a Midjanite or descendant (native) of Midjan · conjunction + definite article + noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
sold
מָכְר֥וּma.khe.Ru
H4376
to sell · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
Egypt
מִצְרָ֑יִםmitz.Ra.yim
H4714
Mitsrajim · proper noun, a place name
Potiphar
לְפֽוֹטִיפַר֙le.fo.ti.Far
H6318
Potiphar · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
officer
סְרִ֣יסse.Ris
H5631
a eunuch · noun, common masculine singular construct
Pharaoh’s
פַּרְעֹ֔הpar.'Oh
H6547
Paroh · noun, masculine singular absolute
captain
שַׂ֖רsar
H8269
a head person (of any rank or class) · noun, common masculine singular construct
guard
הַטַּבָּחִֽיםha.ta.ba.Chim
H2876
properly · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 37:28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twent…
Genesis 40:4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.
Genesis 25:1-2 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
Genesis 39:1-23 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the…
2 Kings 25:8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-a…
Isaiah 56:3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people…
Esther 1:10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 37:31–end
I. Joseph would soon be missed, great enquiry would be made for him, and therefore his brethren have a further design, to make the world believe that Joseph was torn in pieces by a wild beast; and this they did, 1. To clear themselves, that they might not be suspected to have done him any mischief. Note, We have all learned of Adam to cover our transgression, Job 31:33. When the devil has taught men to commit one sin, he then teaches them to conceal it with another, theft and murder with lying and perjury; but he that covers his sin shall not prosper long. Joseph's brethren kept their own and one another's counsel for some time, but their villany came to light at last, and it is here publish…
and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son--not the earth, for Joseph was supposed to be torn in pieces, but the unknown place--the place of departed souls, where Jacob expected at death to meet his beloved son.
Next: Genesis Chapter 38
Adam Clarke on Genesis 37:36
Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's - The word סריס saris, translated officer, signifies a eunuch; and lest any person should imagine that because this Potiphar had a wife, therefore it is absurd to suppose him to have been a eunuch, let such persons know that it is not uncommon in the east for eunuchs to have wives, nay, some of them have even a harem or seraglio where they keep many women, though it does not appear that they have any progeny; and probably discontent on this ground might have contributed as much to the unfaithfulness of Potiphar's wife, as that less principled motive through which it is commonly believed she acted.
Captain of the guard - שר הטבחים sar kattabbachim, chief of t…
And the Midianites sold him into Egypt,.... Or Medanites, who sprung from Medan, a brother of Midian, and son of Keturah, Genesis 24:2; and were distinct from the Midianites, though they dwelt near them, and were now in company with them, and with the Ishmaelites, and were all concerned in the buying and selling of Joseph, and therefore this is sometimes ascribed to the one, and sometimes to the other:
unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh; the word is sometimes used for an eunuch, but cannot design one here, since Potiphar had a wife, and some say a child; but he either was a chamberlain, or however some officer at court, besides what follows:
and captain of the guard; of Pharoah's guard,…
The Church Fathers
WHAT WAS POTIPHAR? — And they sold Joseph into Egypt to Potiphar, the chief eunuch of the cooks . Some do not translate chief of the cooks, which corresponds to the Greek αρχιμαγειρος, but head of the militia, which would have the power to kill. This is also termed the one sent by Nebuchadnezzar (Cf. I Kgs. 25:8-9), who seems to have rather the head of the militia. [
Then Jacob sent Joseph to the flock that he might bring back to him a report on his brothers. But the brothers, by means of the cloak that was bespattered with blood, sent Jacob a report on Joseph. With no mercy they cast him into a pit in the desert, but they wept over Joseph with tears in the house. They sold him naked to the Arabs but wept over him and wailed in the presence of the Canaanites. They put irons on his hands and feet and sent him on his way but composed lamentations over him in the village. Joseph went down to Egypt and was sold; within a few days he had changed owners twice.
(Verse 36.) Now the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an eunuch of Pharaoh and the chief of the royal executioners. In many places the Scriptures mention the chief of the executioners as the chief of the cooks, for μαγειρεύειν in Greek means to cook. Therefore, Joseph was sold to the chief of the army and the warriors, not to Potiphar, as it is written in Latin, but to Potiphar the eunuch. The question arises, how he is later said to have a wife. The Hebrews report that Joseph was bought by this person because of his excessive beauty for a disgraceful service, and after the Lord's men were dried up, he was later chosen according to the custom of the Hierophants as the high priest of Heliopolis; and his daughter was Aseneth, whom Joseph later took as his wife.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Captain — (1.) Heb. sar (1 Sam. 22:2; 2 Sam. 23:19). Rendered “chief,” Gen. 40:2; 41:9; rendered also “prince,” Dan. 1:7; “ruler,” Judg. 9:30; “governor,’ 1 Kings 22:26. This same Hebrew word denotes a…
Chamberlain — A confidential servant of the king (Gen. 37:36; 39:1). In Rom. 16:23 mention is made of “Erastus the chamberlain.” Here the word denotes the treasurer of the city, or the quaestor, as the Romans…
Cherethim — (Ezek. 25:16), more frequently Cherethites, the inhabitants of Southern Philistia, the Philistines (Zeph. 2:5). The Cherethites and the Pelethites were David’s life-guards (1 Sam. 30:14; 2 Sam. 8:18;…
Executioner — (Mark 6:27). Instead of the Greek word, Mark here uses a Latin word, speculator, which literally means “a scout,” “a spy,” and at length came to denote one of the armed bodyguard of the emperor.…
Guard — (1.) Heb. tabbah (properly a “cook,” and in a secondary sense “executioner,” because this office fell to the lot of the cook in Eastern countries), the bodyguard of the kings of Egypt (Gen. 37:36)…
Joseph — Remover or increaser. (1.) The elder of the two sons of Jacob by Rachel (Gen. 30:23, 24), who, on the occasion of his birth, said, “God hath taken away [Heb. ‘asaph] my reproach.” “The Lord shall add…
Midianite — An Arabian tribe descended from Midian. They inhabited principally the desert north of the peninsula of Arabia. The peninsula of Sinai was the pasture-ground for their flocks. They were virtually the…
And the Midianites sold him into Egypt It was a sad spectacle, that Joseph should be thus driven from one hand to another. For it added no small indignity to his former suffering, that he is set to sale as a slave. The Lord, however, ceased not to care for him. He even suffered him to be transferred from hand to hand, in order that, at length, it might indeed appear, that he had come, by celestial guidance, to that very dominion which had been promised him in his dreams. Potiphar is called a eunuch, not because he was one really; but because, among the Orientals, it was usual to denote the satraps and princes of the court by that name. The Hebrews are not agreed respecting the dignity which…
But Joseph, while his father was mourning, was sold by the Midianites to Potiphar, the chief of Pharaoh's trabantes, to be first of all brought low, according to the wonderful counsel of God, and then to be exalted as ruler in Egypt, before whom his brethren would bow down, and as the saviour of the house of Israel. The name Potiphar is a contraction of Poti Pherah (Gen 41:50); the lxx render both Πετεφρής or Πετεφρῆ (vid., Gen 41:50). סריס (eunuch) is used here, as in Sa1 8:15 and in most of the passages of the Old Testament, for courtier or chamberlain, without regard to the primary meaning, as Potiphar was married. "Captain of the guard" (lit., captain of the slaughterers, i.e., the exe…
Executioner · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Ishmaelites · Merchants of, buy Joseph — Merchants of, buy Joseph
Joseph · .Is bought by Potiphar, an officer (LXX has “eu — .Is bought by Potiphar, an officer (LXX has “eu
Midianites · Buy Joseph and sell him to Potiphar — Buy Joseph and sell him to Potiphar
Potiphar · Joseph’ s master — Joseph’ s master
Servant · .Bought and — .Bought and
Servants · Slaves or bond: By purchase — Slaves or bond: By purchase
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
