So Joseph’s master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. While Joseph was there in the prison,
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- KJV And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.
- NKJV Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.
- NASB So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the prison.
- NLT So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joseph is imprisoned in the royal prison rather than executed.
Overview
Joseph descends again, from trusted overseer to prisoner, for refusing to sin. Notably, he is placed in the king's prison rather than put to death, a possible sign of restraint. This unjust imprisonment becomes the very path by which God will raise him before Pharaoh.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 40:15For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.”
- Dan 3:21–22So they were tied up, wearing robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and they were thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.
- Isa 53:8By oppression and judgment He was taken away, and who can recount His descendants? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was stricken for the transgression of My people.
- Gen 41:9–14Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures.
- 1 Pet 2:19For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God, this is to be commended.
- 2 Tim 2:9for which I suffer to the extent of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained!
- Gen 40:1–3Some time later, the king’s cupbearer and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt.
- Ps 105:18–19They bruised his feet with shackles and placed his neck in irons,
- Ps 76:10Even the wrath of man shall praise You; with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 39:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.