Genesis 39. Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 

• The Hebrew term for Potiphar is סְרִיס פַּרְעֹה (saris Par‘oh) where saris could mean eunuch and some people say this is why is wife was ‘sexually frustrated’ (…or she could just be human).
• The Hebrew term for “captain of the guard” here is שַׂר הַטַּבָּחִים sar haṭabbaḥim or “chief of the slaughterers” …oh my

² The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 

• Joseph would spend 11 years in the house of Potiphar (he began his time at 17 years old, will spend 2 years in jail, and will be 30 when he is brought before Pharaoh).

³ His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. ⁴ So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. ⁵ From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. ⁶ So 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.

• I didn’t know what the end of this verse meant “he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.” I looked it up and its a Hebrew idiom that means Potiphar entrusted everything to Joseph and didn’t concern himself with anything. 

Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 

• Can you imagine inspired words of God being about how attractive you were?

⁷ And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” ⁸ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. ⁹ He 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 sin against God?” ¹⁰ And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

• This must have been a big temptation for Joseph who was most likely a virgin. He had a high ranking woman asking him daily for sex and the deed could have easily be done in secret (and this happened for months or even YEARS)

¹¹ But 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 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. 

• Literally ran from temptation (1 Corinthians 6:18)

¹³ And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, ¹⁴ she 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. ¹⁵ And 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.” ¹⁶ Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, ¹⁷ and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. ¹⁸ But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”

• We see deceptive garments in the past three chapters – using Joseph’s coat to deceive Jacob, using a veil to hide Tamar, and Potiphar’s wife taking Joseph’s garment.

¹⁹ As 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. ²⁰ And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 

• Joseph should have been put to death but perhaps Potiphar secretly knew the truth.
• Did Joseph defend himself against Potiphar’s wife or did he stay silent (similar to Jesus being accused)?

²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²² And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. ²³ The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

• Genesis 39 mentions the Lord was with Joseph 5 times (verses 2, 3, 5, 21, 23)

And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed

v 23b