The last time we saw Joseph, he’d been thrown down a well by his jealous brothers,
before being beaten up and sold off to Egyptian merchants as a slave. The Genesis account allows
for some suspense because subsequent to this, the story deviates to focus on Judah and Tamar,
and how Judah, who’d suggested selling Joseph to the Egyptians in the first place, ends up with a
bit of the classic karma treatment. By chapter 39 of Genesis however, the tale refocuses on
Joseph and we learn that our young hero isn’t living too badly, considering his circumstances.
We are told, “Now Joseph had
been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain
of the guard, bought him from Ishmaelites who had taken him there.” (Genesis 39:1)
Despite being sold and purchased as a slave, things could’ve been much worse for Joseph here,
and you might argue that this was the biblical god’s doing. He allowed Joseph to suffer under
the hands of his brothers and allowed Joseph to be sold into slavery, but at the very least,
he showed mercy by allowing a well respected and authoritative figure in Potiphar to purchase him.
Realistically, Joseph could’ve been purchased by anyone for any task,
but Joseph get’s relatively lucky as he is seen to enjoy the comforts of
Potiphar’s success and is even put in charge of his master’s household.
Naturally, this isn’t to say that Joseph had it ‘easy’ at all - he experienced literal slavery
and was not only sold like a piece of meat, but was also so far from home it’s to his testament
that he managed to maintain a relationship with his God at all. Indeed, Joseph had every reason
to turn on his God and or outrightly decide that he didn’t exist. Where he had once been
his father’s favorite and living a relative life of leisure, he was now ‘dead’ to his father
and now thrown into one of the cruellest, most brutal lives a person could find themselves in.
Now Potiphar - a captain of the guard in Egypt - and something of a state official seems to take
a liking to Joseph - going as far as to trust him as the ‘master of the household’ when he is away
(which, as the captain of the guard, may have been more often than not.) Unfortunately, we don’t know
exactly why Potiphar took a shine to Joseph at all and so, one can only assume that Joseph was in
fact a really likable fellow, perhaps showcasing the same virtues and traits that had made him so
popular in the eyes of his father. On the other hand, the narrative does later imply that Potiphar
was aware of Joseph's affinity with his God and came to realise that good things seemed to happen
to Joseph simply because he believed in the Lord. Additionally, it might be said that despite his
situation, Joseph did not shy away from the hard work of a servant and whilst he could’ve
very easily moaned and complained over what had been taken from him, chose instead to make the
best of what the Lord had chosen for him. With such an attitude, the Genesis account
does tell us, “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the
house of his Egyptian master.” (Genesis 39:2) Believers might derive some wisdom from this
part of the narrative, in that even though one’s circumstances might seem hopeless,
their God is still with them and might actually be looking out for them as he does here with Joseph.
Therefore, believers may feel it is imperative to adopt a Joseph-esque attitude when it
comes to enduring hard times and that even though aspects of their life are not ideal,
maintaining positivity and choosing to worship God in spite of his apparent ‘absence’ are
both righteous and recommended practices. Now, the bible tells us that Joseph’s belief
in God was so strong that even Potiphar came to notice it, and noticed that despite Joseph
being a servant, his God made him successful in everything he did. This causes Potiphar to view
Joseph as a bit of a lucky-charm and some might say that Potiphar was even made aware of God by
Joseph. Indeed, as specified, because of how blessed Joseph is by his God, Potiphar makes
him his attendant and places him in charge of his household, trusting him with everything he owned.
Furthermore, by association, God proceeds to bless Potiphar and everything Potiphar owns,
not because it is believed he is particularly impressed by Potiphar, but because such a blessing
would also make Joseph look good. Again, he was a lucky-charm for Potiphar at this point - a good
omen, and so with God doing favors for Potiphar, Potiphar is seen to do favors for Joseph.
So, whilst it’s unconfirmed just how moved or convinced Potiphar was by the biblical God,
he did nonetheless come to benefit from him, where we are told, “From the time he put him
in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of
the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had,
both in the house and in the field.” (Genesis 39:5) In fact, Potiphar becomes so happy with
Joseph's services that he relinquishes more and more responsibility unto him,
up to a point where Potiphar concerns himself with nothing but the food he puts into his mouth.
The bible then tells us that Joseph was ‘well built’ and handsome and that after some time,
Potiphar’s wife began to notice him and she told him quite forthrightly, ‘Come to bed with me!’
Now, many will think of Potiphar’s wife as quite forward - and yes,
she very much is. But there are two reasons as to why this might be the case. On the one hand,
Potiphar’s wife may have simply been so attracted to Joseph that she could not resist him and this
is evident in her attempts to seduce him. On the other hand, there does exist an idea that Potiphar
himself was a eunuch - made that way under the command of the Pharaoh, who would make all his
captains eunuch’s so as to ensure their loyalty and maintain their obedience. Chapter 39 of
Genesis doesn’t specifically account for this, but if it was true, then his castration is certainly a
reason why his wife might choose to look elsewhere as she sought to satisfy her own sexual needs.
In another light, some might say that this was the bible’s effort to paint the ancient Egyptian women
in a negative light and to make them seem cunning, lustful and untrustworthy. This goes doubly so in
this instance because this Egyptian woman in particular was married - to a well respected
man no less. Furthermore, Potiphar’s wife does not appear to want to be carried off and married to
Joseph, she only wants to have sex with him; a carnal need that she tries to actualise.
Whilst it is subtle, the bible’s efforts to frame the ancient Egyptian woman as having low character
or low moral standing may have been effective for its audience during that time period,
but this isn’t a notion believers would necessarily maintain today. Instead,
modern believers can appreciate Potiphar’s wife for what she is; an isolated account of a woman
(regardless of her heritage) who proves to be not only scandalous, but insistent too.
We cannot know whether Potiphar’s wife was attractive (or if Joseph found her attractive).
Considering she was married to Potiphar - a well respected paragon within the Egyptian community,
it’s reasonable to believe she was quite beautiful. So when Joseph refuses her,
it speaks volumes! We are told,
“But Joseph refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with
anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this
house than I am. My Master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife.
How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph
day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.” (Genesis 39:8-10)
With this, we learn that Joseph was not the sort of man to fall for the charms of any
woman - at least not one who would’ve no doubt led him off of the righteous path. Moreover,
Joseph also recognised his role within Potiphar’s household and was not willing to betray him.
There is no indication that Joseph is even tempted by Potiphar’s wife considering how
certain he is when shooting down her proposal. There is no hesitation on behalf of Joseph as
he lists off every reason why he would not be sleeping with her. He doesn’t even cut
any corners when he rejects her and is perhaps just as blunt with her as she’s been with him.
With this, Joseph leaves no room for misunderstanding - she is
his master’s wife and to do anything with her would be a great sin against his God.
The answer is solidly no, and for this, we respect Joseph and believers may even champion him as a
figure of strength in the face of temptation. Now, the bible continues that one day,
Joseph went into the house to attend to his duties, but that none of the other household
members were there…. except for Potiphar’s wife. This was obviously a ruse by her own design - an
effort to not only hide her adulterous ways from the other members of the household,
but to perhaps incentivise Joseph even further, by providing him with the cover of absolute privacy.
The bible seems to suggest that with this attempt, Potiphar’s wife catches Joseph almost off-guard,
for she grabs him by his cloak and attempts to seduce him again. We are told,
“She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand
and ran out of the house.” (Genesis 39:11-12) So, here we see that it doesn’t matter that
Potiphar’s wife has gone to the lengths to make sure the two have privacy - privacy was never
the issue for Joseph, for even though they could hide this perversion from the eyes of the other
household members, Joseph knew that there was no hiding it from his God. In this instance,
Joseph doesn’t even mince words with Potiphar’s wife; instead he literally runs away from
her - sacrificing his cloak in an effort to be away from her. You may have noticed that in the
previous verse, Joseph is described as refusing to go to bed with her and refusing to even be around
her. This leads me to believe that Joseph, despite the wife’s potential beauty, may have repulsed her
character, causing him to not even want to be in her vicinity. Furthermore, Joseph could’ve more
than likely fought her off or scolded her, but instead, he flees from her the way he might’ve
fled from an ogre or a demon. Believers may look at Joseph fleeing from Potiphar’s wife not as fear
or weakness, but as strength and conviction. He doesn’t allow for Potiphar’s wife to even
begin to entice him and doesn’t allow himself any room to fall for her beauty or charms. Instead,
Joseph takes the safest route when confronted by temptation and runs away - literally runs
away from sin, which is perhaps more than most would do when faced with something they know is
bad for them, but want it anyway. By doing this, Joseph leaves no chance for sin to take place,
and denies both Potiphar’s wife and himself from even considering starting down that road.
Now, as you might imagine, Potiphar’s wife is scorned by Joseph’s rejection.
The bible tells us, “When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of
the house, she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been
brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he
heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” (Genesis 39:13-15)
Of course, we the reader know this to be a lie, but to the seemingly distressed wife, many might
have sided with her out of compassion or simple trust. Bear in mind, this is the household
master’s wife, and to suspect her of any insidious plot would be unheard of, much less tolerated.
Arguably, even if the other household members did suspect Potiphar’s wife of being a schemer, they
probably wouldn’t have dared to announce it for fear of being banished themselves. Furthermore,
Potiphar’s wife had already made sure that only she and Joseph were in the house alone,
so even if the other servants did suspect something amiss, they wouldn’t have any proof
of it anyway. With this, anything Joseph could have said to defend himself against these claims
would be his word against Potiphar’s wife, and Potiphar’s wife would have likely had
more weight to her words considering her position. Indeed, Potiphar’s wife knew all of this and for
her, the scheme was a win-win situation. Either Joseph slept with her, which would satiate her
lustful yearnings, or she would accuse him of sleeping with her, which would satiate her need
for revenge after being rejected. We can tell that she has a conniving streak in her considering that
she knows to keep hold of Joseph’s cloak until her husband comes home and knows to show it to
him in an effort to legitimize her allegation. She says to him, “The Hebrew slave you brought
us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me
and ran out of the house.” (Genesis 39:17-18) Her terminology is exactly the same as when
she told the other household members of her ‘ordeal’. In a court of law,
Potiphar’s wife would certainly come off as convincing, if not for her ability to lie,
then surely her diligence when it comes to keeping her story straight. You might also notice that in
both accounts, she does not refer to Joseph by his name, but instead almost dehumanizes him by
referring to him as a ‘Hebrew slave’ - that which not only feigns her disinterest, but also allows
her to maintain a facade of innocence. Once more, her terminology becomes a part of her defense.
It’s almost as if she’s saying, “Why would I cheat on my rich, powerful husband with a mere slave?”
Potiphar’s wife is unfortunately successful with her deception because after explaining
the tale to her husband, Potiphar is described as ‘burning with anger’ - which is only natural
for a husband to feel this way after hearing of such an indecency towards his wife. So,
Potiphar took Joseph and put him in prison, in the place where the king’s prisoner’s were confined.
You’ll notice here that Potiphar doesn’t even give Joseph the chance to explain himself - such is the
magnitude of his anger. Yet, he also doesn’t kill Joseph, which may have been a feasible option for
a high ranking official of the Pharaoh to exact on a slave who had wronged him. One might say that
Potiphar, despite his disappointment in Joseph, still remembered all that Joseph had done for
him and his household and thus, chose instead to show him mercy by throwing him in prison. Another
idea that some believers choose to acknowledge is that Potiphar actually knew (at least on some
level) that his wife was lying and so, he spared Joseph the death penalty and put him in the king’s
prisons instead - a prison he may have been able to manipulate to ensure some comfort for Joseph.
In spite of the damning accusation and his newfound imprisonment, Joseph remains silent.
He does not attempt to defend himself, nor does he try to slander or defame Potiphar’s wife for
her terrible scheme. Instead, Joseph shows a high level of restraint by resorting to silence,
and one might say that because Joseph knew he was right, he knew he didn’t have to say anything at
all - his God knew the truth and so long as he kept his calm and trusted in this higher power,
his God would deliver him and set everything as it should be. Ultimately, faith becomes the greatest
lesson to believers here - something that Joseph appears to have mastered at a surprisingly young
age. He does not complain about his conditions, he does not lament about what has transpired
and he never exclaims that it is not fair. Instead, Joseph is stoic, trusting only in
his Lord to save him instead of retaliating with anger, dread or schemes of his own.
We only have to look to Joseph’s father Jacob to see how differently the two would
have dealt with this situation. Joseph chose to sit back and let the Lord take the wheel,
but Jacob would’ve probably schemed his way out of prison, exposed Potiphar’s wife on his
own and probably have demanded an apology from Potiphar and some compensation for his suffering.
The bible then tells us that despite all of these horrible things happening to Joseph, the Lord was
with him and the Lord was with him there in the prison. We are told, “But while Joseph was there
in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes
of the prison warden.” (Genesis 39:21-22) This isn’t surprising to see at this point.
Believers will have already been aware that Joseph was blessed when he was thrown into
the pit by his brothers, considering he survived the fall, or that after being sold into slavery,
he was purchased by a master who respected him and thought of him fondly.
If God had blessed Joseph through all of these scenarios, it was pretty likely he
was going to bless Joseph now that he had been wrongly thrown into prison.
We are told, “So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison,
and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to
anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success
in whatever he did.” (Genesis 39:22-23) So, just like with Potiphar’s house,
Joseph is pretty much given control of the prison’s affairs. Potiphar had trusted Joseph
with such a high ranking position (despite being a slave) because he had seen first hand what Joseph
could do with the help of his God. Likewise, the same thing transpires in prison, where the
warden likely sees the exact same qualities in Joseph and so promotes him. It’s unlikely for a
prisoner to have any kind of official authority, yet because of Joseph's allegiance with his God,
the warden pretty much lets Joseph do whatever he wants and doesn’t even bother to check on Joseph,
because he knows he’ll do the right thing. Through these examples, believers may see the benefit in
always trusting in God because despite the situations they may find themselves in,
their God will give them the skills they need in order to survive - or in Joseph’s case, thrive.
Considering Joseph’s experience, he shouldn’t have been any good at running a household or
running a prison, yet because we are told ‘God was with him’, Joseph adapts to these tasks as
if he’d been doing them his whole life and performs them with admirable efficiency.
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