Genesis 39:1-23

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. ¹  An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, ²  purchased him from ³  the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful ⁴  and lived ⁵  in the household of his Egyptian master. 39:3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful. ⁶  39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. ⁷  Potiphar appointed Joseph ⁸  overseer of his household and put him in charge ⁹  of everything he owned. 39:5 From the time ¹⁰  Potiphar ¹¹  appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed ¹²  the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both ¹³  in his house and in his fields. ¹⁴  39:6 So Potiphar ¹⁵  left ¹⁶  everything he had in Joseph’s care; ¹⁷  he gave no thought ¹⁸  to anything except the food he ate. ¹⁹ 

Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. ²⁰  39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of ²¹  Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” ²²  39:8 But he refused, saying ²³  to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought ²⁴  to his household with me here, ²⁵  and everything that he owns he has put into my care. ²⁶  39:9 There 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 ²⁷  such a great evil and sin against God?” 39:10 Even though she continued to speak ²⁸  to Joseph day after day, he did not respond ²⁹  to her invitation to have sex with her. ³⁰ 

39:11 One day ³¹  he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants ³²  were there in the house. 39:12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran ³³  outside. ³⁴  39:13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 39:14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought ³⁵  in a Hebrew man ³⁶  to us to humiliate us. ³⁷  He tried to have sex with me, ³⁸  but I screamed loudly. ³⁹  39:15 When he heard me raise ⁴⁰  my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”

39:16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 39:17 This is what she said to him: ⁴¹  “That Hebrew slave ⁴²  you brought to us tried to humiliate me, ⁴³  39:18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”

39:19 When his master heard his wife say, ⁴⁴  “This is the way ⁴⁵  your slave treated me,” ⁴⁶  he became furious. ⁴⁷  39:20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, ⁴⁸  the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. ⁴⁹ 

39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. ⁵⁰  He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. ⁵¹  39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. ⁵²  39:23 The warden did not concern himself ⁵³  with anything that was in Joseph’s ⁵⁴  care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.

Genesis 3:12

3:12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave ⁵⁵  me some fruit ⁵⁶  from the tree and I ate it.”

Genesis 22:10-14

22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter ⁵⁷  his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel ⁵⁸  called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ⁵⁹  the angel said. ⁶⁰  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ⁶¹  that you fear ⁶²  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

22:13 Abraham looked up ⁶³  and saw ⁶⁴  behind him ⁶⁵  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he ⁶⁶  went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” ⁶⁷  It is said to this day, ⁶⁸  “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” ⁶⁹ 

Genesis 25:6-13

25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines ⁷⁰  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ⁷¹ 

25:7 Abraham lived a total of ⁷²  175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. ⁷³  He joined his ancestors. ⁷⁴  25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah ⁷⁵  near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. ⁷⁶  There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed ⁷⁷  his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. ⁷⁸ 

The Sons of Ishmael

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ⁷⁹  whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.

25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: ⁸⁰  Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

Genesis 25:32

25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ⁸¹ 

Malachi 3:18

3:18 Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between ⁸²  the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.

Malachi 3:1

3:1 “I am about to send my messenger, ⁸³  who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord ⁸⁴  you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger ⁸⁵  of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Colossians 4:5

4:5 Conduct yourselves ⁸⁶  with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities.

[39:1]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause resumes the earlier narrative pertaining to Joseph by recapitulating the event described in 37:36. The perfect verbal form is given a past perfect translation to restore the sequence of the narrative for the reader.

[39:1]  ² sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.

[39:1]  ³ tn Heb “from the hand of.”

[39:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he was a prosperous man.” This does not mean that Joseph became wealthy, but that he was successful in what he was doing, or making progress in his situation (see 24:21).

[39:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he was.”

[39:3]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text adds “in his hand,” a phrase not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:4]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew verb translated became his personal attendant refers to higher domestic service, usually along the lines of a personal attendant. Here Joseph is made the household steward, a position well-attested in Egyptian literature.

[39:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “put into his hand.”

[39:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and it was from then.”

[39:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:5]  ¹² sn The Hebrew word translated blessed carries the idea of enrichment, prosperity, success. It is the way believers describe success at the hand of God. The text illustrates the promise made to Abraham that whoever blesses his descendants will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3).

[39:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:5]  ¹⁴ sn The passage gives us a good picture of Joseph as a young man who was responsible and faithful, both to his master and to his God. This happened within a very short time of his being sold into Egypt. It undermines the view that Joseph was a liar, a tattletale, and an arrogant adolescent.

[39:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:6]  ¹⁶ sn The Hebrew verb translated left indicates he relinquished the care of it to Joseph. This is stronger than what was said earlier. Apparently Potiphar had come to trust Joseph so much that he knew it was in better care with Joseph than with anyone else.

[39:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

[39:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “did not know.”

[39:6]  ¹⁹ sn The expression except the food he ate probably refers to Potiphar’s private affairs and should not be limited literally to what he ate.

[39:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel.

[39:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “she lifted up her eyes toward,” an expression that emphasizes her deliberate and careful scrutiny of him.

[39:7]  ²² tn Heb “lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:8]  ²³ tn Heb “and he said.”

[39:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “know.”

[39:8]  ²⁵ tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

[39:9]  ²⁷ tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.

[39:10]  ²⁸ tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator, followed by the infinitive construct with the preposition כְּ (kÿ). This clause could therefore be taken as temporal.

[39:10]  ²⁹ tn Heb “listen to.”

[39:10]  ³⁰ tn Heb “to lie beside her to be with her.” Here the expression “to lie beside” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “and it was about this day.”

[39:11]  ³² tn Heb “the men of the house.”

[39:12]  ³³ tn Heb “he fled and he went out.” The construction emphasizes the point that Joseph got out of there quickly.

[39:12]  ³⁴ sn For discussion of this episode, see A. M. Honeyman, “The Occasion of Joseph’s Temptation,” VT 2 (1952): 85-87.

[39:14]  ³⁵ tn The verb has no expressed subject, and so it could be treated as a passive (“a Hebrew man was brought in”; cf. NIV). But it is clear from the context that her husband brought Joseph into the household, so Potiphar is the apparent referent here. Thus the translation supplies “my husband” as the referent of the unspecified pronominal subject of the verb (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[39:14]  ³⁶ sn A Hebrew man. Potiphar’s wife raises the ethnic issue when talking to her servants about what their boss had done.

[39:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “to make fun of us.” The verb translated “to humiliate us” here means to hold something up for ridicule, or to toy with something harmfully. Attempted rape would be such an activity, for it would hold the victim in contempt.

[39:14]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he came to me to lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:14]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and I cried out with a loud voice.”

[39:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “that I raised.”

[39:17]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and she spoke to him according to these words, saying.”

[39:17]  ⁴² sn That Hebrew slave. Now, when speaking to her husband, Potiphar’s wife refers to Joseph as a Hebrew slave, a very demeaning description.

[39:17]  ⁴³ tn Heb “came to me to make fun of me.” The statement needs no explanation because of the connotations of “came to me” and “to make fun of me.” See the note on the expression “humiliate us” in v. 14.

[39:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying.”

[39:19]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “according to these words.”

[39:19]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “did to me.”

[39:19]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “his anger burned.”

[39:20]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “the house of roundness,” suggesting that the prison might have been a fortress or citadel.

[39:20]  ⁴⁹ sn The story of Joseph is filled with cycles and repetition: He has two dreams (chap. 37), he interprets two dreams in prison (chap. 40) and the two dreams of Pharaoh (chap. 41), his brothers make two trips to see him (chaps. 42-43), and here, for the second time (see 37:24), he is imprisoned for no good reason, with only his coat being used as evidence. For further discussion see H. Jacobsen, “A Legal Note on Potiphar’s Wife,” HTR 69 (1976): 177.

[39:21]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and he extended to him loyal love.”

[39:21]  ⁵¹ tn Or “the chief jailer” (also in the following verses).

[39:22]  ⁵² tn Heb “all which they were doing there, he was doing.” This probably means that Joseph was in charge of everything that went on in the prison.

[39:23]  ⁵³ tn Heb “was not looking at anything.”

[39:23]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:12]  ⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew construction in this sentence uses an independent nominative absolute (formerly known as a casus pendens). “The woman” is the independent nominative absolute; it is picked up by the formal subject, the pronoun “she” written with the verb (“she gave”). The point of the construction is to throw the emphasis on “the woman.” But what makes this so striking is that a relative clause has been inserted to explain what is meant by the reference to the woman: “whom you gave me.” Ultimately, the man is blaming God for giving him the woman who (from the man’s viewpoint) caused him to sin.

[3:12]  ⁵⁶ tn The words “some fruit” here and the pronoun “it” at the end of the sentence are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[22:10]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”

[22:11]  ⁵⁸ sn Heb “the messenger of the Lord” (also in v. 15). Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, see the note on the phrase “the Lord’s angel” in Gen 16:7.

[22:12]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”

[22:12]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:12]  ⁶¹ sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).

[22:12]  ⁶² sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.

[22:13]  ⁶³ tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”

[22:13]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.

[22:13]  ⁶⁵ tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew mss, the LXX, Syriac, and Samaritan Pentateuch read “one” (אֶחָד, ’ekhad) instead of “behind him” (אַחַר, ’akhar).

[22:13]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:14]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.

[22:14]  ⁶⁸ sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.

[22:14]  ⁶⁹ sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.

[25:6]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”

[25:6]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”

[25:7]  ⁷² tn Heb “and these are the days of the years of the lifetime of Abraham that he lived.” The normal genealogical formula is expanded here due to the importance of the life of Abraham.

[25:8]  ⁷³ tn Heb “old and full.”

[25:8]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[25:9]  ⁷⁵ sn The cave of Machpelah was the place Abraham had purchased as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Gen 23:17-18).

[25:10]  ⁷⁶ tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.

[25:11]  ⁷⁷ sn God blessed Isaac. The Hebrew verb “bless” in this passage must include all the gifts that God granted to Isaac. But fertility was not one of them, at least not for twenty years, because Rebekah was barren as well (see v. 21).

[25:11]  ⁷⁸ sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.

[25:12]  ⁷⁹ sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).

[25:13]  ⁸⁰ tn The meaning of this line is not easily understood. The sons of Ishmael are listed here “by their names” and “according to their descendants.”

[25:32]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”

[3:18]  ⁸² tn Heb “you will see between.” Cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “see the difference.”

[3:1]  ⁸³ tn In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi), the same form as the prophet’s name (see note on the name “Malachi” in 1:1). However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).

[3:1]  ⁸⁴ tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (ha’adon) is used, not יְהוָה (yÿhvah, typically rendered Lord). Thus the focus is not on the Lord as the covenant God, but on his role as master.

[3:1]  ⁸⁵ sn This messenger of the covenant may be equated with my messenger (that is, Elijah) mentioned earlier in the verse, or with the Lord himself. In either case the messenger functions as an enforcer of the covenant. Note the following verses, which depict purifying judgment on a people that has violated the Lord’s covenant.

[4:5]  ⁸⁶ tn Grk “walk.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is a common NT idiom for one’s lifestyle, behavior, or manner of conduct (L&N 41.11).