Genesis 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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Genesis 39

Joseph Is Sold to Potiphar in Egypt

1The traders#39:1 traders Literally, “Ishmaelites.” who bought Joseph took him down to Egypt. They sold him to the captain of Pharaoh’s guard, Potiphar. 2The Lord helped Joseph become a successful man. Joseph lived in the house of his master, Potiphar the Egyptian.

3Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph and that the Lord helped Joseph be successful in everything he did. 4So Potiphar was very happy with Joseph. He allowed Joseph to work for him and to help him rule the house. Joseph was the ruler over everything Potiphar owned. 5After Joseph was made the ruler over the house, the Lord blessed the house and everything that Potiphar owned. The Lord also blessed everything that grew in Potiphar’s fields. The Lord did this because of Joseph. 6So Potiphar allowed Joseph to take responsibility for everything in the house. Potiphar didn’t have to worry about anything except deciding what to eat.

Joseph Refuses Potiphar’s Wife

Joseph was a very handsome, good-looking man. 7After some time, the wife of Joseph’s master began to pay special attention to him. One day she said to him, “Sleep with me.”

8But Joseph refused. He said, “My master trusts me with everything in his house. He has given me responsibility for everything here. 9My master has made me almost equal to him in his house. I cannot sleep with his wife! That is wrong! It is a sin against God.”

10The woman talked with Joseph every day, but he refused to sleep with her. 11One day Joseph went into the house to do his work. He was the only man in the house at the time. 12His master’s wife grabbed his coat and said to him, “Come to bed with me.” But Joseph ran out of the house so fast that he left his coat in her hand.

13The woman saw that Joseph had left his coat in her hand and had run out of the house. 14She called to the men outside and said, “Look! This Hebrew slave was brought here to make fun of us. He came in and tried to attack me, but I screamed. 15My scream scared him and he ran away, but he left his coat with me.” 16Then she kept his coat until her husband, Joseph’s master, came home. 17She told her husband the same story. She said, “This Hebrew slave you brought here tried to attack me! 18But when he came near me, I screamed. He ran away, but he left his coat.”

19Joseph’s master listened to what his wife said, and he became very angry. 20So Potiphar put Joseph into the prison where the king’s enemies were held, and that is where Joseph remained.

Joseph in Prison

21The Lord was with Joseph and continued to show his kindness to him, so the commander of the prison guards began to like Joseph. 22The commander of the guards put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. Joseph was their leader, but he still did the same work they did. 23The commander of the guards trusted Joseph with everything that was in the prison. This happened because the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord helped Joseph be successful in everything he did.

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