Genesis 39:3

Summary

The verse states that Joseph's master perceived that Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) was with Joseph, and that Yehovah made everything Joseph did succeed in his hand. The syntax builds a chain of perception followed by two linked observations about divine presence and effect.

Key words

• va-yyar' ("and he saw", H7200G) — qal narrative verb; the vav-consecutive form marks this as the next event in the story sequence, introducing the master's perception.
• 'adonav ("his master", H0113) — masculine plural construct with suffix "his"; the plural form is a construct-plural used for a single master (a common Hebrew pattern for terms of respect/authority), followed by the suffix "his" referring to Joseph.
• 'itto ("with him", H0854 + H9033) — preposition plus suffix, expressing accompaniment; here it asserts that Yehovah was "with him" (Joseph).
• 'oseh ("doing", H6213A) — qal participle, masculine singular; the participle form casts the action as ongoing/habitual — "whatever he was doing," not a single completed act.
• matzliach ("making successful", H6743B) — hiphil participle, masculine singular; the causative (hiphil) stem shows the subject (Yehovah) as the active cause of success, and the participle form parallels 'oseh, presenting the success as continuous alongside Joseph's ongoing activity.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative verb va-yyar' ("and he saw"), establishing the master as the one perceiving. The object of his perception is introduced by ki ("that", H3588A), a subordinating particle here functioning as "that," which introduces the content of what the master saw: first, Yehovah 'itto ("with him"), a simple prepositional statement of presence.

The second half is joined by ve-khol 'asher ("and all that", H9002 + H3605 + H0834A), a relative construction meaning "all that he was doing." The subject hu' ("he", H1931) is explicit, followed by the participle 'oseh ("doing"), which frames Joseph's activity as continuous rather than a single event. The final clause repeats Yehovah as subject with the hiphil participle matzliach ("making successful"), stressing an ongoing causative action: Yehovah is the one making things succeed, not merely things succeeding on their own. The phrase be-yado ("in his hand", H9003 + H3027G + H9023) closes the sentence, using "hand" idiomatically for the sphere of Joseph's activity or agency.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders 'adonav ("his master") with the singular ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ, where the Hebrew uses a plural construct form ('adonav) for a single master. The Vulgate's dirigi ("to be directed") corresponds to the hiphil participle matzliach ("making successful"), expressing the causative sense of Yehovah's action similarly to the Hebrew, though with a different verb of "directing" rather than "prospering."