Gen. 39:1 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.
Gen. 39:2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
Gen. 39:3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
Gen. 39:4 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.
Gen. 39:5 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.
Gen. 39:6 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.
Now the story switches to Joseph in Egypt where he is prospering and living in the house of Potiphar, his master. Verse 3 is interesting because it says that Potiphar saw that “the LORD was with him” and gave him success in all that he did. I wonder how Potiphar identified “the LORD”? He put Joseph in charge of everything he owned, and the LORD blessed Potiphar’s household because of Joseph. The only concern Potiphar had was what to eat each day.
Interesting historical quote from Clarke: “The beauty of Joseph is celebrated over all the East, and the Persian poets vie with each other in descriptions of his comeliness. Mohammed spends the twelfth chapter of the Koran entirely on Joseph, and represents him as a perfect beauty, and the most accomplished of mortals.”
Gen. 39:7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
Gen. 39:8 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;
Gen. 39:9 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?
Gen. 39:10 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.
Verse 6 describes Joseph as a “goodly” person; the Hebrew for this word means beautiful and handsome. He was a hunk! This did not escape the notice of Potiphar’s wife. She began to make overtures to him to go to bed with her, and he refused. He explained that Potiphar had entrusted everything he owned to Joseph, but he never intended to share his wife with him. He recognized that to give in to her would be wicked and would be a sin against God. She refused to take “no” for an answer, and pursued him day after day; but he avoided her.
Gen. 39:11 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.
Gen. 39:12 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.
Gen. 39:13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
Gen. 39:14 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:
Gen. 39:15 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.
One day, however, he entered the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there. She grabbed him by his clothes and asked him again to go to bed with her. He quickly ran from the house, leaving the garment in her hand. Now she is a woman scorned and determined to make him pay. She called the household servants and told them that the Hebrew had tried to take advantage of her; but when she screamed, he ran away, leaving his garment with her.
Joseph was a young man that lived by a principle from God’s word that Paul taught.
1 Corinthians 6:18 “Flee fornication.”
1 Timothy 6:9–11 “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition….But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.”
2 Timothy 2:22 “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
Smith: “It’s a lot harder to run from temptation than to yield to temptation. It takes a lot more courage to run from temptation than to fall into temptation.”
Gen. 39:16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.
Gen. 39:17 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:
Gen. 39:18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.
Gen. 39:19 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.
Gen. 39:20 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.
When Potiphar came home, his wife told him the same story. She ended the tale by casting blame on him and saying that this was how your servant treated me. Potiphar was angry. He put Joseph in prison where the king’s prisoners were kept. It’s interesting that Potiphar never considered questioning his wife’s story or giving Joseph a chance to defend himself. It was a matter of honor for him to avenge her alleged violation in the eyes of the rest of his household, but the fact that he did not have Joseph put to death indicates that he might not have believed his wife’s accusation.
MacDonald: “And so for a second time Joseph found himself in chains. Under the circumstances he should have been upset. But he was not ‘under the circumstances’; he was above them and saw God’s hand in them. His time in prison was ‘training time for reigning time.’ So things that were meant by others for evil turned out to be for good."
Gen. 39:21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Gen. 39:22 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.
Gen. 39:23 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.
“The LORD was with Joseph.” What a beautiful truth for His children to cling to. No matter what the circumstances or how bleak they may seem, we can always know that God is with us, protecting us, perfecting us for His service.
Joseph soon found favor in the eyes of the prison warden. He was put in charge of all the prisoners and the running of the prison. The warden had no care whatsoever with Joseph in charge since the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in all that he did.
Smith: “The Lord was with Joseph but it is interesting that the Lord being with him did not spare him the hatred of his brothers, the jealousy. Did not spare him being sold by his brothers. It did not spare him from slavery. It did not spare him from false accusations. It did not spare him from temptation. It did not spare him from false imprisonment. Being a Christian is not any kind of a divine immunity from problems. ‘In this world, Jesus said, ye shall have tribulation’ ( John 16:33 )….the Lord being with us gives us a way out of temptation, a way out of our trials, or victory in the midst of our trials.”
Gen. 40:1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.
Gen. 40:2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
Gen. 40:3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
Gen. 40:4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.
Gen. 40:5 And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.
Gen. 40:6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
Gen. 40:7 And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day?
Gen. 40:8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
One day the King of Egypt, the Pharaoh, became angry with two of his officials—the chief butler and the chief baker. He sent them to the captain of the guard who put them in the prison under Joseph’s supervision. After being in custody for quite some time, they each had a dream on the same night; and each dream had a specific meaning. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he could tell that they were dejected; so he asked them what was making them so sad. They told him that they had both had dreams, but they had no one to interpret them. Joseph told them that interpretations belonged to God, and then asked them what their dreams were.
This is very intriguing to me. It just makes me think that: 1) Jacob had really laid a strong foundation for Joseph’s trust in God. 2) Joseph recognized all that God was doing in his life in spite of the fact that he was in prison. 3) Joseph had every confidence that God would provide the interpretation. One possible reason Joseph was so confident was that God had given him the interpretation of his own dreams as a boy at home, and he was confidently waiting their fulfillment in God’s timing. Joseph seems to have the simple, confident, unwavering faith that I so desire.
Gen. 40:9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;
Gen. 40:10 And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:
Gen. 40:11 And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.
Gen. 40:12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:
Gen. 40:13 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.
Gen. 40:14 But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:
Gen. 40:15 For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.
The chief butler decided to go first. He related that in his dream that there was a vine in front of him with three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in his hand, and he took the grapes, squeezed them in the cup and gave it to Pharaoh. Joseph explained that the branches were three days and within three days Pharaoh would restore him to his position. Joseph then asked the butler to remember him and show him kindness by mentioning him to Pharaoh to get him out of prison. He told the butler that he had been taken from his home by force and had done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.
Gen. 40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:
Gen. 40:17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.
Gen. 40:18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
Gen. 40:19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
The baker was pretty eager to tell his dream after hearing the interpretation for the butler. In his dream there were three baskets of bread on his head. The top basket was full of baked goods for the Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on his head. Though the interpretation was not good, Joseph didn’t hesitate. He told him that the three baskets were three days. Within three days Pharaoh would lift up his head and hang him on a tree, and the birds would eat his flesh.
Gen. 40:20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
Gen. 40:21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:
Gen. 40:22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
Gen. 40:23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
Three days later it was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all of his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief butler and baker in front of all his officials. He restored the chief butler to his position and hanged the baker—just as Joseph had said would happen. But the chief butler did not remember Joseph.
Thought – You would have thought that the butler would have been so grateful and so in awe that he would have shared his story. Maybe he just wanted to erase the entire prison episode from his brain. Whatever, I can’t fault him that much. The times I’m most diligent in my communication with the LORD have always been the times of my biggest need. It seems like no matter how many times He answers in a wonderful or even miraculous way, as soon as circumstances are “back to normal,” I’m not quite as diligent to share my heart with Him. It’s a constant struggle to develop and maintain the relationship with the LORD that I wish to have. I say this to my shame.