Genesis 39

Joseph a Slave in Egypt

1Now Joseph had been taken #Gen. 12:10; 43:15down to Egypt. And #Gen. 37:36; Ps. 105:17Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, #Gen. 37:28; 45:4bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. 2#Gen. 26:24, 28; 28:15; 35:3; 39:3, 21, 23; 1 Sam. 16:18; 18:14, 28; Acts 7:9The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord #Ps. 1:3made all he did to prosper in his hand. 4So Joseph #Gen. 18:3; 19:19; 39:21found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him #Gen. 24:2, 10; 39:8, 22; 41:40overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. 5So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that #Gen. 18:26; 30:27; 2 Sam. 6:11the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. 6Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.

Now Joseph #Gen. 29:17; 1 Sam. 16:12was handsome in form and appearance.

7And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, #2 Sam. 13:11“Lie with me.”

8But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. 9There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. #Lev. 20:10; Prov. 6:29, 32How then can I do this great wickedness, and #Gen. 20:6; 42:18; 2 Sam. 12:13; Ps. 51:4sin against God?”

10So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he #Prov. 1:10did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.

11But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, 12that she #Prov. 7:13caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. 13And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, 14that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a #Gen. 14:13; 41:12Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”

16So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. 17Then she #Ex. 23:1; Ps. 120:3; Prov. 26:28spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; 18so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”

19So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his #Prov. 6:34, 35anger was aroused. 20Then Joseph’s master took him and #Ps. 105:18; (1 Pet. 2:19)put him into the #Gen. 40:3, 15; 41:14prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. 21But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He #Gen. 39:2; Ex. 3:21; Ps. 105:19; (Prov. 16:7); Dan. 1:9; Acts 7:9, 10gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22And the keeper of the prison #Gen. 39:4; 40:3, 4committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. 23The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the #Gen. 39:2, 3Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

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Genesis 39

Joseph Is Sold to Potiphar

1Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar was an officer to the king of Egypt. He was the captain of the palace guard. He bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man. He lived in the house of his master, Potiphar the Egyptian.

3Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph. He saw that the Lord made Joseph successful in everything he did. 4So Potiphar was very happy with Joseph. He allowed Joseph to be his personal servant. He put Joseph in charge of the house. Joseph was trusted with everything Potiphar owned. 5So Joseph was put in charge of the house. He was put in charge of everything Potiphar owned. Then the Lord blessed the people in Potiphar’s house because of Joseph. And the Lord blessed everything that belonged to Potiphar, both in the house and in the field. 6So Potiphar put Joseph in charge of everything he owned. Potiphar was not concerned about anything, except the food he ate.

Joseph Is Put into Prison

Now Joseph was well built and handsome. 7After some time the wife of Joseph’s master began to desire Joseph. One day she said to him, “Have physical relations with me.”

8But Joseph refused. He said to her, “My master trusts me with everything in his house. He has put me in charge of everything he owns. 9There is no one in his house greater than I. He has not kept anything from me, except you. And that is because you are his wife. How can I do such an evil thing? It is a sin against God.”

10The woman talked to Joseph every day, but he refused to have physical relations with her or even spend time with her.

11One day Joseph went into the house to do his work as usual. He was the only man in the house at that time. 12His master’s wife grabbed his coat. She said to him, “Come and have physical relations with me.” But Joseph left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house.

13She saw what Joseph had done. He had left his coat in her hands and had run outside. 14So she called to the servants in her house. She said, “Look! This Hebrew slave was brought here to shame us. He came in and tried to have physical relations with me. But I screamed. 15My scream scared him, and he ran away. But he left his coat with me.” 16She kept his coat until her husband came home. 17And she told her husband the same story. She said, “This Hebrew slave you brought here came in to shame me! 18When he came near me, I screamed. He ran away, but he left his coat.”

19When Joseph’s master heard what his wife said Joseph had done, he became very angry. 20So Potiphar arrested Joseph and put him into prison. This prison was where the king’s prisoners were put. And Joseph stayed there in the prison.

21But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. The Lord caused the prison warden to like Joseph. 22The prison warden chose Joseph to take care of all the prisoners. He was responsible for whatever was done in the prison. 23The warden paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s care. This was because the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord made Joseph successful in everything he did.

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