The Egyptian who buys Joseph at the end of Genesis 37 — 'a court official of Pharaoh, chief of the executioners' (37:36). Both halves of his title repay attention. SARIS is the court-official word: it can mean a literal eunuch and often does, but is used broadly of high functionaries, which is why the versions divide (KJV 'an officer,' NWT 'a court official') — and why Potiphar's having a wife is not the contradiction it looks. SAR HA-TABBACHIM is literally 'chief of the SLAUGHTERERS,' from tabbach, a butcher; the usual rendering 'captain of the guard' rests on the reasonable ground that a royal bodyguard's business includes executions — and the Aramaic equivalent is unambiguous when the same office turns up in Babylon, where Arioch, 'chief of the executioners,' comes to kill the wise men (Daniel 2:14). His name is genuinely Egyptian: Pa-di-pa-Ra, 'he whom Ra has given.' In his house Joseph will rise to steward, be accused by Potiphar's wife, and be jailed (Genesis 39) — the second pit of his life.