According to our study so far, Joseph has been cast into prison. Yet, he has also been given authority over all the prisoners in that place, which is described as, the place where the king’s prisoners were kept (Genesis 39:21-23). Some scholars believe this prison was a very cruel place and the worst of its kind, believing Psalm 105:18[1] indicates how cruelly Joseph was treated. However, that hardly suits the testimony of Joseph being placed in charge of all the prisoners. Rather, Psalm 105:18 should be taken metaphorically, indicating Joseph was unable to do as he wished or free to go wherever he pleased, until the day Pharaoh sent for him (Psalm 105:20), and this would also apply to his stay at Potiphar’s house, for, although he was placed over all things under Potiphar, Joseph was still a slave.
Moreover, the fact that Joseph wasn’t executed over being accused of attempting to rape Potiphar’s wife, which seemed to be the normal course events would have taken for those accused of such crimes during that time, seems to indicate that Potiphar wanted to be merciful to Joseph, while, at the same time, accommodate his wife and avoid an embarrassing scandal. So, all things considered, I don’t believe the prison in which Joseph was placed was “the worst of its kind.” Rather, it seems to be a place where men of authority were put, when men of greater authority were displeased with their behavior. It may have been a hold for such men, until it was decided what the greater authority would do to them.
We are told in this record that the chief butler, who may have been the king’s cupbearer (cp. 1Kings 10:5; Nehemiah 1:11), and his chief baker offended the king (Genesis 40:1). What, exactly, the offenses may have been aren’t mentioned in the text. However, the offenses may concern a context, where Pharaoh got sick, and it was believed his food or his wine was polluted or poisoned. If such a thing were true, it’s reasonable that he would blame his chief baker, who oversaw his bake-house and/or his cupbearer, who was not only in authority over the king’s wine cellar, but was also often required to taste the king’s wine before serving it to the king (Genesis 40:2). Thus, if the butler got ill or died, it was supposed that the king had a secret enemy in his court. So, if the king got sick, and what he ate or drank was suspect, so would be the chief baker and the king’s cupbearer. Therefore, they were put in the king’s ward, until it was decided what should be done.
What happened was, they were placed in the custody of the captain of the guard, which is the same title that Potiphar held (cp. Genesis 37:36; 39:1). If the two men are the same person, vis-à-vis Potiphar and the captain of the guard, Potiphar was probably Pharaoh’s provost marshal or chief law officer. In other words, he was in authority over all the prisons in the land. Assuming this is the case, the chief baker and the chief cupbearer of the king were placed in Potiphar’s custody. He in turn put them in the ward, where the king’s prisoners were kept (cp. Genesis 39:20). There, the warden took custody of them, the one who oversaw the business of the prison where Joseph was placed earlier. Therefore, ultimately, the men were placed under Joseph’s authority, who was trusted to do what needed to be done. There, the two men stayed for “a season,” which may indicate anything from a few days to a year, but as we shall soon see, they were probably not in the king’s prison for a whole year (Genesis 40:3-4).
_____________________________________________
[1] Psalm 105:18 – “Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron,” (KJV). The Tanakh puts it: “His feet were subjected to fetters; an iron collar was put on his neck.”
Smoodock's Blog 