Genesis 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

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Genesis 39

Joseph and Potiphar’s wife

1Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

2The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4Joseph found favour in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’

8But he refused. ‘With me in charge,’ he told her, ‘my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9No-one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?’ 10And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even to be with her.

11One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12She caught him by his cloak and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

13When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14she called her household servants. ‘Look,’ she said to them, ‘this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.’

16She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17Then she told him this story: ‘That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.’

19When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, ‘This is how your slave treated me,’ he burned with anger. 20Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favour in the eyes of the prison warder. 22So the warder put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23The warder paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®

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