^39:4So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant.⁷ Potiphar appointed Joseph⁸ overseer of his household and put him in charge⁹ of everything he owned. ^39:5From the time¹⁰ Potiphar¹¹ appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed¹² the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both¹³ in his house and in his fields.¹⁴^39:6So Potiphar¹⁵ left¹⁶ everything he had in Joseph’s care;¹⁷ he gave no thought¹⁸ to anything except the food he ate.¹⁹

Now Joseph was well built and good-looking.²⁰

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Footnotes

7 The Hebrew verb translated became his personal attendant refers to higher domestic service, usually along the lines of a personal attendant. Here Joseph is made the household steward, a position well-attested in Egyptian literature.
8 Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 Heb “put into his hand.”
10 Heb “and it was from then.”
11 Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 The Hebrew word translated blessed carries the idea of enrichment, prosperity, success. It is the way believers describe success at the hand of God. The text illustrates the promise made to Abraham that whoever blesses his descendants will be blessed (Gen 12:1–3).
13 Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
14 The passage gives us a good picture of Joseph as a young man who was responsible and faithful, both to his master and to his God. This happened within a very short time of his being sold into Egypt. It undermines the view that Joseph was a liar, a tattletale, and an arrogant adolescent.
15 Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 The Hebrew verb translated left indicates he relinquished the care of it to Joseph. This is stronger than what was said earlier. Apparently Potiphar had come to trust Joseph so much that he knew it was in better care with Joseph than with anyone else.
17 Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.
18 Heb “did not know.”
19 The expression except the food he ate probably refers to Potiphar’s private affairs and should not be limited literally to what he ate.
20 Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Joseph found favor with his master and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority. From the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph. The Lord’s blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields. He left all that he owned under Joseph’s authority; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.

NLTNew Living Translation

This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!

Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man,

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And Joseph found favor in his eyes and he served him. Then he appointed him over his house and all that he owned he put into his hand. And it happened that from the time he appointed him over his house and over all that he had, Yahweh blessed the house of the Egyptian on account of Joseph. And the blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. And he left all that he had in the hand of Joseph, and he did not worry about anything except the food that he ate. Now Joseph was well built and handsome.

KJV 1900King James Version

And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.

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