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  39:2–4 successful…overseer of his house. This involved the authority and trust as the steward of the whole estate (v. 5, “house and field” and v. 9, “no one greater”), one of the criteria for which was trust. No doubt Joseph was conversant in the Egyptian language (see note on 29:9).

  39:5 blessing of the LORD. Joseph was experiencing fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, even at that time before Israel was in the Land (see 12:1–3).

  39:6 except for the bread which he ate. Since Joseph proved trustworthy enough to need no oversight, his master concerned himself only with his own meals or his very own personal affairs. Joseph himself remarked that Potiphar had delegated to him so much, that he no longer knew the full extent of his own business affairs (v. 8); in fact, he knew only what was set before him (v. 6).

  39:9 this great wickedness. Joseph explained, when first tempted, that adultery would be a gross violation of his ethical convictions which demanded 1) the utmost respect for his master and 2) a life of holiness before his God. Far more was involved than compliance with the letter of an ancient Near Eastern law-code, many of which did forbid adultery, but rather obedience to the moral standards belonging to one who walked with God, and that long before Mosaic law-code prescriptions applied (cf. Ps. 51:4).

  39:10–18 Her incessant efforts to seduce Joseph failed in the face of his strong convictions not to yield nor be compromised. At flashpoint, Joseph fled! Based on false accusations, Joseph was deemed guilty and imprisoned. Cf. 2 Tim. 2:22 for a NT picture of Joseph’s attitude.

  39:12 his garment. See 37:31–35 for the other time one of Joseph’s cloaks was used in a conspiracy against him.

  39:17 Hebrew servant. This term was used by Potiphar’s wife as a pejorative, intended to heap scorn upon someone considered definitely unworthy of any respect. Its use may also suggest some latent attitudes toward dwellers in Canaan, which could be aggravated to her advantage. Potiphar’s wife also neatly shifted the blame onto her husband for having hired the Hebrew in the first place (vv. 16–18) and stated this also before the servants (v. 14).

  39:19, 20 The death penalty for adultery may not have applied to a charge of attempted adultery, attempted seduction or rape (cf. vv. 14, 18), so Potiphar consigned Joseph to the prison reserved for royal servants, from where, in the providence of God, he would be summoned into Pharaoh’s presence and begin the next stage of his life (cf. chaps. 40, 41). See note on 40:3, 4.

  39:21 showed him mercy. God did not permit this initial painful imprisonment to continue (cf. Ps. 105:18, 19).

  39:22, 23 Once again Joseph, though in circumstances considerably less comfortable than Potiphar’s home, rose to a position of trust and authority and proved to be trustworthy enough not to need any oversight.

  Genesis 40

  40:1 the king of Egypt. To be identified as Senusert II, ca. 1894–1878 B.C.

  40:2 the chief butler and the chief baker. Both these occupations and ranks in Pharaoh’s court are attested in existing ancient Egyptian documents. The “butler” was the king’s cupbearer, who gave him his drinks. The baker cooked his bread. Both had to be trustworthy and beyond the influence of the monarch’s enemies.

  40:3, 4 captain of the guard. See note on 37:36. If this was Potiphar, the captain of the guard, then Joseph’s former master directed him to attend to the two royal servants remanded into his custody until sentence was past. This prison was also called “the house of the captain of the guard” (v. 3), “his lord’s house” (v. 7), and “dungeon” (40:15; 41:14), unless Joseph had been moved to another penal facility.

  40:5 dream. Oneiromancy, the science or practice of interpreting dreams, flourished in ancient Egypt because dreams were thought to determine the future. Both Egypt and Babylon developed a professional class of dream interpreters. Deuteronomy 13:1–5 shows that such dream interpreters were part of ancient false religion and to be avoided by God’s people. By some 500 years later, a detailed manual of dream interpretation had been compiled. Unlike Joseph, neither butler nor baker understood the significance of their dreams (cf. 37:5–11).

  40:8 interpretations belong to God. Joseph was careful to give credit to his Lord (cf. 41:16). Daniel, the only other Hebrew whom God allowed to accurately interpret revelatory dreams, was just as careful to do so (Dan. 2:28). Significantly, God chose both men to play an important role for Israel while serving pagan monarchs and stepping forward at the critical moment to interpret their dreams and reveal their futures.

  40:9–13 the chief butler. Consistent with his duty as the cupbearer to the king, he dreamed of a drink prepared for Pharaoh. It was a sign that he would be released and returned to his position (v. 13).

  40:14, 15 remember me. A poignant appeal to the butler, whose future was secure, to speak a word for Joseph’s freedom, because he knew butlers had the ear of kings. The butler quickly forgot Joseph (v. 23) until his memory was prompted just at the right moment two years later (41:1, 9).

  40:15 the land of the Hebrews. Giving this designation to the land of Canaan indicates that Joseph understood the land promise of the Abrahamic Covenant.

  40:16 the interpretation was good. The chief baker, noting some similarity in the dreams, was encouraged to request interpretation of his dream. Joseph’s words employ a subtle play upon words: the butler’s head would be “lifted up” (v. 13) but the baker’s would be “lifted off” (v. 18).

  40:20 Pharaoh’s birthday. The Rosetta Stone (discovered in A.D. 1799, this is a trilingual artifact from Egyptian antiquity, ca. 196 B.C., whose Greek inscription enabled linguists to understand the language of hieroglyphics) records a custom of releasing Pharaoh’s prisoners, but at this party held for his servants, Pharaoh rendered two very different kinds of judgment (vv. 21, 22).

  Genesis 41

  41:1 the river. Probably the Nile River, which dominated Egyptian life.

  41:8 no one who could interpret. The combined expertise of a full council of Pharaoh’s advisers and dream experts, all of whom had been summoned into his presence, failed to provide an interpretation of the two disturbing dreams. Without knowing it, they had just set the stage for Joseph’s entrance on the scene of Egyptian history.

  41:9 Then the chief butler spoke. With memory suitably prompted, the butler apologized for his neglect (“I remember my faults”), and apprised Pharaoh of the Hebrew prisoner and his accurate interpretation of dreams two years earlier (vv. 10–13).

  41:14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph. The urgent summons had Joseph in front of Pharaoh with minimum delay, in prized, clean-shaven Egyptian style for a proper appearance.

  41:16 It is not in me; God will give. Deprecating any innate ability, Joseph advised at the very outset that the answer Pharaoh desired could only come from God.

  41:25 God has shown. Joseph’s interpretation kept the focus fixed upon what God had determined for Egypt (vv. 28, 32).

  41:33–36 After interpreting the dream, Joseph told Pharaoh how to survive the next 14 years. Incongruously, Joseph, a slave and a prisoner, appended to the interpretation a long-term strategy for establishing reserves to meet the future need, and included advice on the quality of the man to head up the project. Famines had ravaged Egypt before, but this time divine warning permitted serious and sustained advance planning.

  41:37–41 To Pharaoh and his royal retinue, no other candidate but Joseph qualified for the task of working out this good plan, because they recognized that he spoke God-given revelation and insight (v. 39). Joseph’s focus on his Lord had taken him from prison to the palace quickly (v. 41).

  41:38 Spirit of God. The Egyptians did not understand about the third person of the triune Godhead. They merely meant that God had assisted Joseph, thus “spirit” would be more appropriate than “Spirit.”

  41:41 set you over all the land of Egypt. The country-wide jurisdiction accorded to Joseph receives frequent mention in the narrative (vv. 43, 44, 46, 55; 42:6; 45:8).

  41:42 signet ring…garments…gold chain. Emblems of office and a reward of
clothing and jewelry suitable to the new rank accompanied Pharaoh’s appointment of Joseph as vizier, or prime minister, the second-in-command (v. 40; 45:8, 26). Joseph wore the royal seal on his finger, authorizing him to transact the affairs of state on behalf of Pharaoh himself.

  41:43–45 Other awards appropriate to promotion were also bestowed upon Joseph, namely official and recognizable transportation (v. 43), an Egyptian name (v. 45), and an Egyptian wife (v. 45). Further, the populace was commanded to show deference for their vizier (v. 43, “bow the knee”). All these dreams had been revealed by God, in a rare display of manifesting truth through pagans, so that Joseph would be established in Egypt as a leader and, thus elevated, could be used for the preservation of God’s people when the famine came to Canaan. Thus, God cared for His people and fulfilled His promises (see note on 45:1–8).

  41:43 the second chariot. This signified to all that Joseph was second-in-command.

  41:45 Zaphnath-Paaneah. This name probably means “The Nourisher of the Two Lands, the Living One” but various other proposals have also been suggested (see marginal note); certainty of that meaning still eludes scholars. Foreigners are known to have been assigned an Egyptian name.

  41:46 thirty years old. Ca. 1884 B.C. Only 13 years had elapsed since his involuntary departure from “the land of the Hebrews” (cf. 40:15). Joseph had been 17 when the narrative commenced (37:2).

  41:50 On. One of the 4 great Egyptian cities, also called Heliopolis, which was known as the chief city of the sun god, Ra. It was located ca. 19 mi. N of ancient Memphis.

  41:51, 52 Manasseh…Ephraim. The names, meaning “forgetful” and “fruitful,” assigned to his sons together with their explanations depict the centrality of God in Joseph’s worldview. Years of suffering, pagan presence, and separation from his own family had not harmed his faith.

  41:54–57 Use of hyperbole with “all” (vv. 54, 56, 57) emphatically indicates the widespread ravaging impact of famine far beyond Egypt’s borders. She had become indeed the “breadbasket” of the ancient world.

  41:55, 56 Go to Joseph. After 7 years, Joseph’s authority remained intact, and Pharaoh still fully trusted his vizier. He dispensed the food supplies by sale to Egyptians and others (v. 47).

  Genesis 42

  42:1–3 Jacob’s sons were paralyzed in the famine, and Jacob was reluctant to let his family return to Egypt, not knowing what would happen to them (v. 4). But, with no other choice left, he dispatched them to buy grain in Egypt (v. 2).

  42:4 Benjamin. See 35:16–19. He was the youngest of all, the second son of Rachel, Jacob’s beloved, and the favorite of his father since he thought Joseph was dead.

  42:6 bowed down. Without their appreciating it at the time, Joseph’s dream became reality (37:5–8). Recognition of Joseph was unlikely because: 1) over 15 years had elapsed and the teenager sold into slavery had become a mature adult; 2) he had become Egyptian in appearance and dress; 3) he treated them without a hint of familiarity (vv. 7, 8); and 4) they thought he was dead (v. 13).

  42:9–22 The brothers’ final evaluation after being imprisoned for 3 days, after protesting the charge of espionage, and after hearing the royal criterion for establishing their innocence (vv. 15, 20), revealed their guilty conscience and their understanding that vengeance for their wrongdoing to Joseph had probably arrived (vv. 21, 22). Calling themselves “honest men” (v. 10) was hardly an accurate assessment.

  42:9 remembered the dreams. Joseph remembered his boyhood dreams about his brothers bowing down to him (37:9) as they were coming true.

  42:15 By the life of Pharaoh. Speaking an oath in the name of the king would most likely have masked Joseph’s identity from the brothers. Perhaps it also prevented them from grasping the significance of his declaration, “I fear God” (v. 18). unless your youngest brother comes. Joseph wanted to find out if they had done the same or a similar thing to Benjamin as to himself.

  42:19, 20 If you are honest men. Joseph took their assessment of themselves at face value when exhorting them to respond to his proposals, but still asked for a hostage.

  42:21 anguish of his soul. The brothers had steeled their hearts when selling Joseph to the Midianites (37:28, 29), but they could not forget the fervent pleading and terror-filled voice of the teenager dragged away as a slave from home. Reuben reminded them of his warning at that time and the consequence.

  42:22 blood…required of us. This declaration referred to the death penalty (9:5).

  42:24 took Simeon. He kept hostage not Reuben the firstborn, but Simeon, the oldest brother, who willingly participated in the crime against Joseph (37:21–31).

  42:28 God has done. Their guilty conscience and fear of vengeance from God surfaced again in this response to the money with which they had purchased the grain being returned and found in the one sack which had been opened. Later, upon discovering all their money had been returned, their fear increased even further (v. 35).

  42:36 Jacob could not handle the prospect of losing another son, and didn’t trust the brothers who had already divested him of two sons by what he may have thought were their intrigues. All… against me. The whole situation overwhelmed Jacob who complained against his sons (cf. 43:6) and would not release Benjamin (v. 38).

  42:37 The always salutary Reuben generously made his father an offer easy to refuse—killing his grandsons!

  Genesis 43

  43:3 solemnly warned us. The seriousness of Joseph’s words portended failure for another mission to buy food, unless the criterion he had set down was strictly met.

  43:9 I myself will be surety for him. Reuben’s offer to guarantee the safety of Benjamin had been rejected (42:37, 38), but Judah’s was accepted (v. 11) because of the stress of the famine and the potential death of all (v. 8) if they waited much longer (v. 10).

  43:11 a little. Likely, this was a significant present because they had little left. But there was no future at all past the little if they did not get grain in Egypt.

  43:14 Jacob’s acquiescence to let Benjamin go (v. 13) ended with prayer for the brothers’ and Benjamin’s safety and with a cry of being a helpless victim of circumstances. Pessimism had apparently set into his heart and deepened after the loss of Joseph.

  43:23 Your God…has given. An indication of Joseph’s steward either having come to faith in God or having become very familiar with how Joseph talked of his God and life. So concerned were the brothers to protest their ignorance of the means of the money being returned and to express their desire to settle this debt (vv. 20–22), that they missed the steward’s clear reference to the God of Israel (“the God of your father”) and his oversight of events in which he had played a part (“I had your money”).

  43:26 bowed down. Again, Joseph’s boyhood dream (37:5–8) had become reality (cf. 42:6).

  43:29 God be gracious. Joseph easily used the name of God in his conversation, but the brothers did not hear the name of their own covenant God being spoken by one who looked just like an Egyptian (cf. 42:18).

  43:30 to weep. Joseph was moved to tears on several occasions (42:24; 45:2, 14, 15; 46:29).

  43:32 not eat food with the Hebrews. Exclusivism kept the Egyptians sensitive to the social stigma attached to sharing a meal table with foreigners (cf. 46:34). Discrimination prevailed at another level too: Joseph ate alone, his rank putting him ahead of others and giving him his own meal-table and setting.

  43:33 the firstborn…the youngest. To be seated at the table in birth order in the house of an Egyptian official was startling—how did he know this of them? Enough clues had been given in Joseph’s previous questions about the family and his use of God’s name for them to wonder about him and his personal knowledge of them. Obviously, they simply did not believe Joseph was alive (44:20) and certainly not as a personage of such immense influence and authority. They had probably laughed through the years at the memory of Joseph’s dreams of superiority.

  43:34 Benjamin’s serving. Favoritism shown to Rachel’s son silently tested their att
itudes; any longstanding envy, dislike, or animosity could not be easily masked. None surfaced.

  Genesis 44

  44:2 my cup, the silver cup. Joseph’s own special cup, also described as one connected with divination (vv. 5, 15) or hydromancy (interpreting the water movements), was a sacred vessel symbolizing the authority of his office of Egyptian vizier. Mention of its superstitious nature and purpose need not demand Joseph be an actual practitioner of pagan religious rites. See note on v. 15.

  44:5 divination. See note on Deut. 18:9–12.

  44:7–9 The brothers, facing a charge of theft, protested their innocence by pointing first to their integrity in returning the money from the last trip, and then by declaring death on the perpetrator and slavery for themselves.

  44:12 began with the oldest. Again, there was a display of inside knowledge of the family, which ought to have signaled something to the brothers. See note on 43:33.

  44:13 tore their clothes. A well known ancient Near Eastern custom of visibly portraying the pain of heart being experienced. They were very upset that Benjamin might become a slave in Egypt (v. 10). Benjamin appears to have been speechless. They had passed a second test of devotion to Benjamin (the first in v. 34).

  44:14 fell before him. Again the dream had become reality (cf. 37:5–8; 42:6); but now prostrate before him, they had come to plead for mercy both for their youngest brother Benjamin and for their father Jacob (vv. 18–34).

  44:15 practice divination. See notes on vv. 2, 5. Joseph, still disguising himself as an Egyptian official before his brothers, permitted them to think it so.

  44:16 Then Judah said. Judah stepped forward as the family spokesman since it was he who came with his brothers to Joseph’s house and he who pled with him (cf. vv. 14, 18); Reuben, the firstborn, had been eclipsed. God has found out the iniquity. Judah, showing how his heart had changed, acknowledged the providence of God in uncovering their guilt (note the “we” in the questions), and did not indulge in any blame shifting, even onto Benjamin.