Genesis 39:20

into the prison Lit. "into the house of roundness," or "the round house." Possibly the Heb. expression, "the house of sohar," may be an attempt to transliterate an Egyptian word, with a similar sound, by means of a familiar Heb. word sohar. LXX ὀχύρωμα, Lat. carcer. It only occurs here, and Genesis 39:23, and Genesis 40:3; Genesis 40:5. On the whole, if Joseph's master believed the tale that had been told him, the punishment inflicted was less violent than we should have expected in such an age.

the place … were bound These words are considered by many scholars to be introduced by the Compiler, in order to lead up to the description of the prison scene in the E narrative of ch. 40.