Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

POTIPHAR

(Heb. pôṭîpar)

The individual who purchased Joseph from the Ishmaelites (or Midianites) in Egypt after he was sold by his brothers (Gen. 37:36; 39:1-6). His name was apparently a short form of Potiphera, the name of Joseph’s father-in-law (Gen. 41:45; 46:20), which means “he whom Re (the sun-god) has given” (LXX Gk. Petephrēs for both). He was described as an “official” or “officer” of Pharaoh and the “captain” or “chief” of “the (body)guard.” The last description is problematic. The key word in the phrase seems to have the sense of “slaughter,” and perhaps by extension “cook,” resulting in “chief steward,” functionally like a modern “lord chamberlain,” or lit., “captain of the slaughterers,” the commanding officer of the royal guard which carried out the king’s capital sentences. The latter rendering may be supported by identifying Potiphar with the “captain of the guard” over the royal prison (Gen. 39:20; 40:3-4; 41:10, 12).

See Wife of Potiphar.

Walter E. Brown

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

POTIPHAR

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)