The LORD was with Joseph: as in 26.3 the sense here is “helped,” “guided,” “protected,” and must often be translated by some such expression. Some translations say “… helped him in everything.”

He became a successful man: the Hebrew verb has a causative force, that is, “The LORD caused Joseph to succeed,” “… to do well.” Although the word rendered successful can also mean “prosperous,” that is not the preferred meaning in this context. The first part of this verse can be translated as a combination of reason and result clauses; for example, “Because the LORD helped Joseph, he was able to do well” or “The reason Joseph did well was because the LORD helped him.”

And he was in the house of his master the Egyptian: this statement is often handled best as a separate sentence, as in Good News Translation, or it may be linked to the previous clause; for example, “The LORD … made him successful while he was working in the house of….”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .