Genesis 39:6

Summary

The verse describes Potiphar handing over full control of his household to Joseph, retaining knowledge of nothing except the food he himself ate. It closes with a description of Joseph's physical appearance, introduced by a new narrative clause.

Key words

• ya'azov ("he left", H5800A) — qal narrative form; the subject (Potiphar, continued from the preceding verses) abandons oversight of his possessions.
• yad ("hand of", H3027H) — construct noun, "hand of Joseph," an idiom for placing something under someone's authority or control.
• yada' ("he knew", H3045) — qal perfect, negated by lo' ("not", H3808); expresses that the man had no awareness or concern regarding anything else.
• me'umah ("anything", H3972) — indefinite noun reinforcing the negation, "not... anything."
• yefeh ("handsome of", H3303) — adjective in construct form, used twice (with to'ar, "form," H8389, and mar'eh, "appearance," H4758), producing a parallel double description of Joseph.

What the text says

The verse divides into two narrative units joined by va ("and", H9001). The first unit runs from va-ya'azov through me'umah: the subject "left all that [was] to him" (kol 'asher lo) "in the hand of Joseph" (be-yad-Yosef), then negates further involvement with ve-lo' yada' 'ito me'umah — "and he did not know with him anything." This is qualified by ki 'im ("except"), a construction that restricts the negation: the only exception to his lack of concern is ha-lechem 'asher hu' 'okhel, "the food that he was eating," using the participle 'okhel ("eating", H0398) to describe an ongoing habitual action rather than a single completed event.

The second unit begins with va-yehi Yosef ("and Joseph was"), a narrative formula that shifts the focus from Potiphar's household administration to Joseph himself. The description that follows uses two parallel construct phrases, yefeh-to'ar ("handsome of form") and vi-yefeh mar'eh ("handsome of appearance"), both built from the same adjective yefeh in construct state, joined by ve ("and", H9002). This construct doubling creates a balanced poetic-style description rather than a single adjective-noun pair.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders be-yad-Yosef ("in the hand of Joseph," singular) as "εἰς χεῖρας Ἰωσήφ" (into the hands of Joseph, plural). For the closing description, the LXX splits the Hebrew's two construct phrases into "καλὸς τῷ εἴδει καὶ ὡραῖος τῇ ὄψει" (roughly "good in form and beautiful in appearance"), using two different adjectives (kalos, hōraios) where the Hebrew repeats the same adjective yefeh. The Vulgate text supplied begins mid-sentence ("nec quidquam aliud noverat...") and does not preserve the opening clause about Potiphar leaving everything in Joseph's hand.