heb “his anger burned.”

48tn Heb “the house of roundness,” suggesting that the prison might have been a fortress or citadel.

49sn The story of Joseph is filled with cycles and repetition: He has two dreams (chap. 37), he interprets two dreams in prison (chap. 40) and the two dreams of Pharaoh (chap. 41), his brothers make two trips to see him (chaps. 42-43), and here, for the second time (see 37:24), he is imprisoned for no good reason, with only his coat being used as evidence. For further discussion see H. Jacobsen, “A Legal Note on Potiphar’s Wife,” HTR 69 (1976): 177.

50tn Heb “and he extended to him loyal love.”

51tn Or “the chief jailer” (also in the following verses).

52tn 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.

53tn Heb “was not looking at anything.”

54tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.