Yahweh with Joseph
Yahweh with Joseph
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In Potiphar’s House
Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites. They sold him to an Egyptian, Potiphar, one of the pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the palace guard.
But Yahweh was with Joseph. Joseph thrived and worked in the house of his Egyptian master. When Joseph’s master realized Yahweh was with Joseph and caused all he did to thrive under his authority, he favored Joseph, who became his personal attendant. He appointed Joseph over his household and placed everything he owned under Joseph’s authority.
After the Egyptian appointed Joseph over his household and over all he owned, Yahweh blessed his household because of Joseph. Yahweh’s blessing was on everything he owned, whether in the house or the field. So he left everything he owned under Joseph’s authority and paid no attention to anything except the food he was eating.
The narrative returns to two decades before the birth of Perez and Zerah, when Joseph arrived in Egypt as a slave. A brief introduction repeats the information from Genesis 37:26 that the Ishmaelite traders sold Joseph to an Egyptian named Potiphar, the pharaoh’s captain of the palace guard. The main story then begins by stating the theme: “Yahweh was with Joseph.” Verse 23 repeats this theme at the end of the chapter.1
At the lowest point in Joseph’s life, Scripture chooses to emphasize God’s presence and blessing. Yahweh’s blessing on Potiphar’s household through Joseph exemplifies the blessing of the nations through Abraham and his offspring.2 Potiphar noticed how everything Joseph touched thrived. So he allowed Joseph to work in the house instead of in the field. Joseph later became Potiphar’s personal attendant. Over the years, Joseph’s authority grew until Potiphar entrusted him with running his entire household.
These promotions certainly represented improvements in the way Joseph was treated. Yet while Potiphar prospered, Joseph remained a slave. He couldn’t go where he wanted, buy his own property, or even marry and raise a family. If Potiphar chose to give him a wife, his children would be slaves too. Joseph likely didn’t feel God’s presence at the time. But circumstances have never been a measure of God’s favor.
Potiphar’s Wife
Now Joseph was shapely and handsome, so his master’s wife eventually noticed Joseph and enticed him. “Sleep with me!”
But Joseph refused. “See here! With me, my master pays no attention to what goes on in the house. He’s placed everything he owns under my authority. In this household, even he is not greater than I am. He’s withheld nothing from me except you because you’re his wife! So how could I commit such a great evil? I would be sinning against God!”
Though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to lie beside her or even be with her. On one such day, when he went inside to do his work, none of the men were there in the house. So she grabbed his garment. “Sleep with me!” But he left his garment in her hand and fled outside.
Joseph inherited his mother’s good looks, and as he spent more time in the house, Potiphar’s wife began to notice.3 Attracted to Joseph, she demanded he sleep with her. She spoke with the authority of a mistress commanding a slave, but Joseph would not betray the trust his master had placed in him. Joseph refused to sin against God by committing adultery and even lectured his master’s wife for trying to entice him to commit “such a great evil.”
Undaunted, Potiphar’s wife sought to seduce Joseph every day, certain her charms would eventually break his will. She tried to persuade him with seemingly innocent requests to just lie beside her or be in the room with her.4 But Joseph showed his wisdom by refusing to have anything to do with her. Unfortunately, as much as Joseph tried to avoid Potiphar’s wife, his responsibilities still required him to spend time in the house.
One day, none of the other men of the household happened to be there when he entered. So Potiphar’s wife seized the opportunity to try to force Joseph into bed, knowing he wouldn’t dare retaliate. But when she grabbed his garment, he managed to free himself from it and flee outside. Egyptian men typically wore little more than a wraparound skirt, so this may have left Joseph naked.5 It certainly left Potiphar’s wife humiliated and seeking revenge.
A Woman Scorned
As soon as [Potiphar’s wife] realized [Joseph] had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, she called out to the men of her household. She told them, “Look! He brought a Hebrew here to ridicule us! He came in to sleep with me, but I screamed. As soon as he heard me scream, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”
She kept his garment beside her until his master returned home. Then she told him the same story. “The Hebrew slave you brought here to ridicule me came in to me! But as soon as I screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”
As soon as Joseph’s master heard the story his wife told him about what his slave had done, he was furious. Joseph’s master threw him in the prison where the king’s prisoners were kept.
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Joseph’s escape left Potiphar’s wife bewildered for a second, but she quickly recovered, realized she still held Joseph’s skirt, and plotted her vengeance. She screamed, calling the men of the house back inside. Using the garment as evidence, she accused Joseph of attempted rape. She played on xenophobia by reminding them Joseph was a Hebrew, not an Egyptian. She even accused her husband of intentionally buying a Hebrew slave to ridicule them. Potiphar should have known elevating a foreigner to such a high position would bring trouble!
When her husband returned home later, she told him the same story falsely portraying Joseph as the assailant. This infuriated Potiphar, yet he reacted strangely. A slave accused of assaulting his mistress could expect a quick death.6 Instead Potiphar had Joseph thrown in prison. Did he know the character of his adulterous wife as well as he did the character of his trusted servant?
Potiphar placed Joseph in the prison for the pharaoh’s prisoners, though Joseph had committed no crime against the pharaoh. Yet Potiphar placed Joseph in that prison because, as captain of the palace guard, Potiphar had direct authority over it.7 His responsibilities included arresting those seen as threats to the king and carrying out any sentence against them. By imprisoning Joseph with the pharaoh’s prisoners, Potiphar could keep an eye him.
In this way, Joseph remained under Potiphar’s authority.8 Potiphar may have hoped that after an appropriate time of “punishment,” he could bring Joseph back into his service. But the blessing on Potiphar’s house didn’t come from Joseph. It came from God. By condemning an innocent man, Potiphar lost that blessing forever.
Joseph in Prison
But though Joseph was there in the prison, Yahweh was with him and remained faithful to him. He caused the warden to favor Joseph, so the warden put all the prisoners in the prison under Joseph’s authority. Joseph was responsible for everything they did. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s authority because Yahweh was with him and caused all he did to thrive.
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As if slavery weren’t bad enough, Joseph suddenly found himself in prison, condemned for a crime he didn’t commit. But once again Scripture ignores Joseph’s misfortune and emphasizes Yahweh’s presence. “Yahweh was with him and remained faithful to him.” The prison warden favored Joseph as Potiphar had, and Joseph rose to a position of authority over the other prisoners. The prison ran smoothly with Joseph in charge.
God’s presence doesn’t guarantee a pleasant living situation. Joseph still had to endure life as a prisoner in chains, as described in Psalm 105:18–19. God didn’t make Joseph comfortable. His presence helped Joseph through a time of testing that would prepare him for far greater responsibilities to come. From a human point of view, God seemed to have abandoned Joseph. How could a loving God allow such injustice? Yet from God’s point of view, everything happened exactly according to plan.
- See Inclusio.
- See Why Israel?
- Genesis 29:17.
- See Proverbs 7:21.
- Reyburn and Fry, Handbook on Genesis, 895.
- Hamilton, Book of Genesis: Chapters 18–50, 471; Kidner, Genesis, 202–203; Wenham, Genesis 16–50, 377.
- Genesis 39:1; 40:3, 7.
- Genesis 40:4.