Bible Strands
Genesis 39:1
Meanwhile, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, where an Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Joseph’s arrival in Egypt immediately after his brothers sold him to a caravan of Ishmaelites. This account addresses Israel by tracing the provenance of a future leader through foreign captivity.
The words — הוּרַד (hu.RAD) translates literally as “he had been brought down,” marking Joseph’s forced transit from Canaan to Egypt. פּוֹטִיפַר (po.TI.phar) names the Egyptian official who purchases him.
The thread — The sale is cross-referenced in Genesis 37:28 and Genesis 37:25 regarding the Ishmaelite caravan, and recalled in Psalms 105:17 as a man sent ahead by God.
Why it lands — The text establishes a factual chain of custody from pit to purchase, requiring the reader to track how a slave transaction becomes the setting for subsequent divine presence. It demands attention to the mechanical reality of Joseph’s displacement before any theological conclusion.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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 Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.
Cross-references
- Genesis 37:28 So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
- Psalms 105:17 He sent a man before them—Joseph, sold as a slave.
- Genesis 37:25 And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.
- Genesis 37:36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
- Acts 7:9 Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- Genesis 45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” And they did so. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt!