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
1After Joseph had been taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites, Potiphar an Egyptian, one of Pharaoh’s officials and the manager of his household, bought him from them.
2-6a As it turned out, God was with Joseph and things went very well with him. He ended up living in the home of his Egyptian master. His master recognized that God was with him, saw that God was working for good in everything he did. He became very fond of Joseph and made him his personal aide. He put him in charge of all his personal affairs, turning everything over to him. From that moment on, God blessed the home of the Egyptian—all because of Joseph. The blessing of God spread over everything he owned, at home and in the fields, and all Potiphar had to concern himself with was eating three meals a day.
6b-7 Joseph was a strikingly handsome man. As time went on, his master’s wife became infatuated with Joseph and one day said, “Sleep with me.”
8-9He wouldn’t do it. He said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master doesn’t give a second thought to anything that goes on here—he’s put me in charge of everything he owns. He treats me as an equal. The only thing he hasn’t turned over to me is you. You’re his wife, after all! How could I violate his trust and sin against God?”
10She pestered him day after day after day, but he stood his ground. He refused to go to bed with her.
11-15On one of these days he came to the house to do his work and none of the household servants happened to be there. She grabbed him by his cloak, saying, “Sleep with me!” He left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house. When she realized that he had left his coat in her hand and run outside, she called to her house servants: “Look—this Hebrew shows up and before you know it he’s trying to seduce us. He tried to make love to me but I yelled as loud as I could. With all my yelling and screaming, he left his coat beside me here and ran outside.”
16-18She kept his coat right there until his master came home. She told him the same story. She said, “The Hebrew slave, the one you brought to us, came after me and tried to use me for his plaything. When I yelled and screamed, he left his coat with me and ran outside.”
19-23When his master heard his wife’s story, telling him, “These are the things your slave did to me,” he was furious. Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the jail where the king’s prisoners were locked up. But there in jail God was still with Joseph: He reached out in kindness to him; he put him on good terms with the head jailer. The head jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners—he ended up managing the whole operation. The head jailer gave Joseph free rein, never even checked on him, because God was with him; whatever he did God made sure it worked out for the best.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.