Genesis 40:4

Summary

Genesis 40:4 reports that the chief of the guard placed Joseph in charge of the two officials (the cupbearer and the baker), that Joseph served them, and that they remained in custody for some time.

Key words

• yifqod ("he appointed", H6485) — qal narrative verb; conveys the act of putting someone in charge or assigning oversight, introducing the main action of the verse.
• sar ("[the] commander of", H8269) — masculine singular noun in construct state, linking to tabbachim to form the title "chief of the guards."
• tabbachim ("bodyguards", H2876) — masculine plural noun; the officials under the sar's authority, the same group mentioned earlier in the Joseph narrative.
• yesharet ("he served", H8334) — piel narrative verb; the piel stem intensifies the action, marking active, ongoing personal attendance rather than a single act.
• mishmar ("custody", H4929) — masculine singular noun; denotes the state of confinement in which the officials remain.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative verb yifqod ("he appointed," H6485), whose subject is sar hatabbachim ("the commander of the bodyguards," H8269 + H2876), a construct phrase naming the official who holds authority over the group. The direct object marker 'et introduces Yosef (H3130G) as the one appointed, followed by the prepositional phrase 'itam ("with them," H0854 + H9038), indicating that Joseph was placed alongside or over the imprisoned officials. The clause structure — verb, subject, object, prepositional phrase — follows the standard narrative chain marked by the repeated va- prefix (H9001), which links each clause as sequential events.

The second clause, vayesharet 'otam ("and he served them"), uses the piel stem of sharat (H8334), a verbal form that intensifies the basic sense of the root, portraying continuous or attentive service rather than a single act. The final clause, vayihyu yamim bemishmar ("and they were days in custody"), uses yamim (H3117G) in an indefinite plural sense — "some days" or "a period of time" — followed by bemishmar (H4929), specifying the state of guarded confinement.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders sar hatabbachim as ho archidesmōtēs ("the chief of the prisoners/guard of the prison"), differing from the Hebrew title tied to tabbachim, which elsewhere refers to royal guards or slaughterers. The LXX also states that the official "associated them with Joseph" (synestēsen... autous), reversing the direction found in the Hebrew, where Joseph is appointed "with them." The Vulgate's tradidit eos Joseph ("handed them over to Joseph") follows this same reversed direction. For the second verb, the Vulgate's ministrabat eis ("he served them") matches the Hebrew yesharet closely, while the LXX's parestē autois ("he stood by them") expresses a different nuance, of presence rather than service.