And 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.

And Ioseph was brought downe to Egypt, and Potiphar an Officer of Pharaoh, captaine of þe guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him downe thither.

2And the LORD was with Ioseph, and hee was a prosperous man, and hee was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

3And his master sawe that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did, to prosper in his hand.

4And Ioseph found grace in his sight, and he serued him; and hee made him ouerseer ouer his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

5And it came to passe from the time that hee had made him overseer in his house, and ouer all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptians house for Iosephs sake: and the blessing of the LORD was vpon all that he had in the house, and in the field.

6And he left all that he had, in Iosephs hand: and he knew not ought he had, saue the bread which he did eate: and Ioseph was a goodly person, and well fauoured.

7 And it came to passe after these things, that his masters wife cast her eyes vpon Ioseph, and shee said, Lie with me.

8But he refused, and said vnto his masters wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with mee in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath, to my hand.

9There is none greater in this house then I: neither hath hee kept backe any thing from me, but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I doe this great wickednesse, and sinne against God?

10And it came to passe as she spake to Ioseph day by day, that hee hearkened not vnto her, to lie by her, or to bee with her.

11And it came to passe about this time, that Ioseph went in to the house, to doe his busines, and there was none of the men of the house there within.

12And shee 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 passe, when she saw that hee had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth;

14That she called vnto the men of her house, and spake vnto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew vnto vs, to mocke vs: he came in vnto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice.

15And it came to passe, when hee heard that I lifted vp my voice, and cried, that he left his garment with mee, and fled, and got him out.

16And she laid vp his garment by her, vntill her lord came home.

17And she spake vnto him, according to these words, saying, The Hebrew seruant which thou hast brought vnto vs, came in vnto me to mocke me.

18And it came to passe as I lift vp my voice, and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.

19And it came to passe when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake vnto him, saying, After this maner did thy seruant to me, that his wrath was kindled.

20And Iosephs master tooke him, and put him into the prison, a place, where þe kings prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.

21 But the LORD was with Ioseph, and shewed him mercie, and gaue him fauour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

22And the keeper of the prison committed to Iosephs hand all the prisoners that were in the prison, and whatsoeuer they did there, he was the doer of it:

23The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing, that was vnder his hand, because the LORD was with him: & that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.

I == Gen 37:28 , 36 ; Ps 105:17

 

 

II == Gen 21:22 ; 26:24 , 28 ; 28:15 ; 39:21 ; 1st Sam 16:18 ; 18:14 , 28 ; Acts 7:9

 

III == Ps 1:3

 

IV == Gen 18:3 ; 19:19 ; 24:2 ; 39:21

 

V == Gen 30:24

 

 

 

 

VI == 1st Sam 16:12

 

 

VII == 2nd Sam 13:11

 

 

 

 

 

IX == Gen 20:6 ; Lev 6:2 ; 2nd Sam 12:13 ; Ps 51:4 ; Prov 6:29 , 32

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XII == Prov 7:13-20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XVII == Ex 23:1 ; Ps 120:3

 

XIX == Prov 6:34-35

 

 

XX == Gen 40:3 , 15 ; 41:14 ; Ps 105:18 ; 1st Peter 2:19

 

XXI == Ex 3:21 ; 11:3 ; 12:36 ; Ps 106:46 ; Prov 16:7 ; Dan 1:9 ; Acts 7:9-10

XXII == Gen 40:3-4

XXIII == Gen 39:2-3

1 When Joseph was taken down to Egypt, a certain Egyptian (Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh and his chief steward) bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.

2 But since the LORD was with him, Joseph got on very well and was assigned to the household of his Egyptian master.

3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and brought him success in whatever he did,

4 he took a liking to Joseph and made him his personal attendant; he put him in charge of his household and entrusted to him all his possessions.

5 From the moment that he put him in charge of his household and all his possessions, the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; in fact, the LORD'S blessing was on everything he owned, both inside the house and out.

6 Having left everything he owned in Joseph's charge, he gave no thought, with Joseph there, to anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was strikingly handsome in countenance and body.

7 After a time, his master's wife began to look fondly at him and said, "Lie with me."

8 But he refused. "As long as I am here," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, but has entrusted to me all he owns.

9 He wields no more authority in this house than I do, and he has withheld from me nothing but yourself, since you are his wife. How, then, could I commit so great a wrong and thus stand condemned before God?"

10 Although she tried to entice him day after day, he would not agree to lie beside her, or even stay near her.

11 One such day, when Joseph came into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were then in the house,

12 she laid hold of him by his cloak, saying, "Lie with me!" But leaving the cloak in her hand, he got away from her and ran outside.

13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand as he fled outside,

14 she screamed for her household servants and told them, "Look! my husband has brought in a Hebrew slave to make sport of us! He came in here to lie with me, but I cried out as loud as I could.

15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran away outside."

14 she screamed for her household servants and told them, "Look! my husband has brought in a Hebrew slave to make sport of us! He came in here to lie with me, but I cried out as loud as I could.

15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran away outside."

16 She kept the cloak with her until his master came home.

17 Then she told him the same story: "The Hebrew slave whom you brought here broke in on me, to make sport of me.

18 But when I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and fled outside."

19 As soon as the master heard his wife's story about how his slave had treated her, he became enraged.

20 He seized Joseph and threw him into the jail where the royal prisoners were confined. But even while he was in prison,

21 the LORD remained with Joseph; he showed him kindness by making the chief jailer well-disposed toward him.

22 The chief jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners in the jail, and everything that had to be done there was done under his management.

23 The chief jailer did not concern himself with anything at all that was in Joseph's charge, since the LORD was with him and brought success to all he did.

v 1. “Officer” is in several forms, but this form can mean eunuch, as in case of chamberlains and possibly others. Chamberlain in Esther 2:3 was keeper of the women and definitely a eunuch. However here and 2 Ki. 25:19 it seems best to use officer in the normal sense. Potiphar is a contraction of Potipherah (given by Ra -sun god), not eunuch. Potiphar was chief executioner in the royal guard and prominent. Such jealousy for his wife does not make sense for a eunuch.

(Others point out that some eunuchs did have wives as a matter of presage, and would be possessive of them. They think otherwise Joseph would have been killed instead of merely imprisoned. This would also account for the discontent of Potiphar’s wife.)

v 2,3. God’s blessings were apparent to others in the case of Abraham, Gen. 21:22; Isaac, 26:27,28; Jacob, 30:27; and Joseph, here and 41:38,39.

 

v 4-6. Perhaps Potiphar’s financial position had a dramatic improvement with the coming of Joseph. His ability and trustworthiness became apparent, and after a matter of time, he was given total charge of all responsibilities. Potiphar had only to relax and benefit from Joseph’s fine service. God was blessing this Egyptian through Joseph. Communities should benefit from believer’s presence among them. God was using this as a training ground for Joseph’s later service to Pharaoh.

v 7. We have seen in v 6 that Joseph was a handsome young man. Potiphar’s wife was probably attracted by that as well as his abilities and personality.

 

v 8-10. She may have been equally attractive, but Joseph would have none of that. a. He had the confidence of his master, b. she belonged to another, c. it would be a sin against God. Though she tried regularly to seduce him, he refused and even tried to avoid her, that is, “to be with her”. He would have preferred that his business not even require him to be in the house.

v 11,12. Her actions are comparable to the woman in Prov. 7:19 “For the good man is not at home, he is gone a long journey”, but Joseph didn’t yield. He followed the instruction of 1 Cor. 6:18, Flee fornication: 2 Tim. 2:22, Flee youthful lusts: 1 Cor 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.v 13-18. This gives credence to the old saying that their is no fury like that of a spurned woman. If she could not have him, she would have revenge, and possessing his garment made her lie look like the truth to those she called in. A proof therefore of her fidelity: or an argument to gain credit, argumentum fidei. v 19,20. He was naturally furious, and probably the servants supported his wife. We will see in 40:3 that this prison was a part of Potiphar’s own house. This would have been a capitol offense. Since this was in the political, not criminal portion, it might indicate Potiphar was not sure of Joseph’s guilt. Being the place where state prisoners were kept, it was what we would term, maximum security. Ps. 105:18 says that his feet were in fetters and irons (at first). v 21-23. The keeper or warden of the prison was probably appointed by Potiphar. He soon learned of Joseph’s dependability and placed him in charge of all the other prisoners. He may have been released from irons during this time. Joseph had not sulked because of his innocence and judgment without trial, but responded similar to Paul in Phil. 4:11,12. We don’t know how things prospered under his hand, but probably there was efficiency and a good spirit of cooperation. The Lord used this time to bring Joseph’s leadership ability to the attention of the officials and eventually to Pharaoh.