Genesis 39
39
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt.#tn The disjunctive clause resumes the earlier narrative pertaining to Joseph by recapitulating the event described in 37:36. The perfect verbal form is given a past perfect translation to restore the sequence of the narrative for the reader. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard,#sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36. purchased him from#tn Heb “from the hand of.” the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful#tn Heb “and he was a prosperous man.” This does not mean that Joseph became wealthy, but that he was successful in what he was doing, or making progress in his situation (see 24:21). and lived#tn Heb “and he was.” in the household of his Egyptian master. 3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful.#tn The Hebrew text adds “in his hand,” a phrase not included in the translation for stylistic reasons. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant.#sn The Hebrew verb translated became his personal attendant refers to higher domestic service, usually along the lines of a personal attendant. Here Joseph is made the household steward, a position well-attested in Egyptian literature. Potiphar appointed Joseph#tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity. overseer of his household and put him in charge#tn Heb “put into his hand.” of everything he owned. 5 From the time#tn Heb “and it was from then.” Potiphar#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity. appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed#sn The Hebrew word translated blessed carries the idea of enrichment, prosperity, success. It is the way believers describe success at the hand of God. The text illustrates the promise made to Abraham that whoever blesses his descendants will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3). the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both#tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. in his house and in his fields.#sn The passage gives us a good picture of Joseph as a young man who was responsible and faithful, both to his master and to his God. This happened within a very short time of his being sold into Egypt. It undermines the view that Joseph was a liar, a tattletale, and an arrogant adolescent. 6 So Potiphar#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity. left#sn The Hebrew verb translated left indicates he relinquished the care of it to Joseph. This is stronger than what was said earlier. Apparently Potiphar had come to trust Joseph so much that he knew it was in better care with Joseph than with anyone else. everything he had in Joseph’s care;#tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph. he gave no thought#tn Heb “did not know.” to anything except the food he ate.#sn The expression except the food he ate probably refers to Potiphar’s private affairs and should not be limited literally to what he ate.
Now Joseph was well built and good-looking.#tn Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel. 7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of#tn Heb “she lifted up her eyes toward,” an expression that emphasizes her deliberate and careful scrutiny of him. Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.”#tn Heb “lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.sn The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife has long been connected with the wisdom warnings about the strange woman who tries to seduce the young man with her boldness and directness (see Prov 5-7, especially 7:6-27). This is part of the literary background of the story of Joseph that gives it a wisdom flavor. See G. von Rad, God at Work in Israel, 19-35; and G. W. Coats, “The Joseph Story and Ancient Wisdom: A Reappraisal,” CBQ 35 (1973): 285-97. 8 But he refused, saying#tn Heb “and he said.” to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought#tn Heb “know.” to his household with me here,#tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. and everything that he owns he has put into my care.#tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph. 9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do#tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context. such a great evil and sin against God?” 10 Even though she continued to speak#tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator, followed by the infinitive construct with the preposition כְּ (kÿ). This clause could therefore be taken as temporal. to Joseph day after day, he did not respond#tn Heb “listen to.” to her invitation to have sex with her.#tn Heb “to lie beside her to be with her.” Here the expression “to lie beside” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
11 One day#tn Heb “and it was about this day.” he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants#tn Heb “the men of the house.” were there in the house. 12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran#tn Heb “he fled and he went out.” The construction emphasizes the point that Joseph got out of there quickly. outside.#sn For discussion of this episode, see A. M. Honeyman, “The Occasion of Joseph’s Temptation,” VT 2 (1952): 85-87. 13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought#tn The verb has no expressed subject, and so it could be treated as a passive (“a Hebrew man was brought in”; cf. NIV). But it is clear from the context that her husband brought Joseph into the household, so Potiphar is the apparent referent here. Thus the translation supplies “my husband” as the referent of the unspecified pronominal subject of the verb (cf. NEB, NRSV). in a Hebrew man#sn A Hebrew man. Potiphar’s wife raises the ethnic issue when talking to her servants about what their boss had done. to us to humiliate us.#tn Heb “to make fun of us.” The verb translated “to humiliate us” here means to hold something up for ridicule, or to toy with something harmfully. Attempted rape would be such an activity, for it would hold the victim in contempt. He tried to have sex with me,#tn Heb “he came to me to lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse. but I screamed loudly.#tn Heb “and I cried out with a loud voice.” 15 When he heard me raise#tn Heb “that I raised.” my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”
16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 17 This is what she said to him:#tn Heb “and she spoke to him according to these words, saying.” “That Hebrew slave#sn That Hebrew slave. Now, when speaking to her husband, Potiphar’s wife refers to Joseph as a Hebrew slave, a very demeaning description. you brought to us tried to humiliate me,#tn Heb “came to me to make fun of me.” The statement needs no explanation because of the connotations of “came to me” and “to make fun of me.” See the note on the expression “humiliate us” in v. 14. 18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”
19 When his master heard his wife say,#tn Heb “and when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying.” “This is the way#tn Heb “according to these words.” your slave treated me,”#tn Heb “did to me.” he became furious.#tn Heb “his anger burned.” 20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison,#tn Heb “the house of roundness,” suggesting that the prison might have been a fortress or citadel. the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison.#sn The story of Joseph is filled with cycles and repetition: He has two dreams (chap. 37), he interprets two dreams in prison (chap. 40) and the two dreams of Pharaoh (chap. 41), his brothers make two trips to see him (chaps. 42-43), and here, for the second time (see 37:24), he is imprisoned for no good reason, with only his coat being used as evidence. For further discussion see H. Jacobsen, “A Legal Note on Potiphar’s Wife,” HTR 69 (1976): 177.
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness.#tn Heb “and he extended to him loyal love.” He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden.#tn Or “the chief jailer” (also in the following verses). 22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing.#tn Heb “all which they were doing there, he was doing.” This probably means that Joseph was in charge of everything that went on in the prison. 23 The warden did not concern himself#tn Heb “was not looking at anything.” with anything that was in Joseph’s#tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity. care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.
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Genesis 39
39
Joseph lived in Egypt country
1This is the story about what happened to Joseph, after that time when his brothers sold him to the Midian mob. That Midian mob took Joseph to Egypt country. Then they sold Joseph to a man called Potifar. That man Potifar, he worked for the big boss of Egypt country, called Pharaoh. Potifar was in charge of all the soldiers that guarded Pharaoh’s house.
2God was with Joseph, and God helped him. So everything that Joseph did, it all went well. Joseph worked for Potifar, and he lived in Potifar’s house.#Acts 7:9 3Potifar saw that Joseph did everything really well, and he knew that God was helping him. 4So Potifar liked Joseph a lot, and he got Joseph to be his special worker. He put Joseph in charge of all the other workers in his house, and he got Joseph to look after everything that he owned. 5As soon as Potifar put Joseph in charge, God started to be really good to Potifar. God made everything go well in Potifar’s house, and he made lots of food plants grow on his land. 6So Potifar really trusted Joseph, and he let Joseph look after everything that belonged to him. Potifar didn’t worry about anything, because Joseph was in charge. Potifar just got to think about easy things, like the food he wanted to eat. Joseph looked after everything else.
Potifar’s wife made trouble for Joseph
Joseph was a really good-looking man, with a strong body. 7So after a while, Potifar’s wife started to look at Joseph a lot, and she wanted to sleep with him, like a woman sleeps with her husband. She said to Joseph, “Come and sleep with me.”
8But Joseph said, “No, I will not sleep with you. You know, I work for your husband, and he trusts me. He got me to look after everything that belongs to him. He doesn’t worry about anything, because I am in charge. 9He made me the most important person in his house. He made me the boss of everything here. There’s only one thing he will not let me touch. He will not let me touch you, because you are his wife. So I will not sleep with you. I will not go against God and do that wrong thing. No way.”
10But Potifar’s wife did not stop. Every day, she kept on asking Joseph to sleep with her. But Joseph didn’t listen to her. He didn’t sleep with her, and he tried to be far away from her.
11One day, Joseph went into Potifar’s house to do his work, just like he always did. On that day, there weren’t any other work-men in the house. 12Then Potifar’s wife came to Joseph. She grabbed him, and she held on to his coat, and she said, “Come and sleep with me.” So Joseph quickly ran out of the house. But Potifar’s wife still had Joseph’s coat in her hand.
13Potifar’s wife saw that Joseph ran out of the house, and she saw that she still had his coat in her hand. So she thought, “I will make trouble for Joseph.”
14Straight away, she shouted to the other work-men, and she said, “Come and see this.” Then those work-men came to her, and she lied to them and said, “You know, my husband brought a man here from the Hebrew tribe. That man doesn’t respect us mob. He wants to make fun of us. He came to me, and he tried to make me sleep with him, like a man sleeps with his wife. But I yelled out really loud. 15And as soon as he heard me yell out, he left his coat next to me, and he ran out of the house.”
16After that, Potifar’s wife put down Joseph’s coat next to her, and she waited for Potifar to come home. Potifar was Joseph’s boss. 17Later on, Potifar came home, and his wife said the same things to him that she said to those work-men. She lied and said, “That work-man from the Hebrew tribe, the one that you brought here, he came to me, and he tried to sleep with me and make me shamed. 18But I yelled out really loud, and straight away, he ran out of the house, and he left his coat next to me.”
Potifar put Joseph in jail
19Potifar heard his wife say that Joseph did those bad things to her. And Potifar got really angry. 20Potifar was Joseph’s boss, so he sent his men to grab Joseph, and they put him in jail. That jail belonged to Pharaoh, the big boss of Egypt country. There were other prisoners in that jail too. And Joseph stayed there in the jail.
21But God was with Joseph, and God kept on being very good to him.#Acts 7:9 God got the boss of that jail to think in a good way about Joseph. So that jail boss liked Joseph a lot, 22and he put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners in that jail. Whenever those prisoners had work to do, Joseph was their leader, and he made sure that they did their work properly. 23Joseph did everything well, so that jail boss didn’t worry about anything. He trusted Joseph to look after the prisoners and get all the work done. You see, God was with Joseph, and God made everything go well for him.
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