1 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.
2 And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4 And 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.
5 And 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.
6 And 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.
7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
8 But 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;
9 There 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?
10 And 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.
11 And 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.
12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
14 That 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:
15 And 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.
16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.
17 And 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:
18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.
19 And 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.
20 And 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.
21 But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22 And 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.
23 The 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.
1. Potiphar buys Joseph as a slave.
2. Joseph is promoted to manager of Potiphar’s entire household.
3. Potiphar’s wife tempts Joseph and he resists her temptation.
4. The woman frames Joseph and he is put in an Egyptian prison.
Verses 1–2. This chapter returns to the story of Joseph, who had been sold into Egyptian slavery by his brothers. Through it all, Joseph remained the constant servant of the living God. He was a pattern for every Christian believer. But more importantly, he served as an Old Testament prototypical picture of Jesus Christ. Just as Christ lived out His days of humiliation and suffering, Joseph walked a similar path. He was a living picture of a suffering servant who must bear persecution with a glad and humble heart. All Christians are called to this life. It is our reasonable service (Rom. 12:1). Of all of the sons of Jacob, none was more undeserving of the treatment Joseph received, yet by God’s ordination, the young man suffered grave injustices for year after painful year. Through all this he remained ever faithful, steadfast, courageous, and agreeable to these difficult providences in his life. While there is no reason to believe he was without sin entirely, the Bible sees fit to emphasize his upright character. It seems that Joseph was the most godly of all the patriarchs. Why did God subject the most faithful to the most severe injustices and persecutions at the hands of the Gentiles? There is only one possible answer to the question. It was His desire and delight. Several times in this chapter, we are told that God was with Joseph. This is a crucial element to the story. Of all the precious covenantal promises, the believer always holds to the promise of God’s presence. “I will be with thee,” He tells His people. God would never subject His faithful servant to such severe conditions without blessing him with His presence. Wherever Christians must stand alone in the world under the most miserable of conditions, they can count on the presence of God, and that is a sufficient comfort and strength. All the while His people suffer, we must believe that God is carefully monitoring the situation. And He will provide the resources necessary for the man of God to come out of it victorious.
Verses 3–6. Young Joseph in Potiphar’s household is the prime example of grace under trial. Any man or woman who finds himself cut out of the family economy and enslaved to governments or to large corporate interests will find great encouragement here. There was not a hint of bitter resentment or angry vengefulness in Joseph. He was the picture of contentment. Committing himself to the place that God had brought him, he threw himself into his tasks. In accordance with Paul’s admonition to servants in Ephesians 6, Joseph gave his utmost in obedient service to his master, “doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6). No matter his condition, the man of faith knows that he is always in the employment of his heavenly Master. All rewards, paychecks, bonuses, congratulatory notes, honors, and promotions ultimately come from the Father of lights, “with whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning” (Jam. 1:17).
Joseph set a godly example for every young man who must learn the lessons of diligence, respect, and obedience to their masters even during the most menial work. Although Joseph found himself in the employment of an unbeliever, good service and hard work was duly recognized and rewarded. By his conscientious, wise, and diligent labor, Joseph won the trust of his master, and Potiphar put all of his interests under Joseph’s management.
Verses 7–19. From these verses we may glean another important insight concerning Joseph’s sterling character. None of these temptations are unusual in the lives of men, and we have much to learn from this. The wife of Potiphar tempted Joseph to commit adultery with her, which was a clear violation of the 7th commandment. Over an extended period of time, he steadfastly resisted her repeated advances. Here is an example of a man standing with integrity against the wily temptress, and he did so by simply speaking the truth. One statement of truth will crush a thousand deceitful propositions. One small light bulb takes up only a cubic inch in spatial volume, but it can illuminate 1,000,000 square inches of darkness! If men and women would only speak the truth, those gigantic, evil dragons of deceit would melt on the spot. Mark the simple, straight-forward speech of this man, Joseph, as he says, “How can I violate my master’s trust by stealing the one thing he has not given to me: his wife? How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” By invoking the law of God, he takes the argument to a higher level. What more can be said? How can a temptation retain its strength in the face of such powerful words? How many sins might be avoided if we were to break the silence with the truth, as Joseph did in this story?
While Joseph strongly resisted the temptation with these words, it wasn’t enough to slow down this woman who was hell-bent in the path of wickedness. The woman falsely accused him of impropriety, and Joseph landed in an Egyptian jail.
Verses 20–23. Twice, Joseph had fallen victim to treacherous dealings. At this point he had even more reason to resort to self-pity, bitterness, and discouragement. His life had been one long series of ups and downs. After a promotion in his father’s house, he suffered at the cruel hands of his brothers. Sold into slavery, he found himself in the household of an Egyptian. After a promotion to the chief position in the household, he was thrown into prison. After all of this ill treatment, did his courage flag? Did his outlook dim? Incredibly, in these dour conditions he proved himself the most responsible and diligent prisoner in the jail! Truly, Joseph had learned “to be abased and to abound.” Whatever his conditions, he learned to be content therein (Phil. 4:11-12). Whatever life would deal him, he was determined to make the best of it! This is an example of true godly faith in action.
Both in verse 21 and 23, we are told in no uncertain terms that Yahweh God was with Joseph. This is the key phrase. When God is with a man, and the man knows that God is with him, that man will manifest the utmost strength, courage, uprightness, and steadfastness in the day of trouble! It was the Lord who visited Joseph in this no-account prison deep in the heart of Egypt, and it was the Lord who saw to it that Joseph was favored by the prison guard. It was the Lord who made him prosper in whatever he set his hand to in the miserable dungeon. Of course, God could have prevented any of this from happening to Joseph. But Joseph’s whole life was part of God’s story, and He would never allow Joseph to live the story alone.
1. Joseph provided an example of constant faith and steadfast obedience through many years of humiliation. Although his story benefited many of the children of God living in the Old Testament era, his life is just as instructive to those of us who live in the age of the New Testament Church. May God help us to be faithful in the hard days as we traverse the valleys of trial, especially as we contemplate the promise that He is with us, even to the end of the world.
2. Sin begins when we look at something that God has forbidden and we desire it. That was the sin of Potiphar’s wife in this story. When a parent forbids a child from taking a cookie, the cookie jar becomes a source of temptation to the child. When a child continues to look longingly at the cookie while contemplating disobedience, he has already broken God’s law, for God has commanded that children obey their parents. Flirting with temptation is to desire what God has forbidden. If God has said, “no,” then let us not play with the idea of breaking God’s law. We had better move along and get busy doing the things that God would have us to do.
3. This text teaches us a great deal about resisting temptation. The Christian must be prepared to resist temptation over and over again, even when it becomes increasingly more difficult. He must be willing to resist temptation by speaking the truth, and by physically removing himself from the situation. Herein lies the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is understanding that it is wrong to lie with somebody else’s wife, but wisdom is actually leaving your coat in the hands of Potiphar’s wife on your way out the door.
4. God gives us some situations in our lives that will either make us or break us. If Joseph had given in to the temptation, he would have undoubtedly suffered terrible consequences and his life would have been very different. May God give us the strength and the faith to pass the tests that He sends our way.
1. What are the themes of Chapters 1 through 39?
2. How did Joseph’s life represent a series of ups and downs?
3. How did Joseph react to the trying circumstances in his life?
4. How did Joseph resist the temptation of Potiphar’s wife?
5. What happened to Joseph as a consequence of rejecting the woman’s temptations?
6. What is the difference between wisdom and knowledge, as illustrated in this chapter?
1. How equipped are we to resist temptation? What are the sorts of things that we can do right now to prepare ourselves for the more significant temptations and trials that might come our way