Page:A critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis (1910).djvu/562

 sequent promotion are described in terms nearly identical with those of vv.$1-6$.—In J, the governor of the prison is anonymous, and Joseph is made superintendent of the other prisoners.

—Joseph proves his Gift of interpreting Dreams (E).

Joseph is appointed to wait on two officers of the court who have been put under arrest in his master's house ($1-4$), and finds them one morning troubled by dreams for which they have no interpreter ($5-8$). He interprets the dreams ($9-19$), which are speedily verified by the event ($20-22$). But his eager request that the chief butler would intercede for him with Pharaoh ($14f.$) remains unheeded ($23$).

Source.—The main narrative, as summarised above, obviously belongs to E (see p. 456 f.). Joseph is not a prisoner (as in J 39$20ff.$), but the servant of the captain of the guard (cf. 37$36$ 41$12$); the officers are not strictly imprisoned, but merely placed 'in ward' in Potiphar's house ($3. 4. 7$); and Joseph was 'stolen' from his native land ($15a$; cf. 37$28a$), not sold by his brethren as 37$28b$ (J).—Fragments of a parallel narrative in J can be detected in $1aβb$ (a duplicate of $2$), $3aβ$ (from ) $b$ (Joseph a prisoner), $5b$ (the officers imprisoned), and $15b$.—In the phraseology note J's, , $1. 5b$ ‖ E's , , $2. 9. 16. 20. 21. 22. 23$; J , $3aβ. 5b$ E , $3aα. 4. 7.$; while , $3. 4$, and , $2. 7$, connect the main narrative with 37$36$ (E).—That in J the turn of Joseph's fortune depended on the successful interpretation of dreams does not explicitly appear, but may be presumed from the fact that he was afterwards brought from the dungeon to interpret them (41$14aβ$ J).

1-8. Pharaoh's officers in disgrace: their dreams.—1. the butler the baker] J writes as if the king had only one servant of each class: his notions of a royal establishment are perhaps simpler than E's. In Babylonia the highest and oldest court offices are said to have been those of the baker and the butler (ATLO$2$, 54; cf. Zimmern, ZDMG, liii. 119 f.).—2. chief of the butlers bakers (E)]

Ex. 3$21$ 11$3$ 12$36$† ) gen. of obj. = 'favour towards him.'—22. ] On omission of subj., see G-K. § 116 s.—] G$A, al.$ om.—23. ] G .—] G +.

1. —] On the synt., see G-K. §§ 128 a, 129 h; Dav. § 27 (b): cf. v.$5$.—2. is the regular continuation of the time-clause in $1a$ (E).—] with so-called qamez impurum; so always except in const. st.