Genesis 39
39
Joseph in Potiphar’s House
1Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, a court official of Pharaoh, commander of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2And Yahweh was with Joseph, and he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. 3And his master observed that Yahweh was with him, and everything that was in his hand to do Yahweh made successful. 4And Joseph found favor in his eyes and he served him. Then he appointed him#That is, Joseph over his house and all that he owned he put into his hand. 5And it happened that from the time he appointed him over his house and over all that he had, Yahweh blessed the house of the Egyptian on account of Joseph. And the blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. 6And he left all that he had in the hand of Joseph, and he did not worry about anything#Literally “he did not know with him anything” except the food that he ate. Now Joseph was well built and handsome.#Literally “beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance” 7And it happened that after these things his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” 8But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not worry about#Literally “does not know with me” what is in the house, and everything he owns he has put in my hand. 9He has no greater authority in this house than me, and he has not withheld anything from me except you, since you are his wife. Now how could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” 10And it happened that as she spoke to Joseph day after day,#Literally “day, day” he did not heed her to lie beside her or to be with her. 11But one particular day#Literally “and it happened as this day” he came into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house were there in the house, 12she seized him by his garment and said, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and he went outside. 13And it happened that when she saw that he left his garment in her hand and fled outside, 14she called to the men of her house and said to them, “Look! He#That is, Potiphar brought a Hebrew man to us to mock us! He came to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15And when he heard me, that I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled, and he went outside.” 16Then she put his garment beside her until his master came to his house. 17Then she spoke to him according to these words, saying, “The Hebrew slave that you brought to us came to me to make fun of me. 18And it happened that as I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” 19And when his master heard the words of his wife that she spoke to him, “This is what your servant did to me,”#Literally “according to these words your servant did to me” he became very angry.#Literally “his nostrils became hot” 20And Joseph’s master took him and put him into prison, the place that the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in prison. 21And Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed loyal love to him, and gave him favor in the eyes of the chief of the prison. 22And the chief of the prison put all the prisoners that were in the prison into the hand of Joseph. And everything that was done there, he was the one who did it. 23The chief of the prison did not worry about#Literally “did not pay heed to” anything in his#That is, Joseph’s hand, since Yahweh was with him. And whatever he did Yahweh made it successful.
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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.