Genesis 39
39
Joseph in Potiphar’s House
1Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guards, bought him from the Ishmaelites#Gn 37:25,28,36; Ps 105:17 who had brought him there. 2The Lord was with Joseph,#Gn 39:3,21,23; Ac 7:9 and he became a successful man, serving#39:2 Lit and he was in the household of his Egyptian master. 3When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful,#Ps 1:3 4Joseph found favor#Gn 18:3; 19:19; 33:10 with his master and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority.#39:4 Lit owned in his hand 5From the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph.#Gn 30:27 The Lord’s blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields. 6He left all that he owned under Joseph’s authority;#39:6 Lit owned in Joseph’s hand he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.#Gn 29:17; 1Sm 16:12 7After some time his master’s wife looked longingly at Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”
8But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority.#39:8 Lit owns in my hand 9No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?” #Gn 20:6; 42:18; 2Sm 12:13; Ps 51:4; Pr 6:29
10Although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her.#39:10 Lit he did not listen to her to lie beside her, to be with her 11Now one day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there.#39:11 Lit there in the house 12She grabbed him by his garment and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. 13When she saw that he had left his garment with her and had run outside, 14she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “my husband brought a Hebrew man to make fools of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, and I screamed as loud as I could. 15When he heard me screaming for help,#39:15 Lit he heard that I raised my voice and I screamed he left his garment beside me and ran outside.”
16She put Joseph’s garment beside her until his master came home. 17Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought to us came to make a fool of me, 18but when I screamed for help,#39:18 Lit I raised my voice and screamed he left his garment beside me and ran outside.”
19When his master heard the story his wife told him — “These are the things your slave did to me” — he was furious 20and had him thrown into prison,#Gn 40:3; Ps 105:18 where the king’s prisoners were confined. So Joseph was there in prison.
Joseph in Prison
21But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him.#Gn 39:2; Ps 105:19; Ac 7:9 He granted him favor with the prison warden.#Ex 3:21; 11:3; 12:36 22The warden put all the prisoners who were in the prison under Joseph’s authority,#39:22 Lit prison in the hand of Joseph and he was responsible for everything that was done there. 23The warden did not bother with anything under Joseph’s authority,#39:23 Lit anything in his hand because the Lord was with him, and the Lord made everything that he did successful.#Gn 39:2–3
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Genesis 39
39
1Joseph had been taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites, who had sold him to Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officers, the commander of the royal guard.
2The Lord was with Joseph and made him successful. He lived in his Egyptian master's house. 3His master noticed that the Lord was with him and made him successful in everything he did. 4Potiphar appreciated Joseph and his service, and put him in charge of his household and made him responsible for everything he owned. 5From the time he put Joseph in charge and trusted him with all he had, the Lord blessed Potiphar's household because of Joseph. The Lord blessed everything he had, whether in his house or in his fields. 6So Potiphar left Joseph to care for everything he owned. He didn't bother with anything except to decide what food he was going to eat.
Now Joseph was handsome, having a good physique, 7so some time later he caught the eye of his master's wife. She propositioned him, saying, “Come here! Sleep with me!”
8But he turned her down, telling his master's wife, “Look, my master trusts me so much#39:8. “Trusts me so much”: supplied for clarity. he doesn't even bother to find out how his household is running. He's put me in charge of everything he owns— 9no one in this house has more authority than me! He hasn't held back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such an evil thing as this, and sin against God?”
10Day after day she persisted in asking him, but he refused to sleep with her and tried to avoid her. 11But one day he went into the house to do his work and none of the other servants were there. 12She grabbed him by his clothing,#39:12. “Clothing”: the Hebrew word is a general word for clothing and is not specific. However, ancient Egyptian art depicts servants as wearing only a loincloth, and it is likely this what was Joseph was wearing. It also fits the story in that this piece of cloth could easily have been torn off. However, since nothing specific is mentioned, the general term is used here. and demanded, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his clothing in her hand, he ran out of the house.
13Seeing that he'd left his clothing in her hand, and had run out of the house, 14she shouted out to her servants, “Look at this! He#39:14. Referring to her husband. It's interesting that she simply refers to him as “he,” an indication of her lack of respect for him, also evidenced by her willingness to commit adultery. brought this Hebrew slave here to dishonor us! This man came to try and rape me, but I screamed at the top of my voice. 15When he heard me scream for help, he left his clothing beside me and ran outside.”
16She kept his clothing with her until her husband came home. 17Then she told him her story. It went like this: “That Hebrew slave you brought here tried to come and dishonor me. 18But as soon as I screamed and called for help, he left his clothing beside me and ran outside.”
19When Potiphar heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is what your servant did to me,” he became angry. 20He took Joseph and put him in the prison where the king's prisoners were kept, and there he stayed. 21But the Lord was with Joseph, showing him trustworthy love, and made the chief jailer pleased with him. 22So the chief jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners there and gave him the responsibility for running the prison. 23The chief jailer didn't bother with anything for Joseph took care of it all for the Lord was with him and made him successful.
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com