Genesis — Chapter 39
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1And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.
2And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
3And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
5And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
6And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.
7And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
8But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
9There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
10And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
11And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
12And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
13And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
14That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:
15And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.
16And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.
17And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me:
18And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.
19And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
20And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.
21But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.
23The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.
1And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh`s, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites, that had brought him down thither.
2And Jehovah was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
3And his master saw that Jehovah was with him, and that Jehovah made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4And Joseph found favor in his sight, and he ministered unto him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
5And it came to pass from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that Jehovah blessed the Egyptian`s house for Joseph`s sake; and the blessing of Jehovah was upon all that he had, in the house and in the field.
6And he left all that he had in Joseph`s hand; and he knew not aught [that was] with him, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was comely, and well-favored.
7And it came to pass after these things, that his master`s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
8But he refused, and said unto his master`s wife, Behold, my master knoweth not what is with me in the house, and he hath put all that he hath into my hand:
9he is not greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
10And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, [or] to be with her.
11And it came to pass about this time, that he went into the house to do his work; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
12And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
13And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
14that she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in a Hebrew unto us to mock us: he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:
15and it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment by me, and fled, and got him out.
16And she laid up his garment by her, until his master came home.
17And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, whom thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me:
18and it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment by me, and fled out.
19And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
20And Joseph`s master took him, and put him into the prison, the place where the king`s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.
21But Jehovah was with Joseph, and showed kindness unto him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph`s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.
23The keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand, because Jehovah was with him; and that which he did, Jehovah made it prosper.
1Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, purchased him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.
2The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful and lived in the household of his Egyptian master.
3His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful.
4So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar appointed Joseph overseer of his household and put him in charge of everything he owned.
5From the time Potiphar appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both in his house and in his fields.
6So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; he gave no thought to anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well built and good-looking.
7Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me.”
8But he refused, saying to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought to his household with me here, and everything that he owns he has put into my care.
9There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”
10Even though she continued to speak to Joseph day after day, he did not respond to her invitation to go to bed with her.
11One day he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants were there in the house.
12She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran outside.
13When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside,
14she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought in a Hebrew man to us to humiliate us. He tried to go to bed with me, but I screamed loudly.
15When he heard me raise my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”
16So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home.
17This is what she said to him: “That Hebrew slave you brought to us tried to humiliate me,
18but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”
19When his master heard his wife say, “This is the way your slave treated me,” he became furious.
20Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison.
21But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden.
22The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing.
23The warden did not concern himself with anything that was in Joseph’s care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.
1Joseph was brought down to Egypt. Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites that had brought him down there.
2Yahweh was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
3His master saw that Yahweh was with him, and that Yahweh made all that he did prosper in his hand.
4Joseph found favor in his sight. He ministered to him, and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
5From the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, Yahweh blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake. Yahweh’s blessing was on all that he had, in the house and in the field.
6He left all that he had in Joseph’s hand. He didn’t concern himself with anything, except for the food which he ate. Joseph was well-built and handsome.
7After these things, his master’s wife set her eyes on Joseph; and she said, “Lie with me.”
8But he refused, and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, my master doesn’t know what is with me in the house, and he has put all that he has into my hand.
9No one is greater in this house than I am, and he has not kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
10As she spoke to Joseph day by day, he didn’t listen to her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
11About this time, he went into the house to do his work, and there were none of the men of the house inside.
12She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” He left his garment in her hand, and ran outside.
13When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had run outside,
14she called to the men of her house, and spoke to them, saying, “Behold, he has brought a Hebrew in to us to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice.
15When he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment by me, and ran outside.”
16She laid up his garment by her, until his master came home.
17She spoke to him according to these words, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought to us, came in to me to mock me,
18and as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment by me, and ran outside.”
19When his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your servant did to me,” his wrath was kindled.
20Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were bound, and he was there in custody.
21But Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22The keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever they did there, he was responsible for it.
23The keeper of the prison didn’t look after anything that was under his hand, because Yahweh was with him; and that which he did, Yahweh made it prosper.
Summary
Joseph serves in Potiphar's house and prospers, but is falsely accused by Potiphar's wife and thrown into prison — yet God remains with him.
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Egypt — Joseph is now in the house of Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, likely in or near the capital city (possibly in the Nile Delta region, where later pharaohs had residences).
- The Egyptian prison — Joseph is placed in the royal prison where the king's prisoners are held, indicating proximity to the seat of government.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers Joseph's rise, the temptation, his refusal, the false accusation, and God's presence in prison.
- Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "Joseph's Coat" on v.12 (MTP Vol. 14, No. 843) "He LEFT his garment — and FLED. This is the only way to handle sexual temptation: flee. Not negotiate, not reason, not linger — flee. Joseph didn't stay to argue. He didn't try to explain. He ran. And he lost his coat — again (cf. 37:23). Joseph keeps losing garments — stripped by brothers, stripped by Potiphar's wife. But God keeps clothing him with something better. Sometimes you must lose your coat to keep your character." Sermon: "Sin Against God" on v.9 (MTP Vol. 20, No. 1214) "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against GOD? Not 'sin against my master' (though it was). Not 'sin against her husband' (though it was). Not 'sin against myself' (though it was). Sin against GOD. This is the ultimate deterrent: God-consciousness. When you see sin as primarily against God — not just against people or yourself — you have the strongest motivation for purity."
Reflection
- 1. "The LORD was with Joseph" (vv.2, 3, 21, 23). God's presence is the key to everything — prosperity, integrity, endurance. Is God's presence the defining reality of YOUR life?
- 2. "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (v.9). Joseph's motivation for purity was God-consciousness. When tempted, do you think about consequences (getting caught) or about God (sinning against Him)? Which is a stronger deterrent?
- 3. "He... fled" (v.12). Joseph ran from temptation. He didn't negotiate or linger. When sexual temptation comes, do you flee or flirt? Running is not weakness — it's wisdom.
- 4. Joseph did right and was punished for it (vv.19-20). Faithfulness doesn't guarantee fair treatment. Are you willing to suffer unjustly for doing right? God sees — and He's still with you.
- 5. "The LORD was with him" — in Potiphar's house AND in prison (vv.2, 21). God's presence doesn't depend on your location or circumstances. He is with you in the palace and in the pit. Where do you need to know His presence today?