Genesis 39
39
Joseph and Potiphar's Wife
1Now the Ishmaelites had taken Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, one of the king's officers, who was the captain of the palace guard. 2#Acts 7.9The LORD was with Joseph and made him successful. He lived in the house of his Egyptian master, 3who saw that the LORD was with Joseph and had made him successful in everything he did. 4Potiphar was pleased with him and made him his personal servant; so he put him in charge of his house and everything he owned. 5From then on, because of Joseph the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian and everything that he had in his house and in his fields. 6Potiphar handed over everything he had to the care of Joseph and did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Joseph was well-built and good-looking, 7and after a while his master's wife began to desire Joseph and asked him to go to bed with her. 8He refused and said to her, “Look, my master does not have to concern himself with anything in the house, because I am here. He has put me in charge of everything he has. 9I have as much authority in this house as he has, and he has not kept back anything from me except you. How then could I do such an immoral thing and sin against God?” 10Although she asked Joseph day after day, he would not go to bed with her.
11But one day when Joseph went into the house to do his work, none of the house servants was there. 12She caught him by his robe and said, “Come to bed with me.” But he escaped and ran outside, leaving his robe in her hand. 13When she saw that he had left his robe and had run out of the house, 14she called to her house servants and said, “Look at this! This Hebrew that my husband brought to the house is insulting us. He came into my room and tried to rape me, but I screamed as loud as I could. 15When he heard me scream, he ran outside, leaving his robe beside me.”
16She kept his robe with her until Joseph's master came home. 17Then she told him the same story: “That Hebrew slave that you brought here came into my room and insulted me. 18But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his robe beside me.”
19Joseph's master was furious 20and had Joseph arrested and put in the prison where the king's prisoners were kept, and there he stayed. 21#Acts 7.9But the LORD was with Joseph and blessed him, so that the jailer was pleased with him. 22He put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and made him responsible for everything that was done in the prison. 23The jailer did not have to look after anything for which Joseph was responsible, because the LORD was with Joseph and made him succeed in everything he did.
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
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