Genesis 39:20
And cast Joseph into the prison, where the king's prisoners were kept, and he was there shut up.
Open Genesis 39:20 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- tradiditque Joseph in carcerem, ubi vincti regis custodiebantur, et erat ibi clausus.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- καὶ ἔλαβεν ὁ κύριος Ἰωσὴφ καὶ ἐνέβαλεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ ὀχύρωμα, εἰς τὸν τόπον ἐν ᾧ οἱ δεσμῶται τοῦ βασιλέως κατέχονται ἐκεῖ ἐν τῷ ὀχυρώματι.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- וַיִּקַּח֩ אֲדֹנֵ֨י יוֹסֵ֜ף אֹת֗וֹ וַֽיִּתְּנֵ֨הוּ֙ אֶל בֵּ֣ית הַסֹּ֔הַר מְק֕וֹם אֲשֶׁר אסורי הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֲסוּרִ֑ים וַֽיְהִי שָׁ֖ם בְּבֵ֥ית הַסֹּֽהַר
The Fathers on this verse
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LXII
3. “Nevertheless, mine honour they have thought to drive back” ( ver. 4 ). Conquered while they slay men yielding, by the blood of the slain multiplying the faithful, yielding to these and no longer being able to kill; “Nevertheless, mine honour they have thought to drive back.” Now because a Christian cannot be killed, pains are taken that a Christian should be dishonoured. For now by the honour of Christians the hearts of ungodly men are tortured: now that spiritual Joseph, after his selling by his brethren, after his removal from his home into Egypt as though into the Gentiles, after the humiliation of a prison, after the made-up tale of a false witness, after that there had come to pass that which of him was said, “Iron passed through the soul of him:” now he is honoured, now he is not made subject to brethren selling him, but corn he supplieth to them hungering. …
St John Chrysostom A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, Homily XLIX on Acts xxiii. 6-8
Such are God’s ways of ordering: the very things by which we are hurt, by these same are we benefited. Thus it was with Joseph: his mistress sought to ruin him: and she seemed indeed to be contriving his ruin, but by her contriving she placed him in a state of safety: for the house where that wild beast (of a woman) was kept was a den in comparison with which the prison was gentle. ( Gen. xxxix. 1-20 .) For while he was there, although he was looked up to and courted, he was in constant fear, lest his mistress should set upon him, and worse than any prison was the fear that lay upon him: but after the accusation he was in security and peace, well rid of that beast, of her lewdness and her machinations for his destruction: for it was better for him to keep company with human creatures in miserable plight, than with a maddened mistress. …