Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 40:3
And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph [was] bound.
3. in ward ] Cf. Gen 40:4 ; Gen 40:7. An old English expression; cf. Shakespeare, 2 Hen. VI, v. i.:
“I know, ere they will have me go to ward,
They’ll pawn their swords for my enfranchisement.”
He committed them for safe keeping, while the enquiry into the charges against them went on.
captain of the guard ] See note on Gen 37:36.
the prison ] = “the round house,” as in Gen 39:20. This clause seems to have been introduced, in order to harmonize the tradition of Joseph’s position in the house of the “captain of the guard” with the account of his imprisonment in Gen 39:20-23.
According to E, Pharaoh placed his two officials in confinement, but not in the prison, in the keeping of the “captain of the guard.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 3. Where Joseph was bound.] The place in which Joseph was now confined; this is what is implied in being bound; for, without doubt, he had his personal liberty. As the butler and. the baker were state criminals they were put in the same prison with Joseph, which we learn from the preceding chapter, Ge 39:20, was the king’s prison. All the officers in the employment of the ancient kings of Egypt were, according to Diodorus Siculus, taken from the most illustrious families of the priesthood in the country; no slave or common person being ever permitted to serve in the presence of the king. As these persons, therefore, were of the most noble families, it is natural to expect they would be put, when accused, into the state prison.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The captain of the guard, to wit, Potiphar, Gen 37:36, who being informed by his underkeeper of Josephs great care and faithfulness, began to have a better opinion of him, though for his own quiet, and his wifes reputation, he left him still in the prison.
Where Joseph was bound; was a prisoner, as that word is used, Isa 22:3; for Joseph being now made governor of the prisoners, was doubtless freed from his bonds: or had been bound, and that with irons in a cruel manner, Psa 105:18.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. Pharaoh put them in ward,&c.Whatever was their crime, they were committed, until theircase could be investigated, to the custody of the captain of theguard, that is, Potiphar, in an outer part of whose house the royalprison was situated.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard,…. Who is generally thought to be Potiphar, since this was the office he was in, Ge 39:1; unless he was dead, and there was another put into his room, or there were more than one in the same office:
into the prison, the place where Joseph [was] bound; that is, where he had been bound, and where he was still a prisoner, though not fettered and in that close confinement he had been in.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(3, 4) In the house of the captain of the guard.That is, of Potiphar. As he is said to have charged Joseph with the care of these two high officials, he must, ere this, have become aware of his innocence. But as the wife in ancient times in Egypt was endowed with all the husbands property, and was a formidable person, as we learn from many of the records now being translated and published, Potiphar may not have wished to offend her.
He served them.Used only of light service. (See Note on Gen. 39:4.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Captain of the guard Or, chief of the executioners, whose dwelling was within a part of the prison .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them and he served them. And they continued for a time in custody.’
Such important prisoners were treated with special dignity, and the captain of the guard (note not the keeper of the prison) put them in Joseph’s special charge. He took a personal interest in the care of these important men for he knew their influence and that they may well be released and be in a position to do him good or harm.
He ‘served them’. Joseph took his charge seriously and made sure they were well looked after, often attending to their needs himself. The fact that he is entrusted with this task by the captain of the guard may point to the fact that the latter had had second thoughts about his previous guilt. Alternately he may have recognised the special qualities of Joseph and accepted that he had simply forgotten himself for a moment with regard to his wife. After all nothing had actually happened to her and by this time tempers had cooled. Or he may even have forgotten who Joseph was and relied on the recommendation of the keeper of the prison.
“In the house of the captain of the guard.” Not his private house but the prison over which he had responsibility. This may well have been located near his house, which would be grand and in its own grounds, probably more like a small palace.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 40:3. Joseph was bound Rather read, had been bound.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen_39:21; Gen_39:23
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 40:3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph [was] bound.
Ver. 3. And he put them in ward, &c. ] See the slippery estate of courtiers: today in favour, tomorrow in disgrace; as Haman; Sejanus, whom the same senators conducted to the prison, who had accompanied him to the senate. They which sacrificed unto him, as to their god, which kneeled down to adore him, now scoffed at him, seeing him dragged from the temple to the jail, from supreme honour to extreme ignominy. His greatest friends were most passionate against him, &c., they would not once look at him; as men look not after sundials, longer than the sun shines upon them. a
The place where Joseph was bound.
a Tacit.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the place: Gen 39:20, Gen 39:23
where Joseph was bound: Or, “where Joseph was confined,” for he doubtless had his personal liberty. This place, we learn from the preceding chapter – Gen 39:20, was the king’s prison. All the officers in the employment of the ancient kings of Egypt, according to Diodorus Siculus, were taken from the most illustrious families of the priesthood in the country; no slave or common person being ever permitted to serve in the presence of the king. As these persons were of the most noble families, it is natural to expect they would be put, when accused, into the state prison.
Reciprocal: Gen 39:21 – gave him Gen 39:22 – committed Gen 41:10 – Pharaoh Gen 42:19 – house 2Sa 20:3 – ward Joh 18:12 – bound Act 12:10 – the first
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A NOBLE PRISONER
The place where Joseph was bound.
Gen 40:3
The oldest prison story that has been preserved from the oblivion underneath which time buries human events is this of Joseph in Egypt. Prisons were then no new thing in the earth. We are introduced to them as well known and familiar institutions. They may have existed before the Flood; we can scarcely imagine them not to have existed. This first mention of them in Egypt, the foremost of the worlds nations in civilisation and power, reminds us of the twofold use which has been made of them in most countries and ages, as a means of punishment and as an instrument of tyranny.
I. Even in prison Joseph prospered. He had prospered in the service of Potiphar. The Lord was with him, and made all that he did to prosper in his hand. His reputation no doubt followed him into his prison. And the keeper of his prison soon discovered that he was worthy of it, and availed himself of his trustworthiness, and devolved upon him much of his responsibility, and felt his work and charge safe in the hands of Joseph. There may have been a bit of superstition in the sentiment with which the Hebrew youth was regarded. There is nothing that tends more to ones advancement in the East, we are told, than the opinion that everything prospers in his hands. In an old translation of the Bible we have the homely words, The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a lucky fellow. The reputation of being lucky will, in the East, perhaps in the West, make a mans fortune. In the case of Joseph, there was a pure character and a Divine blessing to account for his prosperity or luck. Potiphar had already found the purchase of Joseph to be one of the best bargains he had ever made. And now the keeper of the prison found that this was no common prisoner who had been committed to his hands.
II. What of his prison thoughts? We have no record of them, but conjecture cannot lead us far astray. That he felt his imprisonment painfully, we infer from his desire to escape from it. When he interpreted the butlers dream as foreshadowing his restoration to freedom and his former position, he saidBut think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house I have done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon (Gen 40:14-15). Nothing could reconcile him to being shut up within these prison walls. Honour and trust and work were blessings which he prized. But bondage was bondage still. His heart wandered to what he called the land of the Hebrews.
III. With his faith in God there was a source of comfort which never failed the young man in his Egyptian prison, and that was a good conscience both towards God and towards man. It was a hard thing, indeed, to bear so foul and false a charge as that on which he was thrust into prison. To his pure mind the shame of such a charge was painful as it would not be to others. But the pain of suffering rightfully would have been far worse than the pain of suffering wrongfully, because it would have in it the bitterest of all ingredients, the accusations of a guilty conscience. Had he yielded to temptation, and suffered imprisonment for thus wronging the master who had trusted him, he would have lost those supports which his faith in God now brought him, and his conscience would have punished him more severely than did the fetters of iron. Conscience is a terrible foe or a most beneficent friend. As it was, Joseph and his conscience were good friends, and his conscience comforted his heart.
Illustration
(1) Oriental legend commemorated Josephs peace and happiness in its own way. His cell became a pleasant and cheerful abode, for a fountain sprang up in the midst of it, and a tree grew at his door to afford him shade and refreshing fruit. The legend indeed says that the fountain dried up and the tree withered when Joseph asked the butler to remember him and promote his release, because, instead of trusting in God, he relied on the help of a feeble man. There seems to me no ground for the notion that Joseph did wrong in seeking the interposition of his fellow prisoner. But we may accept the legend as a beautiful parable. Within those prison walls there was a fountain opened whence the young Hebrew drew constant strength and solace. And there, sunless as the prison was, grew a tree, from which he derived food that the world knew not of. His God was with him.
(2) Gods providence works for far distant objects. With a view to Israels settlement in Egypt, Joseph is carried there, sold to Potiphar, cast into prison, has fellow prisoners, who again get special dreams, with a view to Josephs future, and so God leads through a prison to a throne. Look at your troubles in the bright light of that to which they lead you.
(3) Jeremy Taylor says that he must be in love with peevishness who chooses to sit down upon his little handful of thorns when there are so many causes for joy in this wide world. But this is just what Joseph did not do. He refused to sit down upon his handful of thorns, but went out of himself in thoughtful ministry to others. He anointed his head, and washed his face, that he might not appear to men to be suffering, and devoted himself to alleviate the griefs around him by kindly sympathy.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
40:3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where {a} Joseph [was] bound.
(a) God works in many wonderful ways to deliver his own.