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.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Genesis 39
39
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
1Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and #ch. 37:36 Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, #ch. 37:28 had bought him from the #ch. 37:25Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2#ver. 21; Acts 7:9; [ch. 21:22; 26:24, 28; 28:15; 1 Sam. 16:18; 18:14, 28]The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord #2 Chr. 26:5; Ps. 1:3caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4So Joseph #ver. 21; ch. 19:19; 33:10 found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house #ver. 8and put him in charge of all that he had. 5From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house #[ch. 30:27]for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.
Now Joseph was #[ch. 29:17; 1 Sam. 16:12]handsome in form and appearance. 7And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and #ver. 4he has put everything that he has in my charge. 9He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and #2 Sam. 12:13; Ps. 51:4sin against God?” 10And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he #[Prov. 1:10]would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.
11But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12#[Prov. 7:13, 18]she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. 13And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” 16Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”
19As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20And Joseph’s master took him and #Ps. 105:18 put him into the #ch. 40:3, 5; [ch. 40:15; 41:14]prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21But #ver. 2; Acts 7:9, 10 the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love #Ex. 3:21; 11:3; 12:36and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22And the keeper of the prison #ch. 40:4put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because #ver. 2, 3the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.
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