Put them in custody: the word translated in custody may mean “jail” or “prison” (Good News Translation): but it has also a more restricted sense of being put under guard, or being detained for investigation.

In the house of the captain of the guard: this appears to be the actual place where they were held. It may refer to the house of this officer or more probably to a section of the prison where he had his headquarters and where trusted prisoners like Joseph were allowed to stay. Captain of the guard translates the same expression used of Potiphar in 37.36.

In the prison refers to the larger confinement area or building that included the guard house.

We may translate verse 3, for example, “He [the king] put them in prison in the house of the officer of the guard, where Joseph was also kept” or “The king put them into the head jailer’s house, which was in the prison where Joseph was a prisoner.”

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 .