Genesis

Joseph, Potiphar’s Steward

Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, commander of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.

The Lord blessed Joseph. At the same time, he lived in the house of his master, the Egyptian, and everything went well for him.

The Egyptian could see that God was with him. Everything went well for him.

So Joseph pleased his master, who made him overseer of his house and all that he owned.

From that time on, God blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph; He blessed all that the Egyptian owned, including his household and land.

The Egyptian left everything in Joseph’s care and, with Joseph entirely in charge, he focused only on the food he ate. Now, Joseph was a handsome man and well-built.

Temptation, Slander, and Imprisonment

After some time, his master’s wife kept noticing him and said: “Sleep with me.”

But he refused and said to her: “With me in charge, my master has no concern about anything in the house and has entrusted to me all that he has.

He is no more master in this house than I am, and he refuses me nothing, except yourself, of course, because you are his wife. How then could I do such an evil thing and sin against God?”

Now, although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not agree to sleep with her or give himself to her.

It happened that one day, when he entered the house to attend to his duties, none of the servants were in the house.

Then Potiphar’s wife caught hold of Joseph by his cloak, saying: “Come to bed with me.” But Joseph left his cloak in her hands and ran out of the house.

As soon as he had run out of the house,

she called her servants and said: “Look, a Hebrew has been brought here to make fun of us; he came here to lie with me; so I screamed

and when he heard me scream he left his cloak with me and ran out of the house.”

Then she kept the cloak by her until the master came home.

She then told her story, “That Hebrew slave of yours came to amuse him-self at my expense.

But when I screamed, he left his cloak with me and ran out of the house.”

When his master heard what his wife told him, “This is how your servant treated me,” he blazed with anger.

He took Joseph and put him in the Royal Prison, where the king’s prisoners were kept. But while Joseph was in prison.

But the Lord was with him and showed him kindness, so he was well-liked by the prison’s warden.

The warden put him in charge of all the prisoners and made him responsible for everything that was done there.

The warden did not interfere with anything under Joseph’s care because the Lord was with him and granted him success in everything he did.