The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.
Parallel Translations
-
The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.
-
And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.
-
And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Genesis 37:36 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 37:28 Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The merchants brought Joseph into Egypt.
- Genesis 40:4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he took care of them. They stayed in prison many days.
- Genesis 25:1-2 Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
- Genesis 39:1-23 Joseph was brought down to Egypt. Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites that had brought him down there. Yahweh was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master the Egyptian. His master saw that Yahweh was with him, and that Yahweh made all that he did prosper in his hand. Joseph found favor in his sight. He ministered to him, and Potiphar made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. From the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, Yahweh blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake. Yahweh’s blessing was on all that he had, in the house and in the field. He left all that he had in Joseph’s hand. He didn’t concern himself with anything, except for the food which he ate. Joseph was well-built and handsome. After these things, his master’s wife set her eyes on Joseph; and she said, “Lie with me.” But he refused, and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, my master doesn’t know what is with me in the house, and he has put all that he has into my hand. No one is greater in this house than I am, and he has not kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” As she spoke to Joseph day by day, he didn’t listen to her, to lie by her, or to be with her. About this time, he went into the house to do his work, and there were none of the men of the house inside. She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” He left his garment in her hand, and ran outside. When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had run outside, she called to the men of her house, and spoke to them, saying, “Behold, he has brought a Hebrew in to us to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice. When he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment by me, and ran outside.” She laid up his garment by her, until his master came home. She spoke to him according to these words, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought to us, came in to me to mock me, and as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment by me, and ran outside.” When his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your servant did to me,” his wrath was kindled. Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were bound, and he was there in custody. But Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. The keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever they did there, he was responsible for it. The keeper of the prison didn’t look after anything that was under his hand, because Yahweh was with him; and that which he did, Yahweh made it prosper.
- 2 Kings 25:8 Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 56:3 Let no foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh speak, saying, “Yahweh will surely separate me from his people.” Do not let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
- 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 Carcass, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 36. And the Midianites sold him into Egypt It…
36. 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 Moses ascribes to him; for some explain it as the “chief of the slaughterers,” whom the Greek interpreters follow. But I rather agree with others, who say that he was “the prefect of the soldiers;” not that he had the command of the whole army, but because he had the royal troops under his hand and authority: such are now the captains of the guard, if you join with it another office which the prefects of the prison exercise. For this may be gathered from Genesis 39:1
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Or, captain of the guard.
Or, captain of the guard.
Which word doth not always signify him that is gelded, but also him that is in some high dignity.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 37:36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt…
Gen 37:36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, [and] captain of the guard.
Ver. 36. And the Midianites.] Little knew Joseph what God was in doing. Have patience, till he have brought both ends together.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Whose office it was to apprehend and punish criminal…
Whose office it was to apprehend and punish criminal persons. See Gen 40:3; Jer 39:9; Mar 6:27.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 36. Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's] The word…
Verse 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 the butchers; a most appropriate name for the guards of an eastern despot. If a person offend one of the despotic eastern princes, the order to one of the life-guards is, Go and bring me his head; and this command is instantly obeyed, without judge, jury, or any form of law. Potiphar, we may therefore suppose, was captain of those guards whose business it was to take care of the royal person, and execute his sovereign will on all the objects of his displeasure. Reader, if thou hast the happiness to live under the British constitution, be thankful to God. Here, the will, the power, and utmost influence of the king, were he even so disposed, cannot deprive the meanest subject of his property, his liberty, or his life. All the solemn legal forms of justice must be consulted; the culprit, however accused, be heard by himself and his counsel; and in the end twelve honest, impartial men, chosen from among his fellows, shall decide on the validity of the evidence produced by the accuser. For the trial by jury, as well as for innumerable political blessings, may God make the inhabitants of Great Britain thankful!
Read full note →
1. WITH this chapter the history of Joseph commences, and sets before our eyes such a scene of wonders wrought by Divine Providence in such a variety of surprising instances, as cannot fail to confirm our faith in God, show the propriety of resignation to his will, and confidence in his dispensations, and prove that all things work together for good to them that love him. Joseph has often been considered as a type of Christ, and this subject in the hands of different persons has assumed a great variety of colouring. The following parallels appear the most probable; but I shall not pledge myself for the propriety of any of them: "Jesus Christ, prefigured by Joseph, the beloved of his father, and by him sent to visit his brethren, is the innocent person whom his brethren sold for a few pieces of silver, the bargain proposed by his brother Judah, (Greek Judas,) the very namesake of that disciple and brother (for so Christ vouchsafes to call him) who sold his Lord and Master; and who by this means became their Lord and Saviour; nay, the Saviour of strangers, and of the whole world; which had not happened but for this plot of destroying him, the act of rejecting, and exposing him to sale. In both examples we find the same fortune and the same innocence: Joseph in the prison between two criminals; Jesus on the cross between two thieves. Joseph foretells deliverance to one of his companions and death to the other, from the same omens: of the two thieves, one reviles Christ, and perishes in his crimes; the other believes, and is assured of a speedy entrance into paradise. Joseph requests the person that should be delivered to be mindful of him in his glory; the person saved by Jesus Christ entreats his deliverer to remember him when he came into his kingdom." - See Pascal's Thoughts. Parallels and coincidences of this kind should always be received cautiously, for where the Spirit of God has not marked a direct resemblance, and obviously referred to it as such in some other part of his word, it is bold, if not dangerous, to say "such and such things and persons are types of Christ." We have instances sufficiently numerous, legitimately attested, without having recourse to those which are of dubious import and precarious application. See the observation on Clarke "Ge 40:23".
2. Envy has been defined, "pain felt, and malignity conceived, at the sight of excellence or happiness in another." Under this detestable passion did the brethren of Joseph labour; and had not God particularly interposed, it would have destroyed both its subjects and its object, Perhaps there is no vice which so directly filiates itself on Satan, as this does. In opposition to the assertion that we cannot envy that by which we profit, it may be safely replied that we may envy our neighbour's wisdom, though he gives us good counsel; his riches, though he supplies our wants; and his greatness, though he employs it for our protection.
3. How ruinous are family distractions! A house divided against itself cannot stand. Parents should take good heed that their own conduct be not the first and most powerful cause of such dissensions, by exciting envy in some of their children through undue partiality to others; but it is in vain to speak to most parents on the subject; they will give way to foolish predilections, till, in the prevailing distractions of their families, they meet with the punishment of their imprudence, when regrets are vain, and the evil past remedy.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain An eunuch. This word sometimes signifies a chamberlain, courtier,…
An eunuch. This word sometimes signifies a chamberlain, courtier, or officer of the king: and so it is taken in this place. (Challoner) --- Soldiers, cooks, or butchers. Hebrew tabachim, executioners, mactantium. He might also be chief sacrificer, governor of the prisons, &c., all these employments were anciently very honourable, Daniel ii. 14. The providence of God never shines more brightly in any part of the Scripture, than in this history of Joseph, except in that of Jesus Christ, of whom Joseph was a beautiful figure. He was born when his father was grown old, as Jesus was in the last age of the world; he was a son increasing, as Jesus waxed in age and grace before God and men; both were beloved by their father, both comely, &c. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 36. Potiphar — “A eunuch of Pharaoh: this is…
36. Potiphar — “A eunuch of Pharaoh: this is the primary meaning, although the word came afterwards to mean officer in general, since the officers about the royal person were usually eunuchs.
Captain of the guard — Rendered literally in the margin, ‘chief of the executioners, chief marshall,’ an appropriate title for the officer who executed the arbitrary and summary sentences of the Pharaohs.” — Newhall.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 36. Midianites] Heb. Medanites. This verse, from E, resumes…
36. Midianites] Heb. Medanites. This verse, from E, resumes the narrative from Gen_37:29-30.
Potiphar] An Egyptian name, denoting “the gift of Ra,” the sun-god. It appears as “Potiphera,” Gen_41:45, Gen_46:20. LXX Πετεφρῆς, Lat. Putiphar, reproducing the Egyptian Pedephrç = “he whom the sun-god gives.”
Read full note →
officer] Lit. “eunuch.” Probably a word used to denote an official about the court. Heb. saris, LXX σπάδων, Lat. eunuchus. Some Assyriologists prefer the derivation from ša rêši = “he who is the head.” But there seems to be no sufficient reason to call in question the meaning which the word has in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. The class to which the saris belonged has always infested Oriental courts, and the name was therefore likely to acquire a general significance as “a court official.” Cf. 2Ki_18:17 (Rab-saris); Jer_39:3; Jer_39:13; Dan_1:3.
Pharaoh] i.e. the king of Egypt. The title, but not the personal name, of the sovereign: see note on Gen_12:15.
captain of the guard] Heb. chief of the executioners, and, as such, having charge of the prisoners (Gen_40:3-4, Gen_41:12). Cf. “captain of the guard,” 2Ki_25:8; Jer_39:9; Jer_41:10; Jer_43:6; Jer_52:12; Dan_2:14. Another very possible rendering is “chief of the butchers” (cf. Gen_40:2, “chief of the bakers”), the officer over the men who killed the animals for the food of the king’s house, and one of the principal officials in an ancient court. The Heb. word in the sing. is “cook” in 1Sa_9:23-24, i.e. the man who killed the animal for food and cooked it.
If so, the rendering of the LXX ἀρχιμάγειρος, “head cook,” “head of the kitchen department,” is nearer the truth than that of the Lat. magister militum.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (36) Midianites.—Heb., Medanites. (See Note on Gen_37:25.)
(36) Midianites.—Heb., Medanites. (See Note on Gen_37:25.)
Potiphar.—Three chief interpretations are given of this name The first explains it by two Coptic words, according to which it would signify “father of the king.” This would make it an official name equivalent to prime minister or vizier. Gesenius considers it to be the same name as Potipherah (Gen_41:50), and explains it as meaning “consecrated to Ra,” that is, the sun-god. Thirdly, Canon Cook, in the “Excursus on Egyptian Words,” at the end of Vol. I. of The Speaker’s Commentary, argues with much cogency, that it means “father of the palace.” This again would be an official name.
Read full note →
An officer.—Though this word literally in Hebrew signifies an eunuch, yet either, as seems probable from other places, it had come to mean any officer of the palace, or Potiphar was chief of the eunuchs, and therefore is himself numbered among them.
Captain of the guard.—Heb., chief of the slaughterers, by which the LXX. understand the slaughterers of animals for food, and translate “chief cook.” The other versions understand by it the commander of the king’s body-guard, whose business it would be to execute condemned criminals. A comparison with 2Ki_25:8, where the same title is given to Nebuzar-adan, proves that this interpretation is correct.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And the Midianites or Medanites, descendants of Medan, a…
And the Midianites or Medanites, descendants of Medan, a brother of Midian, both of whom were sons of Abraham by Keturah. (Gen_25:2) That the Arabian merchants are called Ishmaelites (ver. 27), Midianites (ver. 28), and Medanites (ver. 36), is explained as an evidence of varying legends (Tuch, Bleek, Davidson, Colenso), but is better accounted for as indicating that the traders were composed of men of various nations (Clericus); that the Midianites, Ishmaelites, and Medanites were often confounded from their common parentage and closely similar habits (Keil); that the narrator did not intend to lay stress upon the nationality, but upon the occupation, of the travelers (Havernick); that the proprietors of the caravan were Ishmaelites, and the company attending it Midianites or Medanites (Lange); that the Ishmaelites were the genus, and the Midianites and Medanites the species, of the same nation (Rosenm Quarry); that the Midianites or Medanites were the actual purchasers of Joseph, while the caravan took its name from the Ishmaelites, who formed the larger portion of it (Murphy)sold him into Egypt (i.e. having brought him into Egypt, perhaps, as Luther conjectures, passing through Hebron on the way, sold him) unto Potiphar, the name is abbreviated from Poti-Phera, (Gen_41:50) i.e. he who belongs to the sun (Gesenius, sub voce). The LXX render Petefrhv or Petefrhan officer syris; from srs; an unused root signifying to pull up by the roots, originally means a eunuch, (Isa_56:3, Isa_56:4) such as Orientalmonarchs were accustomed to set over their harems, (Est_2:3, Est_2:14, 15 4:5) but is here employed to denote an officer or courtier generally, without any reference to the primary signification, since Potiphar was marriedof Pharaoh"s, (vide Gen_12:15) and captain of the guard literally, captain of the slaughterers, i.e. chief officer of the executioners, the nature of whoso duties may be understood from the fact that he was keeper of the State prison, "where the king"s prisoners were bound". (Gen_39:20)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 37:36 sold Joseph to Potiphar: Joseph found himself in…
37:36 sold Joseph to Potiphar: Joseph found himself in a place of service that seemed congruent with his rise to authority, yet he still faced more testing.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.