Joseph was brought down to Egypt. Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites that had brought him down there.
Parallel Translations
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Joseph was brought down to Egypt. Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites that had brought him down there.
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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.
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And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites, that had brought him down thither.
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Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Genesis 39:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 37:28 Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The merchants brought Joseph into Egypt.
- Psalms 105:17 He sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave.
- Genesis 37:25 They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
- Genesis 37:36 The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.
- Acts 7:9 “The patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt. God was with him,
- Genesis 45:4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” They came near. He said, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 1. And Joseph was brought down. For the purpose…
1. And Joseph was brought down. For the purpose of connecting it with the remaining part of the history, Moses repeats what he had briefly touched upon, that Joseph had been sold to Potiphar the Egyptian: he then subjoins that God was with Joseph, so that he prospered in all things. For although it often happens that all things proceed with wicked men according to their wish, whom God nevertheless does not bless with his favor; still the sentiment is true and the expression of it proper, that it is never well with men, except so far as the Lord shows himself to be gracious to them. For he vouchsafes his blessing, for a time, even to reprobates, with whom he is justly angry, in order that he may gently invite and even allure them to repentance; and may render them more inexcusable, if they remain obstinate; meanwhile, he curses their felicity. Therefore, while they think they have reached the height of fortune, their prosperity, in which they delighted themselves, is turned into ruin. Now whensoever God deprives men of his blessing, whether they be strangers or of his own household, they must necessarily decline; because no good flows except from Him as the fountain. The world indeed forms for itself a goddess of fortune, who whirls round the affairs of men; or each man adores his own industry; but Scripture draws us away from this depraved imagination, and declares that adversity is a sign of God’s absence, but prosperity, a sign of his presence. However, there is not the least doubt that the peculiar and extraordinary favor of God appeared towards Joseph, so that he was plainly known to be blessed by God. Moses immediately afterwards adds, that Joseph was in the house of his master, to teach us that he was not at once elevated to an honorable condition. There was nothing more desirable than liberty; but he is reckoned among the slaves, and lives precariously, holding his life itself subject to the will of his master. Let us then learn, even amidst our sufferings, to perceive the grace of God; and let it suffice us, when anything severe is to be endured, to have our cup mingled with some portion of sweetness, lest we should be ungrateful to God, who, in this manner, declares that he is present with us.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Read Gen. 37:36.
Read Gen. 37:36.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 39:1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt;…
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.
Ver. 1. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s.] See here a sweet providence, that Joseph should fall into such hands. Potiphar was provost-marshal, keeper of the king’s prisoners. And what could Joseph have wished better than this, that, since he must be a prisoner, he should be put into that prison, where he might, by interpreting the butler’s dream, come to so great preferment? Chrysostom, in his nineteenth Homily on the Ephesians, saith: We must not once doubt of the divine providence, though we presently perceive not the causes and reasons of many passages. And this he sweetly sets forth by apt similitudes drawn from the works of carpenters, painters, bees, ants, spiders, swallows, &c. Surely, as a man, by a chain made up of various links, some of gold, others of silver, some of brass, iron, or tin, may be drawn out of a pit: so the Lord by the concurrence of several subordinate things, which have no manner of dependence, or natural coincidency among themselves, hath oftentimes wrought and brought about the deliverance and exaltation of his children, that it might appear to be the work of his own hand. {a}
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{a} See M. Reynold on Psalm cx. 5.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The Lord was with Joseph, with his gracious presence…
The Lord was with Joseph, with his gracious presence and blessing, as this phrase is taken here, Gen 39:21; 21:22; 26:24.
He was in the house of his master: he doth not endeavour to make an escape to his father, but demeaned himself patiently and faithfully in the station into which God's providence had brought him.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Here is, I. Joseph bought (Gen 39:1), and he…
Here is, I. Joseph bought (Gen 39:1), and he that bought him, whatever he gave for him, had a good bargain of him; it was better than the merchandise of silver. The Jews have a proverb, "If the world did not know the worth of good men, they would hedge them about with pearls." He was sold to an officer of Pharaoh, with whom he might get acquainted with public persons and public business, and so be fitted for the preferment for which he was designed. Note, 1. What God intends men for he will be sure, some way or other, to qualify them for. 2. Providence is to be acknowledged in the disposal even of poor servants and in their settlements, and therein may perhaps be working towards something great and important.
II. Joseph blessed, wonderfully blessed, even in the house of his servitude.
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1. God prospered him, Gen 39:2, Gen 39:3. Perhaps the affairs of Potiphar's family had remarkably gone backward before; but, upon Joseph's coming into it, a discernible turn was given to them, and the face and posture of them altered on a sudden. Though, at first, we may suppose that his hand was put to the meanest services, even in those appeared his ingenuity and industry; a particular blessing of Heaven attended him, which, as he rose in his employment, became more and more discernible. Note, (1.) Those that have wisdom and grace have that which cannot be taken away from them, whatever else they are robbed of. Joseph's brethren had stripped him of his coat of many colours, but they could not strip him of his virtue and prudence. (2.) Those that can separate us from all our friends, yet cannot deprive us of the gracious presence of our God. When Joseph had none of all his relations with him, he had his God with him, even in the house of the Egyptian. Joseph was separated from his brethren, but not from his God; banished from his father's house, but the Lord was with him, and this comforted him. (3.) It is God's presence with us that makes all we do prosperous. Those that would prosper must therefore make God their friend; and those that do prosper must therefore give God the praise.
2. His master preferred him, by degrees made him steward of his household, Gen 39:4. Note, (1.) Industry and honesty are the surest and safest way both of rising and thriving: Seest thou a man prudent, and faithful, and diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings at length, and not always before mean men. (2.) It is the wisdom of those that are in any sort of authority to countenance and employ those with whom it appears that the presence of God is, Psa 101:6. Potiphar knew what he did when he put all into the hands of Joseph; for he knew it would prosper better there than in his own hand. (3.) He that is faithful in a few things stand fair for being made ruler over many things, Mat 25:21. Christ goes by this rule with his servants. (4.) It is a great ease to a master to have those employed under him that are trusty. Potiphar was so well satisfied with Joseph's conduct that he knew not aught he had, save the bread which he did eat, Gen 39:6. The servant had all the care and trouble of the estate; the master had only the enjoyment of it: an example not to be imitated by any master, unless he could be sure that he had one in all respects like Joseph for a servant.
3. God favoured his master for his sake (Gen 39:5): He blessed the Egyptian's house, though he was an Egyptian, a stranger to the true God, for Joseph's sake; and he himself, like Laban, soon learned it by experience, Gen 30:27. Note, (1.) Good men are the blessings of the places where they live; even good servants may be so, though mean, and lightly esteemed. (2.) The prosperity of the wicked is, one way or other, for the sake of the godly. Here was a wicked family blessed for the sake of one good servant in it.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Joseph was brought down to Egypt,.... By the…
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt,.... By the Ishmaelites, Gen 37:28; as in a following clause:
and Potiphar an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian; as his name also shows, which signifies the fruit of Pot or Phut, that is, the son or grandson of one of that name (m); which might be common in Egypt, since it was the name of a son of Ham, Gen 10:6, from whom the land of Egypt is called the land of Ham, Psa 105:23; of this man and his offices; see Gill on Gen 37:36,
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he bought him: that is, "Joseph":
of the hands of the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down thither; what they gave for him we know, but what they sold him for to Potiphar is not said; no doubt they got a good price for him, and his master had a good bargain too, as appears by what follows.
(m) Onomastic. Sacr. p. 671, 672.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain At this chapter we return to the story of…
At this chapter we return to the story of Joseph. We have him here,
I. A servant, a slave in Potiphar's house, ver. 1. and yet there greatly honoured and favoured, (1.) By the providence of God, which made him in effect a master, ver. 2-6. (2.) By the grace of God, which made him more than conqueror over a strong temptation, ver. 7-12.
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II. We have him a sufferer, falsely accused, ver. 13-18. Imprisoned, ver. 19, 20. And yet his imprisonment made both honourable and comfortable by the tokens of God's special presence with him, ver. 21-23.
The Jews have a proverb, If the world did but know the worth of good men, they would hedge them about with pearls. Joseph was sold to an officer of Pharaoh, with whom he might get acquainted with public persons, and public business, and so be fitted for the preferment he was afterwards designed for. What God intends men for, he will be sure, some way or other, to qualify them for.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Joseph, being brought to Potiphar's house, prospers in all
CHAPTER XXXIX
Joseph, being brought to Potiphar's house, prospers in all
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his undertakings, 1-3.
Potiphar makes him his overseer, 4.
Is prospered in all his concerns for Joseph's sake, in whom
he puts unlimited confidence, 5, 6.
The wife of Potiphar solicits him to criminal correspondence, 7.
He refuses, and makes a fine apology for his conduct, 8, 9.
She continues her solicitations, and he his refusals, 10.
She uses violence, and he escapes from her hand, 11-13.
She accuses him to the domestics, 14,15,
and afterward to Potiphar, 16-18.
Potiphar is enraged, and Joseph is cast into prison, 19, 20.
The Lord prospers him, and gives him great favour in the sight
of the keeper of the prison, 21,
who intrusts him with the care of the house and all the
prisoners, 22, 23.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXXIX
Verse 1. An officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard] Mr. Ainsworth, supposing that his office merely consisted in having charge of the king's prisoners, calls Potiphar provost marshal! See Clarke on Ge 37:36, See Clarke on Ge 40:3.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 39:1. And Joseph was brought down into Egypt…
Gen 39:1. And Joseph was brought down into Egypt — The history of Joseph is one of the most remarkable, interesting, and instructive of any contained in the Scriptures or elsewhere. It affords us the clearest evidence of the providence of God conducting all things with amazing and stupendous wisdom, and making them “work together for good to those that love him;” nay, and causing even the wickedness of men to become subservient to the accomplishment of its designs. One design of God, with regard to Joseph, was to raise him to such a degree of greatness and power, as should oblige his brethren to bow down humbly before him: his brethren opposed this, and meant to humble him: but what they did with this view was the first step by which God led him to elevation and glory; and the horrible calumny of his unchaste mistress, which seemed to complete his misfortunes, was the circumstance which advanced him almost to the throne! This may afford us great comfort under all our troubles, as we may from hence be assured that God can make whatever shall be designed against us the means of promoting our happiness.
The Jews have a proverb, If the world did but know the worth of good men, they would hedge them about with pearls. Joseph was sold to an officer of Pharaoh, with whom he might get acquainted with public persons and public business, and so be fitted for the preferment he was designed for. What God intends men for, he will be sure, some way or other, to qualify them for.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain - Joseph in Potiphar’s House
- Joseph in Potiphar’s House
According to our reckoning, Perez and Zerah were born when Judah was in his twenty-eighth year, and therefore, Joseph in his twenty-fourth. Here, then, we go back seven years to resume the story of Joseph.
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Gen 39:1-6
Joseph fares well with his first master. “Potiphar.” This is a racapitulation of the narrative in Gen. 37: “The Lord;” the God of covenant is with Joseph. “In the house.” Joseph was a domestic servant. “And his master saw.” The prosperity that attended all Joseph’s doings was so striking as to show that the Lord was with him. “Set him over” - made him overseer of all that was in his house. “The Lord blessed the Mizrite’s house.” He blesses those who bless his own Gen 12:3. “Beautiful in form and look” Gen 29:17. This prepares the way for the following occurrence.
Gen 39:7-10
Joseph resists the daily solicitations of his master’s wife to lie with her. “None greater in this house than I.” He pleads the unreserved trust his master had reposed in him. He is bound by the law of honor, the law of chastity (this great evil), and the law of piety (sin against God). Joseph uses the common name of God in addressing this Egyptian. He could employ no higher pleas than the above.
Gen 39:11-18
“At this day,” the day on which the occurrence now to be related took place. “To do his business.” He does not come in her way except at the call of duty. He hath brought in. She either does not condescend, or does not need to name her husband. “A Hebrew to mock us.” Her disappointment now provokes her to falsehood as the means of concealment and revenge. A Hebrew is still the only national designation proper to Joseph Gen 14:13. Jacob’s descendants had not got beyond the family. The term Israelite was therefore, not yet in use. The national name is designedly used as a term of reproach among the Egyptians Gen 43:32. “To mock us,” - to take improper liberties, not only with me, but with any of the females in the house. “I cried with a loud voice.” This is intended to be the proof of her innocence Deu 22:24, Deu 22:27. “Left his garments by me;” not in her hand, which would have been suspicious.
Gen 39:19-23
Her husband believes her story and naturally resents the supposed unfaithfulness of his slave. His treatment of him is mild. He puts him in ward, probably to stand his trial for the offence. The Lord does not forsake the prisoner. He gives him favor with the governor of the jail. The same unlimited trust is placed in him by the governor as by his late master.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Ismaelites. They are called Madianites, chap. xxxvii. 36. (Haydock)
Ismaelites. They are called Madianites, chap. xxxvii. 36. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain Joseph in Potiphar’s house and in prison. His sufferings…
THIRD SECTION
Joseph in Potiphar’s house and in prison. His sufferings on account of his virtue, and his apparent destruction.
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Gen_39:1-23
1And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard [life-guardsmen, executioners], an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. 2And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. 4And 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. 5And 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. 6And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not aught he had save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well-favored 7[see Gen_29:17]. And it came to pass, after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 8But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and Hebrews 9 hath committed all that he hath to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? 10And 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. 11And 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. 12And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out [of the house]. 13And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 14That 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 he with me, and I cried with a loud voice: 15And 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. 16And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. 17And 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: 18And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice, and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. 19And 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. 20And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison [stronghold]1 a place where the king’s prisoners [state-prisoners] were bound: and he was there in the prison. 21But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22And 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. 23The keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand, because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS
1. The three chapters, 39–42, form a distinct section by themselves. Joseph in Egypt—in his misery and in his exaltation; first, himself apparently lost, afterwards a saviour of the world. Ch. 40 presents the transition from his humiliation to his exaltation.
2. In the section from Genesis 39-42, Knobel recognizes the elements of the original text, mingled with the additions of the Jehovist. It is a matter of fact, that the elohistic relations predominate, but in decisive points Jehovah appears as the ruler of Joseph’s destiny.
3. If the preceding chapter might be regarded as a counterpart to ch.37, then the present chapter forms again a counterpart to the one before it. Both chapters agree in referring especially to sexual relations. In the former, Onan’s sin, whoredom, and incest, are spoken of; in the one before us, it is the temptation to adultery. In the former, however, Judah, on account of sexual sins, seems greatly involved in guilt, though it is to be considered that he intended to restrain the unchastity of his sons, that he upholds the levirate law, that he judges severely of the supposed adultery of one betrothed, and that he purposely and decidedly shuns incest. Nevertheless, he himself does not resist the allurement to unchastity, whilst Joseph persistently resists the temptation to adultery, and shines brilliantly as an ancient example of chastity. His first trial, when he was sold, was his suffering innocently in respect to crime, and yet not without some fault arising from his inconsiderateness. His second and more grievous trial was his suffering on account of his virtue and fear of God, and, therefore, especially typical was it in the history of the kingdom of God.
4. Our narrative may be divided into three parts: 1) Joseph’s good conduct and prosperity in Potiphar’s house (Gen_39:1-6); 2) Joseph’s temptation, constancy, and sufferings (Gen_39:6-20); 3) Joseph’s well-being in prison (Gen_39:21-23).
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Joseph’s good behavior and prosperity in Potiphar’s house (Gen_39:1-6).—And Potiphar bought him (see Gen_37:36).—As captain of the “executioners,” he commanded the guard of the palace, or Pharaoh’s body-guard, who were to execute his death-sentences, and was named accordingly. Concerning this office among other ancient nations, see Knobel, p. 303. The name eunuch also denotes a courtier in general; but Knobel, without any ground, would regard Potiphar as really such; though these were frequently married.—And the Lord was with Joseph.—Here the name Jehovah certainly corresponds with the facts. Joseph was not only saved, but it is Jehovah who saves him for the purposes of his kingdom. His master soon recognizes in him the talent with which he undertakes and executes everything entrusted to him. As by Jacob’s entrance into Laban’s house, so by Joseph’s entrance into Potiphar’s, there comes a new prosperity, which strikes Potiphar as something remarkable. He ascribes it to Joseph as a blessing upon his piety, and to his God Jehovah, and raises Joseph to the position of his overseer. In this office he had, doubtless, the management of an extensive land-economy; for in this respect there was, for the military order, a rich provision. It was a good training for the management of the trust he afterwards received in respect to all Egypt. Upon this new influence of Joseph there follows a greater prosperity, and therefore Potiphar commits to him his whole house.—Save the bread which he did eat.—Schröder: “There appears here that characteristic oriental indolence, on account of which a slave who has command of himself may easily attain to an honorable post of influence.” Save the bread, etc. “This,” according to Bohlen, “is an expression of the highest confidence; but the ceremonial Egyptian does not easily commit to a stranger anything that pertains to his food.” Besides, the Egyptians had their own laws concerning food, and did not eat with Hebrews.
2. Joseph’s temptations, consolations, and sufferings (Gen_39:6-20).—And Joseph was a goodly man.—His beauty occasioned his temptations.—His master’s wife cast her eyes upon him.—His temptations are long continued, beginning with lustful persuasions, and ending in a bold attack. Joseph, on the other hand, tries to awaken her conscience; he places the proposed sin in every possible light; it would be a disgraceful abuse of the confidence reposed in him by his master; it would be an outrage upon his rights as a husband; it would be adultery, a great crime in the sight of God. Again, he shuns every opportunity the woman would give him, and finally takes to flight on a pressing occasion which she employs, notwithstanding he is now to expect her deadly revenge. Knobel: “The ancients describe Egypt as the home of unchastity (Martial, iv. 42, Genesis 4 : nequitias tellus scit dare nulla magis), and speak of the great prevalence of marriage infidelity (Herod, ii. 111; Diod. Sic. i. 59), as well as of their great sensuality generally. For example, the history of Cleopatra, Diod. Gen 51. 15.” For similar statements respecting the later and modern Egypt, see Keil, p. 251, note.—To lie by her.—An euphemistic expression.—That she called unto the men.—Lust changes into hatred. She intends to revenge herself for his refusal. Besides, it is for her own safety; for though Joseph himself might not betray her, she might be betrayed by his garment that he had left behind. Her lying story is characteristic in every feature. Scornfully she calls her husband he (“he hath brought in,” etc.), and thereby betrays her hatred. Joseph she designates as “an Hebrew,” i. e., one of the nomadic people, who was unclean according to Egyptian views (Gen_43:32; Gen_46:34). Both expressions show her anger. She reproaches her husband with having imperilled her virtue, but makes a show of it, by calling the pretended seductions of Joseph a wanton mockery, as though by her outcry she would put herself forth as the guardian of the virtue of the females of her house.—Unto me to mock me.—Her extreme cunning and impudence are proved by the fact that she makes use of Joseph’s garment as the corpus delicti, and that in pretty plain terms she almost reproaches Potiphar with having purposely endangered her chastity.—That his wrath was kindled.—It is to be noticed that it is not exactly said, against Joseph. He puts him into the tower, the state-prison, surrounded by a wall, and in which the prisoners of the king, or the state criminals, were kept. Gen_39:10. Delitzsch and Keil regard this punishment as mild; since, according to Diod. Sic. i. 28, the Egyptian laws of marriage were severe. It must be remembered, however, that Potiphar decreed this penalty without any trial of the accused, and that his confinement seems to have been unlimited. At the same time, there is something in the opinion, expressed by many, that he himself did not fully believe his wife’s assertion, and intended again, in time, to reinstate Joseph. It may, therefore, have seemed to him most proper to pursue this course, in order to avoid the disgrace of his house, without sacrificing entirely this hitherto faithful servant. The prosperous position that Joseph soon held in the prison seems to intimate that Potiphar was punishing him gently for appearance sake.
3. Joseph’s well-being in the prison (Gen_39:21-23).—Favor in the sight of the keeper.—This was a subordinate officer of Potiphar; and “thus vanishes the difficulty presented by Tuch and Knobel, that Joseph is said to have had two masters, and that mention is made of two captains of the body-guard.” Delitzsch. The overseer of the prison also recognizes Joseph’s worth, and makes him a sort of sub-officer; though he does not, by that, cease to be a prisoner.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Gerlach: The important step in the development of the divine plan is now to be made: the house of Jacob was to remove from the land of the promise into a foreign country, as had been announced to Abraham many years before (Gen_15:13). Jacob’s numerous family could no longer remain among the Canaanites, without dispersion, loss of unity and independence, and troublesome conflicts with the inhabitants of the country. “Further on it is said: They were to become a people in the most cultivated country then known, and yet most distinctly separated from the inhabitants.”
2. Jehovah was with Joseph. The covenant God victoriously carries forward his decrees through all the need, sufferings, and ignominy of his people. Joseph, so to say, is now the support of the future development of the Old-Testament theocracy; and on the thread of his severely threatened life, as one above whose head hangs the sword of the heathen executioner, there is suspended, as far as the human eye can see, the destiny both of Israel and the world. God’s omnipotence may, and can, make its purposes dependent from such threads as Joseph in prison, Moses in the ark, David in the cave of Adullam. Providence is sure of the accomplishment of its object.
3. Joseph suffering innocently, yet confiding in God: a. a slave, yet still a free man; b. unfortunate, yet still a child of fortune: c. abandoned, yet still standing firm in the severest temptations; d. forlorn, yet still in the presence of God; e. an object of impending wrath, yet still preserved alive; f. a state-prisoner, and yet himself a prison-keeper; g. every way subdued, yet ever again superior to his condition. In this phase of his life, Joseph is akin to Paul (2 Corinthians 6), with whom he has this in common, that, through the persecutions of his brethren, he is forced to carry the light of God’s kingdom into the heathen world,—a fact, it is true, that first appears, in the life of Joseph, in a typical form.
4. Joseph, as an example of chastity, stands here in the brightest light when compared with the conduct of Judah in the previous chapter. From this we see that the divine election of the Messianic tribe was not dependent upon the virtues of the Israelitish patriarchs. We should be mistaken, however, in concluding from this a groundless arbitrariness in the divine government. In the strong fulness of Judah’s nature there lies more that is undeveloped for the future, than in the immature spirituality and self-reliance of Joseph. It is a seal of the truth of Holy Scripture that it admits such seeming paradoxes as no mythology could have invented, as well as a seal of its grandeur that it could so boldly present such a patriarchal parallel to a people proud of its ancestry, whose principal tribe was Judah, and in which Judah and Ephraim were filled with jealousy toward each other.
5. Joseph’s victory shows how a man, and especially a young man, is to overcome temptation. The first requirement is: walk as in the all-seeing presence of God; the second: fight with the weapons of the word in the light of duty (taking the offensive, which the spirit of conversion assumes according to the measure of its strength); the third: avoid the occasions of sin; the fourth: firmness before all things, and, if it must be, flight with the loss of the dress, of the good name, and even of life itself.
6. The curse of adultery and its actual sentence in Joseph’s speech and conduct.
7. The accusation of the woman a picture of cabal, reflecting itself in all times, even the most modern. The first example of gross calumniation in the Sacred Scripture, coming from an adulterous woman, presenting a picture, the very opposite of Joseph’s virtue, as exhibiting the most impudent and revengeful traits of vindictive lying. Thus, also, was Christ calumniated, in a way that might be called the consummation of all calumny, the master-piece of the prince of accusers.
8. Potiphar’s wrath and mildness are indications that he had a presentiment of what the truth really was. It is also an example showing how the pride of the great easily inclines them to sacrifice to the honor of their house the right and happiness of their dependants.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
See Doctrinal and Ethical. Joseph’s destiny according to the divine providence: 1. His misfortune in his fortune. As formerly the preference of his father, his variegated coat, and the splendid dreams, prepared for him misfortunes, so now his important function in Potiphar’s house, and his goodly person. 2. His fortune in his misfortune. He was to go to Egypt, assume the condition of a slave, enter prison, and all this in order to become a prophetic man, an interpreter of dreams, an overseer of estates, lord of Egypt, a deliverer of many from hunger, a cause of repentance to his brethren, and of salvation to the house of Jacob.—Taube: The promise of suffering, and the blessing of godliness: 1. Its use: “godliness is profitable unto all things; ” 2. its sufferings: “all that will live godly shall suffer persecution; ” 3. its blessing in its exercise: “exercise thyself unto godliness.”
Section First. (Gen_39:1-6). Starke.: There is no better companion on a journey than God. Blessed are they who never forget to take this society with them wherever they go.—Bibl. Tub.: God’s blessing and grace are with the pious everywhere, even in their severest trials.—Cramer: Where God is present with his grace, there he will be soon known through his word, and other tokens of his presence.—Osiander: Pious servants should be made happy in their service; they should be loved as children, and elevated to higher employments.—Lange: A beautiful bodily form, and a disposition fundamentally enriched, both by grace and nature! how fitly do they correspond.—Schröder: In Egypt Jacob’s family had a rich support during the famine; there could it grow up to a great and united people; there it found the best school of human culture; there was the seat of the greatest worldly power, and, therefore, the best occasion in which to introduce those severe sufferings that were to awaken in Israel a longing after redemption, and a spirit of voluntary consecration to God (Hengstenberg).—God’s being with Joseph, however, is not a presence of special revelations, as with the patriarchs, but a presence of blessing and success in all things (Baumgarten).—Joseph happy, though a servant.—Among the implements of agriculture delineated on the Egyptian tombs, there is often to be seen an overseer keeping the accounts of the harvest. In a tomb at Kum el Ahmar there is to be seen the office of a household steward, with all its appurtenances.
Section Second. (Gen_39:7-20). Starke: Luther: Thus far Satan had tempted Joseph on his left side, i. e., by manifold and severe adversities; now he tempts him on the right, by sensuality. This temptation is most severe and dangerous, especially to a young man. For Joseph lived now among the heathen, where such sins were frequent, and could, therefore, more easily excite a disposition in any way inclined to sensual pleasure. The more healthy one is in body, the more violent is this sickness of the soul (Sir_14:14), The more dangerous temptations are, or the more difficult to be overcome, so much the more plausible and agreeable are they. Nothing is more alluring than the eyes. “And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out.”
Gen_39:9. Musculus: In all cases he who sins, sins against God,—even then when he is wronging his fellow-men. But he most especially sins against God who injures the forsaken, the miserable, the “little ones,” and those who are deficient in understanding. For God will protect them, since they cannot be wronged without the grossest wickedness.—Augustine: Imitentur adolescentes Joseph sanctum, pulchrum corpore, pulchriorem mente.—Lange: Since by nature shame is implanted in women to a higher degree than in men (in addition to the fact, that in consenting and transgression she is exposed to more danger and shame), so much the more disgraceful is it when she so degenerates as not only to lay snares secretly for the other sex, but also impudently to importune them.—The same: The fear of God is the best means of grace for avoiding sin and shame.—Hall: A pious heart would rather remain humbled in the dust then rise by sinful means.
Gen_39:12. He preferred to leave his garment behind him, rather than a good conscience.—Lange: In a temptation to adultery and fornication, flight becomes the most pressing necessity.
Gen_39:18. Cramer: The devil will be true to his nature; for as he is an unclean spirit, so also is he a liar.—Hall: Wickedness is ever artful in getting up false charges against the virtues and good works of others (Act_16:20). We must be patient toward the diabolical slanders of the impious; for God finally comes and judges them.—Beware of the act itself; against the lie there may be found a remedy
Gen_39:19-20. He who believes easily is easily deceived. Magistrates should neither be partial, hasty, nor too passionate.
Schröder: “Joseph was a goodly person.” With literal reference to Gen_29:17, Joseph was the reflected image of his mother. They in whose hearts the Holy Spirit dwells, are wont to have a countenance frank, upright, and joyful (Luther).—The love of Potiphar’s wife was far more dangerous to Joseph than the hatred of his brothers (Rambach).—Now a far worse servitude threatens him, namely, that of sin (Krummacher).—Joseph had a chaste heart, and, therefore, a modest tongue (Val. Herberger). Unchaste expressions a mark of unchaste thoughts. On the monuments may be seen Egyptian women who are so drunk with wine that they cannot stand. Of a restriction of wives, as customary afterwards in the East, and even in Greece, we find no trace.—Joseph lets his mantle go, but holds on to a good conscience. Joseph is again stripped of his garment, and again does it serve for the deception of others.—Sensual love changes suddenly into hatred (2Sa_13:15).—Calwer Handbuch: Such flight is more honorable than the most heroic deeds.
Section Third. (Gen_39:21-23). Starke: Osiander: To a pious man there cannot happen a severer misfortune than the reputation of guilt, and of deserved punishment therefor, when he is innocent (Rom_8:28).—Cramer: God sympathises with those who suffer innocently (Jam_1:3). God bringeth his elect down to the grave, but bringeth them up again (1Sa_2:6). Whom God would revive, can no one stifle. Whom God favors, no misfortune can harm.
Schröder: Those who believe in God must suffer on account of virtue, truth, and goodness; not on account of sin and shame (Luther). Exaltation in humiliation, a sceptre in a prison, servant and Lord—even as Christ.—God’s eyes behold the prison, the fetters, and the most shameful death, as he beholds the fair and shining sun. In Joseph’s condition nothing is to be seen but death, the loss of his fair fame, and of all his virtues. Now comes Christ with his eyes of grace, and throws light into the grave. Joseph is to become a Lord, though he had seemingly entered into the prison of hell (Luther). Joseph’s way is now for a time in the darkness, but this is the very way through which God often leads his people. Thus Moses, David, Paul, Luther; so lived the Son of God to his thirtieth year in Nazareth. Nothing is more opposed to God than that impatience of the power of nature which would violently usurp his holy government.—Stolberg justly commends “the inimitable simplicity of Joseph’s history, narrated in the most vivid manner, and bearing on its face the most unmistakable seal of truth.”
Footnotes:
[1][Gen_39:20.—בֵּית הַסֹּהַר. Literally, the round house, so called from its shape, which was different from the common Egyptian architecture—thus constructed, perhaps, as giving greater strength. Aben Ezra expresses the opinion that the word is Egyptian; but it occurs in Hebrew, as in Son_7:3 (סַהַר), where it evidently has the sense of roundness, and is so rendered in the ancient versions. This is confirmed by its near relationship to the more common סחר, to go round, from which the Syriac has its word ܒܩ ܫܫܖ̇ܬ ܐ for tower or castle. Although Joseph, for policy, used an interpreter when speaking with his brethren, yet there must have been, at this time, a great affinity between the Shemitic and the old Egyptian tongue. Very many of the words must have been the same in both languages. The LXX. have rendered it, ἐν ὀχυρώματι, in the stronghold; Vulg., simply in carcerem.—T. L.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain JOSEPH IN SLAVERY AND IN PRISON, Gen_39:1-23.
JOSEPH IN SLAVERY AND IN PRISON, Gen_39:1-23.
1. Down to Egypt — “Down from the Syrian Plains to the Desert, and down the Desert to the Nile Valley. The life of the chosen family now mingles for centuries with the stream of Egyptian civilization. The saviour of the Hebrew people, like his divine antitype, was to descend to the lowest depths that he might rise to the loftiest heights. ‘Down into Egypt,’ was down to the darkness of infamy also, in the estimation of men, where God was his solitary stay when utterly cut off from the sympathy of men, as the reward of virtue too high for them to see; yet up from that dungeon he was lifted to worldwide honour, sympathy, and love.
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Potiphar — This officer of Pharaoh (see Gen_37:36) is not to be confounded with the Potipherah priest of On, or Heliopolis, whose daughter Joseph afterwards married. Gen_41:45. The name seems to have been a common one in Egypt, since it is found very often written in hieroglyphics upon the monuments. The ancient Egyptian form of the name in the hieroglyphic inscriptions is PET-P-RA or PET-PH-RA, which signifies ‘belonging to the sun.’ GES., Thesaur. RA or RE, (with the article PRA or PhRA,) the SUN, was one of the great Egyptian gods, father of many deities, and is represented in the monuments by a circle with a dot in the centre, sometimes enveloped in the coil of a serpent, sometimes accompanied by a hawk. Poole, in Encyc. Brit. The name Pharaoh is derived from Phrah, since the Egyptian king was regarded as the representative of the sun. RAWL., Herodotus, ii, p. 241.
“It is generally supposed by the Egyptologists that Joseph was sold into Egypt during the reign of the ‘shepherd kings,’ (Hyksos,) a foreign dynasty who invaded the country from the north, (although their origin and race is as yet uncertain,) dispossessed the native kings of Lower Egypt, and held dominion there, perhaps five or six centuries, when they were driven out by a native dynasty. This alien line of kings maintained itself with difficulty against the native princes who still held Upper Egypt, being hated by the Egyptian people, and ever ready therefore to form alliances with foreigners. The native Egyptians, on the other hand, were remarkably exclusive, having strong prejudices, and even hatred and contempt, for foreigners. The monumental literature of Egypt shows this intense antipathy to foreigners in a thousand forms. The wonderful and more than romantic history of Joseph could not have taken place under the native Pharaohs. A foreigner could not, under the native Egyptian rule, have been elevated to the second place of authority, nor could families of foreigners have been welcomed, as were the families of Israel, to settle in the kingdom. Poole, in Smith’s Dict. Here, then, in this Hyksos invasion and possession of Egypt during the time that the three great patriarchs were roaming through Palestine, we find a providential preparation for the Egyptian period of the history of the chosen people. Not only was ‘the Lord with Joseph’ after his arrival at Potiphar’s house, but he had long before prepared the kingdom for him.” — Newhall.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 1. was brought down] This follows upon Gen_37:28.
1. was brought down] This follows upon Gen_37:28.
Potiphar, &c.] See note on Gen_37:36. These words the Compiler seems to have added from E to harmonize the two accounts. J merely read “And an Egyptian bought him”; cf. Gen_39:2, “in the house of his master the Egyptian.” The words “an Egyptian,” “the Egyptian” would have been needless in Gen_39:1-2, after the full description of Potiphar as “an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain Genesis 37 - 50
Genesis 37 - 50
On which we shall dwell more particularly. There is not in scripture a more perfect and beautiful type of Christ than Joseph. Whether we view Christ as the object of the Father’s love, the object of the envy of His own, - in His humiliation, sufferings, death exaltation, and glory, in all we have Him strikingly typified by Joseph.
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In Gen. 37 we have Joseph’s dreams, the statement of which draws out the enmity of his brethren. He was the object of his father’s love, and the subject of very high destinies, and inasmuch as the hearts of his brothers were not in communion with these things, they hated him. They had no fellowship in the father’s love. They would not yield to the thought of Joseph’s exaltation. In all this they represent the Jews in Christ’s day. He came to His own and his own received him not." He had "no form nor comeliness in their eyes." They would neither own Him as the Son of God, nor king of Israel. Their eyes were not open to behold "his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of "grace and truth." They would not have Him; yea, they hated Him.
Now, in Joseph’s case, we see that he, in no wise, relaxed his testimony in consequence of his brethren’s refusal of his first dream. "And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren;" and they hated him yet the more....And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren." This was simple testimony founded upon divine revelation; but it was testimony which brought Joseph down to the pit. Had he kept back his testimony, or taken off ought of its edge and power, he might have spared himself; but no; he told them the truth, and therefore they hated him.
Thus was it with Joseph’s great Antitype. He bore witness to the truth - He witnessed a good confession He kept back nothing - He could only speak the truth because He was the truth, and His testimony to the truth was answered, on man’s part, by the cross, the vinegar, the soldier’s spear. The testimony of Christ, too, was connected with the deepest, fullest, richest grace. He not only came as "the truth," but also as the perfect expression of all the love of the Father’s heart:" grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." He was the full disclosure to man of what God was. Hence man was left entirely without excuse. He came and showed God to man, and man hated God with a perfect hatred. The fullest exhibition of divine love was answered by the fullest exhibition of human hatred. This is seen in the cross; and we have it touchingly foreshadowed at the pit into which Joseph was cast by his brethren.
"And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh; come now, therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit; and we will say, some evil beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams." These words forcibly remind us of the parable in Matthew 22. "But, last of all, he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir, come let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him." God sent His Son into the world with this thought, "They will reverence my son;" but, alas! man’s heart had no reverence for the "well beloved" of the Father. They cast him out. Earth and heaven were at issue in reference to Christ; and they are at issue still. Man crucified Him; but God raised Him from the dead. Man placed Him on a cross between two thieves; God set Him at His own right hand in the heavens. Man gave Him the very lowest place on earth; God gave Him the very highest place in heaven, in brightest majesty.
ALL this is shown out in Joseph’s history. "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob, (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel;) even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breast and of the womb; the blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren." (Gen. 49: 22-26)
These verses beautifully exhibit to our view "the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." "The archers" have done their work; but God was stronger than they. The true Joseph has been shot at and grievously wounded in the house of his friends; but "the arms of his hands have been made strong" in the power of resurrection, and faith now knows Him as the basis of all God’s purposes of blessing and glory in reference to the Church, Israel, and the whole creation. When we look at Joseph in the pit, and in the prison, and look; at him afterwards as ruler over all the land of Egypt, we see the difference between the thoughts of God and the. thoughts of men; and so when we look at the cross, and at "the throne of the majesty in the heavens," we see the same thing.
Nothing ever brought out the real state of man’s heart toward God but the coming of Christ. "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin." (John 15: 22) It is not that they would not have been sinners. No; but "they had not had sin." So He says, in another place, "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin." (John 9: 41) God came near to man in the Person of His Son, and man was able to say, "this is the heir;" but yet he said, "come, let us kill him." Hence, "they have no cloak for their sin." Those who say they see, have no excuse. confessed blindness is not at all the difficulty, but professed sight. This is a truly solemn principle for a professing age like the present. The permanence of sin is connected with the mere profession to see. A man who is blind, and knows it, can have his eyes opened; but what can be done for one who thinks he sees, when he really does not?
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And Joseph was brought down to Egypt. The narrative…
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt. The narrative now preparing to recite the fortunes of Joseph in Egypt, which eventually led, through his elevation to be Pharaoh"s prime minister, first to the salvation of the patriarchal family, "and finally to their settlement in Goshen, the historian reverts, in accordance with his usual practice, to a point of time antecedent to the incidents contained in the preceding chapter, and makes a new departure in his story from the moment of Joseph"s crossing into Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, (vide Gen_37:36) an Egyptian, literally, a man of Mitzraim. This implies that foreigners were sometimes employed to fill responsible offices about the Court of Pharaoh. The phrase "is not a superfluous addition, as the population of Heliopolis, from remote times, included a considerable admixture of Arabians" (Kalisch)bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, (vide Gen_37:36) which had brought him down thither.
Vers. 1-23.
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Joseph is the house of Potiphar.
I PURCHASED AS A SLAVE.
1. A sad lot. Worse even than being kidnapped by strangers, Joseph had been first sold by his brethren; carried into Egypt, he had there been exposed for sale in a slave-market; and now, as if he had been a beast of burden or a captive taken in war, he had been a second time purchased for money. Few fortunes are more touchingly sorrowful or more deeply humiliating than this which was now measured out to Jacob"s youthful son.
2. A common lot. Happily in our land, and indeed wherever the gospel prevails, it is not a spectacle that can now be beheld that of men trafficking in each other"s flesh. But in those days the horrors of the auction block were not infrequent sights, and Joseph, in being sold and bought like goods and chattels, Was only experiencing a fate which had been undergone by many previous to his times, and has by myriads been suffered since.
3. An appointed lot. As everything on earth is, so was Joseph"s sad and sorrowful estate assigned him by Heaven; and the recognition of this doubtless it was by Joseph that prevented him from mur-touring, and apparently inspired him with a cheerful confidence, even in the darkest times.
II EMPLOYED AS A SERVANT.
1. Eminently prosperous.
(1) The extent of this prosperity. All that he did prospered. Everything he put his hand to appeared to thrive. Success seemed to wait upon him like his shadow. It is seldom such a measure of good fortune is meted out to any of God"s people on the earth, or even of the devil"s children. For the first they would probably be spoiled by such indulgence, while for the second they mostly fail in the conditions that are needful for such distinction.
(2) The means of this prosperity. That Joseph was attentive. diligent, and conscientious in the performance of his household duties, as well as faithful and devoted to the interests of his master, may be reasonably inferred, since success seldom waits upon the negligent, the idle, or the unprincipled.
(3) The source of this prosperity. The historian is careful to note that the true mainspring of Joseph"s as of every other person"s, prosperity was the Divine blessing on his labors. The Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
2. Greatly rewarded. Joseph was
(1) Noticed by his master. It is a pleasure to true and faithful servants when those they serve regard their work with favorable observation.
(2) Accepted by his master. It says a great deal for Potiphar that he treated Joseph kindly, even though it was largely on account of his excellent qualities as a servant.
(3) Promoted by his master. From being humble valet to the great man"s person, he was exalted to the high position of steward or comptroller of the great man"s house.
(4) Trusted by his master. Everything connected with the management of Potiphar"s establishment, in his mansion and on his farm, was unreservedly committed to the care of Joseph. Potiphar troubled himself about nothing "save the bread which he did eat.
III BLESSED AS A MAN.
1. He enjoyed Divine companionship in his sad captivity. "The Lord was with him;" a compensation rich enough to be set against the miseries of bondage and exile, as God s people, when similarly situated, have not un-frequently experienced (cf. Act_16:25; 2Ti_4:17)
2. He obtained Divine assistance in his arduous duties. When the circumstances of Joseph"s lot might have induced despondency, indifference, inaction, carelessness, and inattention, Divine grace so upheld and cheered him that he was able to go about his duties with alacrity and cheerfulness, so that everything he turned his hand to succeeded.
3. He received Divine favor in the eyes of his master. For Joseph himself to have secretly known that God approved of his person and behavior would have been an ample consolation to his sad heart; but to obtain the goodwill of Heaven so conspicuously that even his heathen master could not avoid observing it was surely a signal honor.
4. He attracted Divine blessing towards his fellow-men. "The Lord blessed the Egyptian"s house for Joseph"s sake." Here was a clear experience by Joseph of the truth of the Abrahamic blessing. (Gen_12:2, Gen_12:3) In this also Joseph was an eminent type of Christ.
Lessons:
1. Patience under suffering.
2. Contentment with one"s lot.
3. Fidelity in service.
4. The secret of prosperity.
5. The obligations of masters towards servants.
6. The value of religion to a workman.
7. The profit of a pious servant.
Vers. 1-23.
Sunshine and shadow.
I THE BRIGHTENING SKY. The advancement of Joseph in the house of Potiphar.
1. To Joseph"s sense it was a lightening in his bondage.
2. To Joseph"s faith it was the smiling of Jehovah"s face.
3. To Joseph"s hope it was the dawning of a better day.
II THE THREATENING CLOUD. The temptation of Joseph by his mistress. Here was
1. An assault upon his virtue, which, unless it were overcome, would deprive him of Jehovah"s favor, and consequently put an end to any prospect he might have of deliverance; and,
2. An attack upon his safety, which, however it resulted, whether in his defeat or his victory, would likely terminate his enjoyment of his master"s favor, if not altogether cost him his life.
III THE FALLING DARKNESS. The accusation of Joseph by his mistress.
1. Though untrue, it was almost certain to be believed.
2. If believed, it would certainly involve him in punishment.
3. If deemed deserving of punishment, he would almost certainly be put to death.
IV THE STARLIGHT NIGHT. The history of Joseph in the prison.
1. He had not been executed, but only imprisoned.
2. God was with him in the dungeon, as he had been in the palace.
3. If the favor of his master had been lost, the confidence of his keeper had been gained.
4. Misfortune might seem to be always lying in wait for him, but, on the other hand, prosperity appeared to be ever following close upon his heels.
HOMILIES BY R.A. REDFORD Gen_21:20 Gen_26:24 Gen_28:15) and he was a prosperous man (literally, a man prospering); and he was in the house of his master the Egyptiani.e. as a domestic servant.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And Joseph was brought down to Egypt
Gen_39:1-6
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt
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The prosperity of Joseph in the house of his first master
I.
ITS EXTRAORDINARY NATURE. Cast off by his own brethren, he rises amongst strangers to dignity and honour.
II. ITS BASIS AND SECURITY.
1. His own bearing and conduct.
2. The favour of God.
III. ITS LESSONS.
1. That Gods blessings and grace are with His people everywhere, and under the severest trials.
2. That Gods blessing and grace are manifest to Others (Gen_39:3).
3. That God blesses others for the sake of His people (Gen_39:5).
4. That God is still working out His designs, even when they seem to fail. (T. H. Leale.)
Lessons from Joseph in captivity
1. We have all our captivities at some time or other in our experience. The essence of Josephs trial here was that he was taken whither he had no wish to go, and was prevented from going back again to the home in which his father was sitting mourning for his loss. But is not interference with our comfort or our liberty still the bitter element in all our afflictions? Take bodily illness, for example, and when you get at the root of the discomfort of it, you find it in the union of these two things: you are where you do not want to be--where you would never have thought of putting yourself--and you are held there, whether you will or not, by a Power that is stronger than your own. No external force constrains you, no fetters are on your limbs, yet you are held where you are against your own liking, and you do not relish the situation--you are a captive. But the same thing comes out in almost every sort of trial. You are, let me suppose, in business perplexity. But that is not of your own choosing; if you could have managed it, you would have been in quite different circumstances. Yet, in spite of you, things have gone against you. Men whom you had implicitly trusted, and whom you would have had no more thought of doubting than you would think now of doubting your mothers love, have proved deceitful; or the course of trade has gone against you, and you are brought to a stand. You have been carried away perhaps by brothers, perhaps by Ishmaelites--for the race is not yet extinct--from the Canaan of comfort to the Egypt captivity, and you are now in helpless perplexity. It may be standing, not like Joseph, in the slave-pen, but in the market place of labour, and condemned to do nothing, because no man hath hired you. Ah! there are many, too many always, in a largo city like this who are in just such circumstances. What then? Let them learn from Joseph here that the first thing to do in a captivity is to acquiesce in it as the will of God concerning them.
2. But then, in the second place, we must learn from Joseph to make the best of our remaining opportunities in our captivity. If he was to be a slave, Joseph was determined he would be the best of slaves, and what he was required to do he would do with his might and with his heart. This is a most important consideration, and it may, perhaps, help to explain why similar trials have had such different results in different persons. One has been bemoaning that it is not with him as it used to be, while the other has discovered that some talents have been still left him, and he has set to work with these. One has been saying, If I had only the resources which I once possessed I could do something; but now they have gone, I am helpless. But the other has been soliloquizing thus: If I can do nothing else I can at least do this, little as it is; and if I put it into the hand of Christ, He can make it great; and so we account for the unhappiness and uselessness of the one, and for the happiness and usefulness of the other. Nor will it do to say that this difference is a mere thing of temperament. It is a thing of character. The one acts in faith, recognizing Gods hand in his affliction, the other acts in unbelief, seeing nothing but his own calamity, and that only increases his affliction. So we come to this: keep fast hold of Gods hand in your captivity, and do your best in that which is open to you. That will ultimately bring you out of it; but if you lose that you will lose everything. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Joseph a slave
I. THAT A GOOD MAN IN CAPTIVITY CAN ENJOY GODS PRESENCE.
II. THAT A GOOD MAN IN BONDAGE CAN SHOW FORTH GODS GLORY.
III. THAT A GOOD MAN IN SLAVERY CAN DEVELOP THE HUMANITY OF OTHERS.
IV. THAT A GOOD MAN IN BONDAGE MAY BE TRUSTED.
V. THAT A GOOD MAN IS A GREAT BLESSING WHEREVER HE MAY BE FOUND. (Homilist.)
Trying days
Notice some of the points brought out in this trying portion of Josephs history.
1. The fact of having parted with the restraints and wholesome influences of home.
2. Josephs new position also placed him among strangers.
3. Josephs lot was also that of inexperience surrounded with the numerous and glaring temptations of a great city.
4. How Josephs new lot subjected his religious principles to the test. (J. Leyburn, D. D.)
The trustworthy servant
I. JOSEPHS FAITHFULNESS TO HIS MASTER.
II. JOSEPHS FAITHFULNESS TO HIS GOD.
III. JOSEPHS SOURCE OF HELP AND GLADNESS. The Lord was with him. CONCLUSION:--What shall we learn from this part of Josephs history? That amidst darkness--of sorrow (Joseph exiled); of trial (Joseph tempted); of injustice (Joseph imprisoned)--there always arises light for the faithful and pure of heart. Let us ask God to make us from our earliest years, and in all circumstances, honest, diligent, pure-minded, patient; and let us never lose hold of our trust in Gods help. (W. S. Smith, B. D.)
A kingly slave
Scene, Memphis. Splendid architecture, chased in mimic forms of nature, amid feathery palms waving in the breeze. A red quivering heat, like a bakers oven, enswathing field and city. On the horizon gigantic pyramids of stone. Nearer to the eye calm, sleepy sphinxes, guarding the entry to palace and to temple. On the margin of the city an open market, with piles of fruit; bales of merchandise; slaves, for the most part, black as ebony; noisy hucksters; groaning camels. Among the Nubian slaves a fair Syrian youth attracts attention; realizes a high price, and passes into the hands of a pompous potentate. To the careless traffickers Joseph was simply a question of gain or loss--more money or less--an item of evanescent interest. But to Joseph it was a question of joy or ruin--a matter of life or death. An awful reversal this from the sunny atmosphere of home I Had God seen all this wrong-doing of men, and had He allowed it so far to succeed? Could it be that God was on the side of righteousness?
I. RELIGION TRANSFORMS A SLAVE INTO A HERO.
1. Outward circumstance is a trivial thing. An officer of Pharaoh bought him of the Ishmaelites. It is a frightful degradation to be reduced to a chattel; yet it is only external degradation. But the man need not be degraded. Slavery may give scope for the play of noble principles. Integrity, faithfulness, goodness, piety, love, are untouched, are free to develop.
2. Mans judgment is often in opposition to Gods.
3. In the darkest night true piety shines the more brightly. Doubtless, Joseph was cast down, yet was he not in despair. Instead of repining, he kept a brave heart. Here in Potiphars mansion is one doing Gods will as angels do it in heaven. There is a noble seraph within this apparent slave.
II. RELIGION BRINGS MEN INTO PARTNERSHIP WITH GOD. The Lord was with him: the Lord made all that he did to prosper.
1. A good man is a mystery to onlookers. There is something about him which the world cannot understand. He is patient when others fume and fret. He is buoyant when others are submerged. An unseen Anchor hold his barque, let the storm howl as it may.
2. This superior factor in life is conspicuous. His master saw that the Lord was with him. Such diligence, honesty, thoughtfulness, promptitude, were unusual, unconventional, superhuman. Some men have a trick of concealing their religion. Joseph allowed his light naturally to shine out.
3. God is an active Partner in honest work. The source of Josephs prosperity is revealed: The Lord made it to prosper. A merchant in feeble health once accounted for his successful conduct of a gigantic business by saying that God was his acting Partner. This is the fellowship of the Spirit. A true Christian is man plus God.
III. RELIGION MAKES A MAN A MEDIUM OF BLESSING TO OTHERS. The Lord blessed the Egyptians house for Josephs sake. Potiphar is not even named: Joseph is everything.
1. A good man is the channel of good to others. Here is Gods law of mediation. A man prospers in business through the prayers of a pious servant. A father is raised up from a bed of fever for the sake of a child. A husband is saved from moral wreck by the faith and love of a wife. The God-fearing are the salt of the earth. For Josephs sake, the fields of Potiphar are fruitful.
2. Real prosperity embraces all the interests of mankind. The blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. The beneficent effect of religion is commensurate with man. It blesses domestic life, agriculture, commerce, politics, literature. It enhances all human joy; it soothes all human sorrow. It kindles a lamp in the darkness of the grave. It fills the heart with an immortal hope. (J. Dickerson Davies, M. A.)
Joseph in Egypt
Joseph, whose studied silence has unrivalled eloquence, is now in Egypt. New scenes are before him. In the far distant stretches the beauteous valley of the Nile, its fertility unsurpassed. Pyramids, hoary with years, strange mementoes of buried generations, tower towards the transparent firmament. A brief journey has brought him from a region scarcely more than semi-barbarous to one far advanced in civilization. The skilled agriculturist is in the field, the ingenious mechanic at his daily toil. The children have those rare evidences of refined state of society, toys, with which to while away the joyous hours. The judge in his court is administering statutes which even modern society might advantageously re-enact. The priest in the temple is endeavouring to propitiate the gods, and secure blessings for their erring children on earth. A written language, the laborious work of many generations, and which had passed from hieroglyphics to phonetics, meets his eye on cunningly prepared papyrus leaves. A settled religious faith, a complicated system of government, a language bearing evidence of growth through many centuries, a vast empire consolidated upon the wrecks of pre-existing nationalities, great material prosperity accompanied with the knowledge of the physical sciences, of history, of metaphysics, and even of theology; a degree of progress in the fine arts which, though different, still rivals that of the present day--these, as well as their institutions, their laws, and their brilliant achievements, unmistakably testify to the immense antiquity of the empire under whose overshadowing influence Joseph is to pass his days of servitude. Nor is he a solitary bondman among a nation of freemen, but one of a vast number of slaves--slaves from Nubia, from Ethiopia, from Asia, from many surrounding nations, all of which had witnessed, and many of which had submitted to the conquering valour of Egypts powerful emperors. (J. S. Van Dyke.)
Lessons
1. Histories of the wicked and righteous are set together by Gods Spirit to abase sin and heighten grace in the Church. So of Judah and Joseph.
2. Providence determining to bring any to greatness, leads them usually first into a low estate. Joseph dreams of dignities, but first meets with slavery.
3. Men-selling, though it be great sin in man, yet is it permitted and ordered by God.
4. Gods choicest ones may be bought and sold by the hands of strangers and enemies.
5. Providence orders the slavery of His own to such men, by whom more fitly they may be preferred.
6. Egypt may be the house of bondage to Gods servants in order to greater freedom (Gen_39:1). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Piety in unfavourable places
Josephs religion overcame all obstacles because there was real life in it. The other day I slackened my step opposite a garden to notice the crocuses raising their slender heads amid the heavy gravel on the walk. The tender plants, having real life, forced their way through the hard earth and conquered the very stones. So the heavenly plant of Josephs piety displayed all its beauty and gave out its sweet odours in the wicked palaces of Potiphar and Pharaoh.
Joseph carried down to Egypt
I. First, then, we will contemplate THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH JOSEPH WENT DOWN TO EGYPT.
1. It was not by his own choice. This is intimated by the emphatic expression he was brought down. It appears that his brethren became envious of him; and they so indulged this bad feeling of the heart Gen_37:18-20). In saying that it is similar to the case of some persons, I do not mean that the same treatment is experienced by them, though unhappily this is the case with many who are torn from their native shores and sold into captivity and bondage against their will; but what I mean is, that their position in life is often fixed for a time without any power on their part to shape their own course. They are governed by the force of circumstances, and find themselves fixed in situations, not because they have chosen it so to be, but because things have tended to that particular position in which they find themselves placed--without their own choice, and without their own control. On the other hand, there is a dissimilarity between the case of Joseph and some others. Time, circumstances, means, are all such that they can, apparently, make their own election, and direct their own pursuits.
2. It was with the prospect of servitude before him. The Midianites bought him to sell him as a slave. That Josephs being a servant, distinguished as he was by only being removed two descents from Abraham, and honoured as he was also--as we shall afterwards find--by God himself, has sanctified, as it were, the employment of servitude and made it honourable. It can never be a disgrace to us to be employed as he was, especially if we pursue our calling in the way that he pursued his. And how was that? perhaps some may ask. We answer that he pursued it faithfully. While he served his master he was faithful to the confidence reposed in him. He was an honest man, and this conduct led to his services being viewed by his master with acceptance. But we mark another trait in the character of Joseph; he was attentive to his duties. But there was a principle in Josephs conduct that we must not omit to notice--he feared God. In this was the secret of his prosperity. But in further contemplating the circumstances under which Joseph went down to Egypt, we observe that--
3. He was brought down thither really, though not apparently at the time, by God. This Joseph himself acknowledged to his brethren in an interview with them some few years afterwards (Gen_46:7-8). Was it God, then, who excited in Josephs brethren that feeling of envy which existed in their breasts--the feeling which led them first to resolve on his murder, and then to agree to report to his father that some evil beast had slain him? No; it was not God who was the author of this conduct. The whole of it was sinful; and God is not the author of sin.
II. What are the LESSONS WE LEARN FROM THE CIRCUMSTANCES WE HAVE BEEN CONTEMPLATING?
1. To acknowledge God in all our ways.
2. To confide in God under all circumstances. We can scarcely conceive, humanly speaking, of any circumstances being more dark and mysterious than those in which Joseph was placed. It was good for me that I was afflicted. And, eventually, our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, shall work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 2Co_4:17). On this point, then, I will conclude in the words of the prophet Isaiah (Isa_1:10), Who is among you thatfeareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.
3. To repress every bad feeling of the heart.
4. That the providence of God attends those that love Him. But God does not lead all His children to degrees of honour and usefulness equal to those of Joseph. Among His people there are those who may be compared to vessels of gold, and of silver, of wood, and of earth; some to honour and some to dishonour (2Ti_2:20). (W. Blackley, B. A.)
Joseph in Potiphars house
The name Potiphar frequently occurs on the monuments of Egypt (written either Pet-Pa-Ra, or Pet-P-Ra), and means: Dedicated to Ra, or the sun. According to some writers, at the time that Joseph was sold into Egypt, the country was not united under the rule of a single native line, but governed by several dynasties, of which the fifteenth dynasty of Shepherd-kings was the predominant one, the rest being tributary to it. At any rate, he would be carried into that part of Egypt which was always most connected with Palestine. Potiphars office at the court of Pharaoh was that of chief of the executioners, most probably (as it is rendered in our Authorized Version) captain of the kings body-guard. In the house of Potiphar it went with Joseph as formerly in his own home. For it is not in the power of circumstances, prosperous or adverse, to alter our characters. He that is faithful in little shall also be faithful in much; and from him who knoweth not how to employ what is committed to his charge, shall be taken even that he hath. Joseph was faithful, honest, upright, and conscientious, because in his earthly, he served a heavenly Master, whose presence he always realized. Accordingly Jehovah was with him, and Jehovah made all that he did to prosper in his hand. His master was not long in observing this. From an ordinary domestic slave he promoted him to be overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. The confidence was not misplaced. Jehovahs blessing henceforth rested upon Potiphars substance, and he left all that he had in Josephs hand; and he knew not aught that he had, save the bread which he did eat. The sculptures and paintings of the ancient Egyptian tombs bring vividly before us the daily life and duties of Joseph. The property of great men is shown to have been managed by scribes, who exercised a most methodical and minute supervision over all the operations of agriculture, gardening, the keeping of live stock, and fishing. Every product was carefully registered, to check the dishonesty of the labourers, who in Egypt have always been famous in this respect. Probably in no country was farming ever more systematic. Josephs previous knowledge of tending flocks, and perhaps of husbandry, and his truthful character, exactly fitted him for the post of overseer. How long he filled it we are not told. (Dr. Edersheim.)
And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man
The secret of prosperity
There are many ways in which the Lord is with a man. Not always by visible symbol; seldom by an external badge which we can see and read. God is with a man in the suggestion of thought; in the animation of high, noble, heavenly feeling; in the direction of his steps; in the direction of his speech, enabling him to give the right look, the right answer at the right time under the right circumstances; giving him the schooling which he could never pay for, training him by methods and processes unknown in human schools, and not to be understood except by those who have passed under them. If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God. Ideas are the gifts of God, as well as wheat fields and vineyards and other fruits of the earth. Suggestions in business, delivering thoughts in the time of extremity, silence when it is better than speech, speech when it will do more than silence. These also come forth from the Lord of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. The Lord was with Joseph and yet Joseph was under Potiphar. These are the contradictions and anomalies of life which ill-taught souls can never understand, and which become to them mysteries which torment their spirits and which distract their love. Undoubtedly this is an anomalous state of life: Joseph brought down to Egypt by his purchasers--Joseph sold into the house of Potiphar--bought and sold and exchanged like an article of merchandise. Yet, he was a prosperous man! Understand that there are difficulties which cannot impair prosperity, and that there is a prosperity which dominates over all external circumstances and vindicates its claim to be considered a Divine gift. Looking at this case through and through, one would say, it is hardly correct to assert that Joseph was a prosperous man, when he was to all intents and purposes in bondage, when he was the property of another, when not one hour of his time belonged to himself, when he was cut off from his father and from his brethren. Yet, it is distinctly stated that, notwithstanding these things, the Lord was with him and he was a prosperous man. There must be a lesson for some of us here. When men live in their circumstances they never can be prosperous. When a man has to go out into his wheat-field to know whether there is going to be a good crop before ha can really enjoy himself--that man does not know what true joy is. When a man has to read out of a bank-book before he dare take one draught out of the goblet of happiness--that mans thirst for joy will never be slaked. Man cannot live in wheat-fields and bank-books and the things of the present world. If he cannot live within himself, in the very sanctuary and temple of God, then he is at the sport of every change of circumstance--one shake of the telegraph wire may unsettle him, and the cloudy day may obscure his hopes and darken what little soul he has left. If Joseph had lived in his external circumstances he might have spent his days in tears and his nights in hopelessness; but living a religious life, living with God, walking with God, identifying his very souls life with God, then the dust had no sovereignty over him, external circumstances were under his feet. This is the solution of many of our difficulties. Given a mans relation to God, and you have the key of his whole life. (J. Parker, D. D.)
A miniature portrait of Joseph
Scripture frequently sums up a mans life in a single sentence. Here is the biography of Joseph sketched by inspiration: God was with him, so Stephen testified in his famous speech recorded in Act_7:9. Observe, however, that the portraits of Scripture give us not only the outer, but the inner life of the man. Man looketh at the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh upon the heart; and so the Scriptural descriptions of men are not of their visible life alone, but of their spiritual life. Here we have Joseph as God saw him, the real Joseph. Externally it did not always appear that God was with him, for he did not always seem to be a prosperous man; but when you come to look into the inmost soul of this servant of God, you see his true likeness--he lived in communion with the Most High, and God blessed him: The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. This striking likeness of Joseph strongly reminds us of our Master and Lord, that greater Joseph, who is Lord over all the world for the sake of Israel. Peter, in his sermon to the household of Cornelius, said of our Lord that He went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him. Exactly what had been said of Joseph. It is wonderful that the same words should describe both Jesus and Joseph, the perfect Saviour and the imperfect patriarch. This having the Lord with us is the inheritance of all the saints; for what is the apostolic benediction in the Epistles but a desire that the triune God may be with us? To the Church in Rome Paul saith, Now the God of peace be with you all. To the Church in Corinth he writes, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. To the Thessalonians he saith, The Lord be with you all. Did not our glorious Lord say, Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world?
I. First, we will run over Josephs life, and note THE FACT The Lord was with Joseph.
1. God was gracious to Joseph as a child. Happy are those who have Christ with them in the morning, for they shall walk with Him all day, and sweetly rest with Him at eventide.
2. The Lord was with Joseph when Joseph was at home, and He did not desert him when he was sent away from his dear father and his beloved home and was sold for a slave. I think I see him in the slave market exposed for sale. We have heard with what trembling anxiety the slave peers into the faces of those who are about to buy. Will he get a good master? Will one purchase him who will treat him like a man, or one who will use him worse than a brute? The Lord was with Joseph as he stood there to be sold, and he fell into good hands. When he was taken away to his masters house, and the various duties of his service were allotted to him, the Lord was with Joseph. The house of the Egyptian had never been so pure, so honest, so honoured before. Beneath Josephs charge it was secretly the temple of his devotions, and manifestly the abode of comfort and confidence. That Hebrew slave had a glory of character about him, which all perceived, and especially his master, for we read: His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight.
3. Then came a crisis in his history, the time of testing. We see Joseph tried by a temptation in which, alas, so many perish. He was attacked in a point at which youth is peculiarly vulnerable. His comely person made him the object of unholy solicitations from one upon whose goodwill his comfort greatly depended, and had it not been that the Lord was with him he must have fallen. Slavery itself was a small calamity compared with that which would have happened to young Joseph had he been enslaved by wicked passions. Happily the Lord was with him, and enabled him to overcome the tempter with the question, How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? He fled. That flight was the truest display of courage. It is the only way of victory in sins of the flesh. The apostle says, Flee youthful lusts which war against the soul. When Telemachus was in the isle of Calypso, his mentor cried, Fly, Telemachus, fly; there remains no hope of a victory but by flight. Wisely Joseph left his garment and fled, for God was with him.
4. The scene shifts again, and he who bad been first a favoured child at home, and then a slave, and then a tempted one, now becomes a prisoner. The prisons of Egypt were, doubtless, as horrible as all such places were in the olden times, and here is Joseph in the noisome dungeon. He evidently felt his imprisonment very much, for we are told in the Psalms that the iron entered into his soul. He felt it a cruel thing to be under such a slander, and to suffer for his innocence. A young man so pure, so chaste, must have felt it to be sharper than a whip of scorpions to be accused as he was; yet as he sat down in the gloom of his cell, the Lord was with him. The degradation of a prison had not deprived him of his Divine Companion. Blessed be the name of the Lord, He does not forsake His people when they are in disgrace: nay, He is more pleasant with them when they are falsely accused than at any other time, and He cheers them in their low estate. God was with him, and very soon the kindly manners, the gentleness, the activity, the truthfulness, the industry of Joseph had won upon the keeper of the prison, so that Joseph rose again to the top, and was the overseer of the prison. Like a cork, which you may push down, but it is sure to come up again, so was Joseph: he must swim, he could not drown, the Lord was with him. The Lords presence made him a king and a priest wherever he went, and men tacitly owned his influence. In the little kingdom of the prison Joseph reigned, for God was with him.
5. Joseph was made ruler over all Egypt, and God was with him. Well did the king say, Can we find such a man as this is in whom the Spirit of God is? His policy in storing up corn in the plenteous years succeeded admirably, for God was evidently working by him to preserve the human race from extinction by famine.
6. God was with him in bringing down his father and the family into Egypt, and locating them in Goshen, and with him till he himself came to die, when he took an oath of the children of Israel, saying God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. The Lord was with him, and kept him faithful to the covenant, and the covenanted race, even to the close of a long life of one hundred and ten years.
II. We shall next review THE EVIDENCE OF THE FACT that God was with him.
1. The first evidence of it is this: he was always under the influence of the Divine presence, and lived in the enjoyment of it.
2. The next evidence is this: God was certainly with Joseph because he was pure in heart. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God; no other can do so. What fellowship hath light with darkness, or what concord hath Christ with Belial? The intense purity of Joseph was a proof that the thrice holy God was ever with him. He will keep the feet of His saints. When they are tempted He will deliver them from evil, for His presence sheds an atmosphere of holiness around the heart in which He dwells.
3. The next evidence in Josephs case was the diligence with which he exercised himself wherever he was. God was with Joseph, and therefore the man of God hardly cared as to the outward circumstances of his position, but began at once to work that which is good.
4. But notice again, God was with Joseph, and that made him tender and sympathetic. Some men who are prompt enough in business are rough, coarse, hard; but not so Joseph. His tenderness distinguishes him; he is full of loving consideration. He loved with all his soul, and so will every man who has God with him, for God is love. If you do not love, God is net with you. If you go through the world, selfish and morose, bitter, suspicious, bigoted, hard, the devil is with you, God is not; for where God is He expands the spirit, He causes us to love all mankind with the love of benevolence, and He makes us take a sweet complacency in the chosen brotherhood of Israel, so that we specially delight to do good to all those of the household of faith.
5. Another mark of Gods presence with Joseph is his great wisdom. He did everything as it ought to be done. You can scarcely alter anything in Josephs life to improve it, and I think if I admire his wisdom in one thing more than another it is in his wonderful silence. It is easy to talk, comparatively easy to talk well, but to be quiet is the difficulty.
6. God was with him, and this is the last evidence I give of it, that he was kept faithful to the covenant, faithful to Israel and to Israels God right through. Joseph stuck to his people and to their God: though he must live in Egypt, he will not be an Egyptian; he will not even leave his dead body to lie in an Egyptian pyramid. The Egyptians built a costly tomb for Joseph: it stands to this day, but his body is not there. I charge you, says he, take my bones with you; for I do not belong to Egypt, my place is in the land of promise. He gave commandment concerning his bones. Let others do as they will; as for me, my lot is cast with those who follow the Lord fully. Yes, my Lord, where Thou dwellest I will dwell; Thy people shall be my people, and Thy God my God, and may my children be Thy children to the last generation. If the Lord is with you that is what you will say, but if He is not with you, and you prosper in the world, and increase in riches, you will turn your back on Christ and His people, and we shall have to say as Paul did, Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.
III. Thirdly, let us observe, THE RESULT OF GODS BEING WITH JOSEPH. The result was that he was a prosperous man; but notice that, although the Lord was with Joseph, it did not screen him from hatred. The Lord was with him, but his brethren hated him. Ay, and if the Lord loves a man, the world will spite him. Furthermore, The Lord was with Joseph, bat it did not screen him from temptation of the worst kind: it did not prevent his mistress casting her wicked eyes upon him. The best of men may be tempted to the worst of crimes. The presence of God did not screen him from slander: the base woman accused him of outrageous wickedness, and God permitted Potiphar to believe her. Nay, the Divine presence did not screen him from pain: he sat in prison wearing fetters till the iron entered into his soul, and yet the Lord was with him. That presence did not save him from disappointment. He said to the butler, Think of me when it is well with thee; but the butler altogether forgot him. Everything may seem to go against you, and yet God may be with you. The Lord does not promise you that you shall have what looks like prosperity, but you shall have what is real prosperity in the better sense. Now, what did Gods being with Joseph do for him?
1. First, it saved him from gross sin. He flees, he shuts his ears: he flees and conquers, for God is with him.
2. God was with him, and the next result was it enabled him to act grandly. Wherever he is he does the right thing, does it splendidly.
3. In such a manner did God help Joseph that he was enabled to fulfil a glorious destiny, for if Noah be the worlds second father, what shall we say of Joseph, but that he was its foster nurse? The human race had died of famine if Josephs foresight had not laid by in store the produce of the seven plenteous years, for there was a famine over all lands.
4. Also it gave him a very happy life, for taking the life of Joseph all through it is an enviable one. Nobody would think of putting him down among the miserable. If we had to make a selection of unhappy men, we certainly should not think of Joseph. No, it was a great life and a happy life; and such will yours be if God be with you.
5. And, to finish, God gave Joseph and his family a double portion in Israel, which never happened to any other of the twelve sons of Jacob. Those who begin early with God, and stand fast to the end, and hold to God both in trouble and prosperity, shall see their children brought to the Lord, and in their children they shall possess the double, yea, the Lord shall render unto them double for all they may lose in honour for His names sake. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Prosperity
In a long sunshine of outward prosperity, the dust of our inward corruptions is apt to fly about and lift itself up. Sanctified affliction, like seasonable rain, lays the dust and softens the soul. (H. G. Salter.)
Prosperity and security
Prosperity is not to be deemed the greatest security. The lofty unbending cedar is more exposed to the injurious blast than the lowly shrub. The little pinnace rides safely along the shore, while the gallant ship advancing is wrecked. Those sheep which have the most wool are generally the soonest fleeced. Poverty is its own defence against robbery. A fawning world is worse than a frowning world. Who would shake those trees upon which there is no fruit? (T. Secker.)
The prosperity of Joseph
This cannot mean that Joseph was entirely happy, or that he had everything he wanted. It means that he prayed to God, and knew that God heard his prayers; it means that he felt that God was good to him and was helping him gain the favour of his master; it means that he was certain that by and by he would be delivered in some way; it means that he was able to bear his troubles and to make the best of them; it means that he was getting along well. Read the text again. It doesnt say, the Lord was with Joseph because he was a prosperous man; but, the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man.
1. It was because of Josephs simplicity. By this I do not mean that he was foolish. I mean that he was just what he seemed to be, and seemed to be just what he was. He didnt deceive folks. He had no small, mean ways. Perhaps you may say that he would have escaped the trouble that was coming if he had not had this simplicity; but he did not need to escape it; it was far better that it should come. It is best to do right, no matter what comes. Josephs trouble did not hurt him, it did him good; and all the trouble that will ever come to you from doing right will be a blessing to you.
2. God was with Joseph, and he was prosperous, because of his obedience. When Jacobs sons had been away from home some time, their father began to be anxious. I cant make you understand the full meaning of this word anxious; but when you are men and women and have children of your own, you will know without being told. Well, Jacob was anxious about his sons; he was afraid something had happened to them, and wanted to hear from them. In those days, and in that part of the world, there was no mail, and people usually travelled from place to place in large companies called caravans. This is the way they travelled then, and the way they travel now. But there was no caravan going where his sons were, and so Jacob wanted some person to go alone, and there was no one who was so trustworthy and so fearless, who would go and come so quickly, and do his errand so well, as Joseph. So his father said to him: Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come and I will send thee unto them. And Joseph answered promptly: Here am I; which means, I am ready to go; send me. And his father sent him. Now Josephs obedience is shown here, not merely in his saying, Here am I, nor in his starting off at once, but in his going, and going until he found them. Many boys and girls say, I will go, and some actually start, but that is all they do. They find a difficulty and come back, saying, I cant; or they are drawn away by bad company; or for some other reason they give it up. But see how Joseph did. When he came to Shechem, where his brothers had been, they were not there, but while he was searching for them he came across a man who told him they had gone to Dothan, fourteen miles farther. Many a lad of seventeen hearing this would have gone back, for Joseph was nearly ninety miles from home, alone, and in a dangerous country. But this was not Josephs way. His father had sent him to find his brothers, and he was determined to do it, no matter if it did take him fourteen miles farther than he thought they were, and more than a hundred miles from the tents of Jacob in Hebron. This is obedience that is obedience, to do what you are told to, to face dangers, to overcome difficulties. I want these children to do what they are told to, whatever it costs. It cost Joseph his liberty and almost his life, but it was the foundation of all his future greatness; it was worth more than liberty or life; it was worth ten thousand times more than the coat of many colours, or his fathers favouritism, or the throne of Egypt. Obedience taught Joseph how to command, and no one knows how to command who has not learned first how to obey.
3. God was with Joseph, and he was prosperous because of his moral courage. I suppose you know the meaning of courage. It is bravery, fearlessness. A boy who leaps overboard to save a drowning companion is courageous; so is a man who rushes into a burning building to save persons from being burned. This is courage. But what is moral courage? It is that which makes one do right when people will blame him, or laugh at him, or try to injure him for doing so. It is easier for many to be knocked down than to be laughed at or blamed. I dont know that Joseph ever struck a blow in his life; and we do know that when his brothers sold him he cried very hard, and begged them not to do it; for afterwards they said one to another: We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us and we would not hear. But his moral courage was shown by the way he behaved in adversity. He dared to do right wherever he was. No matter how wicked those about him were, he would not do a wrong thing. Nor is this all; he gave his reasons. He said, How, then, can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And then he kept away from temptation. But Joseph showed moral courage in still another way. When he was accused falsely and punished, he did not try to save himself by exposing his accuser. He said to himself: I will suffer rather than ruin the reputation of this woman; may be she will repent; and what was still better, he chose to go to prison rather than remain in temptation.
4. And another reason for Josephs prosperity was his patience. To be patient is to bear quietly any evil, such as pain, toil, affliction. Josephs affliction lasted about thirteen years. All this time he was a slave, and part of it--two years certainly--he was a prisoner. This was a long time, but he made it seem shorter by always trying to deserve something better.
5. Another reason for Josephs prosperity was his spirit of forgiveness. It is said of the North American Indians that they never forget an injury and never forget a kindness; this may be well for a heathen savage, but it will not do for a Christian child. Christ said, forgive your enemies.
6. Once more, God was with Joseph and he was prosperous because of his trust in God. Joseph trusted in God when he was a boy, when he went away from home, and when he was sold to the Ishmaelites, when he was in the prison, and when he was on the throne. It was this that sustained him in his trials, that kept him in temptation, and that made him a wise and virtuous ruler. (E. N. Pomeroy.)
Prosperous days
When may we speak of a man as prosperous? As a general rule, I suppose, when he carries out his plans to a successful issue; when his business is established on a sound basis, and is in a flourishing condition; when his investments are wisely made, and largely profitable. If, with all this, he enjoys good health and lives in the midst of domestic affection and comfort, then his lot is doubly fortunate. When life is attended by these circumstances, he may be said to be a prosperous man.
I. PROSPERITY IS A LEGITIMATE OBJECT OF PURSUIT. Our great care should be to pursue it lawfully--to use none but upright and honourable means for its attainment.
II. The counsels given by wise and practical men as to THE BEST MEANS OF SECURING LEGITIMATE SUCCESS are manifold--all agreeing in the main. One writer says, If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counsellor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian angel. Another likens prosperity to a ladder having six steps--faith, industry, perseverance, temperance, probity, independence. This, I think, is a ladder by which you are sure to rise, and to rise safely.
III. PROSPERITY HAS ITS DUTIES. Wealth always brings with itself responsibilities. Divine learning is needed for this stewardship. One of the first duties of a prosperous man is hearty gratitude to God. This will show itself in works of benevolence and religion, and cheerful consecration to God.
IV. PROSPERITY HAS ITS ANXIETIES. Care disfigures its face. One of the most successful men of this century, when surrounded by immense wealth and supposed to be enjoying it, wrote to a friend: I live like a galley-slave, constantly occupied, and often pass the night without sleeping. I am wrapt in a labyrinth of affairs, and worn out with care.
V. PROSPERITY HAS ITS DANGERS. It may prove a great blessing to a man, or a great curse. Many have been ruined by success. Valerian, the Roman Emperor, before he was raised to the throne, was temperate, wise, and virtuous; but after his investment with the purple he completely changed, and was notorious for meanness, imprudence, and general incapacity. (W. Walters.)
Prosperity and right principle
That in the working out of right principles there is a natural tendency to promote prosperity, and ensure success. (R. Wardlaw, D. D.)
Tokens of Gods love
Prosperity is not always a sign of Gods special favour, yet prosperity undoubtedly comes from God, and is a fruit of Gods love to His own people, when He sees that prosperity is better for them than adversity. But how did God show that He was present with Joseph, by making him to prosper? Was not Josephs prosperity more properly his masters than his own, when all the business which he transacted was his masters, and the profit redounded to him? It is true, that Josephs prosperity was, to outward appearance, his masters advantage rather than his own. But as the little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked, so the benefit which Joseph derived from Gems kindness to him was far greater than his masters. He saw the love of God mitigating and sweetening his sorrows, and recommending him to his masters favorer, that he might spend even the days of his banishment and humiliation with comfort. The more clearly we can discern the love of God in any prosperous incidents, the more pleasure we can take in them. A temporary relief in bondage with the love of God, is worth more than all the prosperity which ungodly men can enjoy. (G. Lawson, D. D.)
Lessons
1. The greatness of God disdains not to be with the lowness of His servants. God and Joseph are together.
2. Gods special presence of grace is vouchsafed to such as are more especially humbled.
3. Gods gracious presence maketh souls prosperous, wherever they be.
4. Gracious souls, though in bondage, will abide faithful unto Egyptian masters.
5. Providence in exercising saints usually proportions employment to endowment. Joseph for the house (Gen_39:2).
6. God maketh sinful masters to see that He is present graciously with their servants.
7. Gracious servants make house, and all affairs prosper unto ungracious masters.
8. God maketh wicked men to see that they prosper by reason of His servants (Gen_39:3). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Josephs good fortune
Our common expression, Hes a lucky fellow, is hardly a phrase that we expect to find in Scripture. But it does occur, in Wycliffes version, in this very thirty-ninth chapter of Genesis. The second verse, as rendered by the earliest of Bible translators, runs thus: The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a luekie felowe. Both the words lucky and fellow lost dignity between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, and King James translators wrote instead a prosperous man. But it is useful to refer to the older and more colloquial form, to emphasize what is really a most important though little recognized truth, namely, that a lucky fellow is not he that is rich, not he that makes a good stroke of business, not he that wins a coveted post, but he of whom we can truly say, The Lord is with him. For see who it is that the Bible calls a lucky fellow. Would any of us call Joseph lucky? Yes, says a sharp boy, I should; for in one day he became the greatest man in Egypt next to the king. The teacher who gets such an answer as this will himself be lucky! There is nothing like a half-wrong answer to emphasize the right one. The rejoinder will be--Very well, but look and see when it is that Joseph is called a lucky fellow. The phrase is not used of him when he becomes virtual ruler of Egypt, but long before that. It is just when he begins his life as a slave in a strange land. And the narrative is going on to tell of his encountering sore temptation, false accusation, unjust condemnation, and the horrors of an Egyptian prison. It is at the beginning of all this that he is called a lucky fellow. Why? Because the Lord was with him. (E. Stock.)
The Lord blessed the Egyptians house for Josephs sake
Joseph brings prosperity to his masters house
Some individuals there are who carry blessings with them everywhere. Like richly-scented flowers they fill the habitations into which they enter with delicious perfume, or, like clouds surcharged with rain, they let down benefits on every hand. Thus this Hebrew captive brings with him into Egypt, and into the house of Potiphar, the captain of the guard, a cornu copiae--a horn of plenty, and for his sake the Egyptians stores are multiplied to an extent he had not previously known. And cases similar to this are also often seen. Pious servants and pious slaves have frequently been blessings to their masters house. Even in instances where the slave has been treated cruelly, his prayers, offered up in secret for his owners weal, have been answered in a manner the most remarkable, and his efforts to promote that owners interests have been crowned with very considerable success. Generally, however, it is only when the master acts towards his servant or towards his slave with justice that the blessing of heaven descends upon his house. It was from the time that Potiphar raised Joseph from the position of a slave to one of comparative dignity and honour that the Lord blessed him. (Thornley Smith.)
One man blessed for the sake of another
One man blessed for the sake of another. Here is a great law--here is a special lesson for many. A man looks at his property, and reasons that he must be good, and approved of God, otherwise he never could have so many blessings in his possession. It never enters the mans mind that he has every one of these blessings for the sake of another man. The master blessed because he has a good servant! Would to God I could speak thunder-claps and speak lightning to many thousands in our city and throughout our land to-day upon this very matter I Here is a man, for example, who never enters a place of worship. No, no--not he. His wife is a member of the church, and if ever she is fiveminutes late in on Sunday, his mighty lordship foams and fumes, and is not going to be put upon in this way, and have his household arrangements upset by these canting, fanatical, religious people. What shall I call him? The wretch, the almost-devil, owes every penny he has to his dishonoured praying wife. If that woman--the only angel in Gods universe that cares for his soul--were to cease praying for him, God might rain fire and brimstone upon him and his dwelling-place. He does not know it. No! He is shrewd, cunning, wide-awake, has his eyes open, knows when the iron is hot and when to strike it, and he is such a wonderful genius in business. A maniac--not knowing that it is his praying wife that saves him from ruin, meanwhile from hell I Here is another man who thinks it manly to blaspheme, swear, and use profane language upon every opportunity, and to ridicule religion and religious people. He knows that it is all wrong. He has revelations from the nasty little god that he worships that everybody in the world is all wrong but himself. And that man prospers! His fields are verdant in spring-time, his crops are rich and golden in autumn. If you speak a word to him about religion he laughs at you, and intimates, in a not very roundabout manner, that you are a fool. And he owes all he has to a little invalid girl, who believes in God and prays to Him, and connects the house with heaven! God blesses one man for the sake of another. The husband is blessed because of the godliness of the wife. The parent is honoured because of the Christianity of the child. The strong man has prospered in his way because of the poor weak creature in his house who is mighty in soul towards God and truth. Yet these are the elements and the facts which are so often overlooked when men take stock and tell what they are worth. Ten men keep that brimstone-and-fire shower back. The righteous are the salt of the earth. The true, loving and God-fearing are the light of the world. But for them would God be patient with the world? What would it be, with His great power, to crush your little world, to pulverize and throw it away on the flying winds and forget it? It is Paul that saves the vessel on the stormy Adriatic. It is Joseph that blesses the house of Potiphar. It is the ten praying men that save the Sodoms of the earth from the lightning showers of judgment. And this is Gods plan all through. There is one man for whose sake all other men are blessed. This is the principle of mediation which runs through all the Divine government of man. If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father. (J. Parker, D. D.)
A lesson to servants and masters
Joseph, like his father Jacob, is an example of contentment, industry, and fidelity, to servants. It is true, servants cannot command success, and God does not bind himself by an absolute promise to grant success to the best-conducted affairs. But it is undoubtedly the duty of servants to take the most likely means to promote the prosperity of their masters, and to seek the Divine blessing upon those affairs that are committed to them. By such behaviour, they are likely to prove blessings to their masters, and to attain that favour and confidence which they take pains to deserve. But if they should be ungratefully treated by their masters according to the flesh, they have a master in heaven who will by no means suffer them to want their due reward. Masters may likewise learn from this passage, what treatment is due to faithful servants. They ought to trust, to honour, and to love them. Potiphar was a stranger to the family of Israel, and yet he loved Joseph for his fidelity, and honoured him as the instrument of Gods providential blessings to himself. Christian masters have far stronger motives to honour Christian servants, whom they know to be not only servants, but above servants, brethren partakers of the same heavenly blessings and dignities with themselves. (G. Lawson, D. D.)
Lessons
1. Gods favour to His servants maketh them to be favoured by men.
2. Grace in the eyes of men and rulers justly gotten, is a blessing desirable here below.
3. A gracious Joseph may be an Egyptians favourite.
4. Favour with men of place usually draws favourites nearer to themselves.
5. Gradual is the preferment which Providence ordereth to His saints from men.
6. Grace, prudence, and fidelity win hearts of great men to trust strangers rather than their own.
7. Providence ordereth lowest slavery the way to greatest oversight in greatest charges (Gen_39:4).
8. The time of doing good and lifting up saints, is the time of good to them that do it.
9. Jehovah himself rewardeth the good done unto His servants.
10. All outward blessings in the house and in the field are the blessings of God.
11. The gracious ones of God are the means of procuring blessing to all where they dwell.
12. Those rulers best provide for families, and states, who commit affairs to faithful ones (Gen_39:5).
13. Faithfulness in servants worketh confidence in their rulers.
14. It is the rare commendation of gracious servants, that the hearts of masters may be secure in them. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain Genesis 39
JOSEPH IN PRISON
Genesis 39
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"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life."- Jas_1:12
DRAMATISTS and novelists, who make it their business to give accurate representations of human life, proceed upon the understanding that there is a plot in it, and that if you take the beginning or middle without the end, you must fail to comprehend these-prior parts. And a plot is pronounced good in proportion as, without violating truth to nature, it brings the leading characters into situations of extreme danger or distress, from which there seems no possible exit, and in which the characters themselves may have fullest opportunity to display and ripen their individual excellences. A life is judged poor and without significance, certainly unworthy of any longer record than a monumental epitaph may contain, if there be in it no critical passages, no emergencies when all anticipation of the next step is baffled, or when ruin seems certain. Though it has been brought to a successful issue, yet, to make it worthy of our consideration, it must have been brought to this issue through hazard, through opposition, contrary to many expectations that were plausibly entertained at the several stages of its career. All men, in short, are agreed that the value of a human life consists very much in the hazards and conflicts through which it is carried; and yet we resent Gods dealing with us when it comes to be our turn to play the hero, and by patient endurance and righteous endeavour to bring our lives to a successful issue. How flat and tame would this narrative have read had Joseph by easy steps come to the dignity he at last reached through a series of misadventures that called out and ripened all that was manly and strong and tender in his character. And take out of your own life all your difficulties, all that ever pained, agitated, depressed you, all that disappointed or postponed your expectations, all that suddenly called upon you to act in trying situations, all that thoroughly put you to the proof take all this away, and what do you leave but a blank insipid life that not even yourself can see any interest in?
And when we speak of Josephs life as typical, we mean that it illustrates on a great scale and in picturesque and memorable situations principles which are obscurely operative in our own experience. It pleases the fancy to trace the incidental analogies between the life of Joseph and that of our Lord. As our Lord, so Joseph was the beloved of his father, sent by him to visit his brethren, and see after their well-being, seized and sold by them to strangers, and thus raised to be their Saviour and the Saviour of the world. Joseph in prison pronouncing the doom of one of his fellow-prisoners and the exaltation of the other, suggests the scene on Calvary where the one fellow-sufferer was taken, the other left. Josephs contemporaries had of course no idea that his life foreshadowed the life of the Redeemer, yet they must have seen, or ought to have seen, that the deepest humiliation is often the path to the highest exaltation, that the deliverer sent by God to save a people may come in the guise of a slave, and that false accusations, imprisonment, years of suffering, do not make it impossible nor even unlikely that he who endures all these may be Gods chosen Son.
In Josephs being lifted out of the pit only to pass into slavery, many a man of Josephs years has seen a picture of what has happened to himself. From a position in which they have been as if buried alive, young men not uncommonly emerge into a position preferable certainly to that out of which they have been brought, but in which they are compelled to work beyond their strength, and that for some superior in whom they have no special interest. Grinding toil, and often cruel insult, are their portion: and no necklace heavy with tokens of honour that afterwards may be allotted them can ever quite hide the scars made by the iron collar of the slave. One need not pity them over much, for they are young and have a whole lifetime of energy and power of resistance in their spirit. And yet they will often call themselves slaves, and complain that all the fruit of their labour passes over to others and away from themselves, and all prospect of the fulfilment of their former dreams is quite cut off. That which haunts their heart by day and by night, that which they seem destined and fit for, they never get time nor liberty to work out and attain. They are never viewed as proprietors of themselves, who may possibly have interests of their own and hopes of their own.
In Josephs case there were many aggravations of the soreness of such a condition. He had not one friend in the country. He had no knowledge of the language, no knowledge of any trade that could make him valuable in Egypt-nothing, in short, but his own manhood and his faith in God. His introduction to Egypt was of the most dispiriting kind. What could he expect from strangers, if his own brothers had found him so obnoxious? Now when a man is thus galled and stung by injury, and has learned how little he can depend upon finding good faith and common justice in the world, his character will show itself in the attitude he assumes towards men and towards life generally. A weak nature, when it finds itself thus deceived and injured, will sullenly surrender all expectation of good and will vent its spleen on the world by angry denunciations of the heartless and ungrateful ways of men. A proud nature will gather itself up from every blow, and determinedly work its way to an adequate revenge. A mean nature will accept its fate, and while it indulges in cynical and spiteful observations on human life, will greedily accept the paltriest rewards it can secure. But the supreme healthiness of Josephs nature resists all the infectious influences that emanate from the world around him, and preserves him from every kind of morbid attitude towards the world and life. So easily did he throw off all vain regrets and stifle all vindictive and morbid feelings, so readily did he adjust himself to and so heartily enter into life as it presented itself to him, that he speedily rose to be overseer in the house of Potiphar. His capacity for business, his genial power of devoting himself to other mens interests, his clear integrity, were such, that this officer of Pharaohs could find no more trustworthy servant in all Egypt-"he left all that he had in Josephs hand: and he knew not aught he had, save the bread which he did eat."
Thus Joseph passed safely through a critical period of his life-the period during which men assume the attitude towards life and their fellow-men which they commonly retain throughout. Too often we accept the weapons with which the world challenges us, and seek to force our way by means little more commendable than the injustice and coldness we ourselves resent. Joseph gives the first great evidence of moral strength by rising superior to this temptation, to which almost all men in one degree or other succumb. You can hear him saying, deep down in his heart, and almost unconsciously to himself: If the world is full of hatred, there is all the more need that at least one man should forgive and love: if mens hearts are black with selfishness, ambition, and lust, all the more reason for me to be pure and to do my best for all whom my service can reach; if cruelty, lying, and fraud meet me at every step, all the more am I called to conquer these by integrity and guilelessness.
His capacity, then, and power of governing others, were no longer dreams of his own, but qualities with which he was accredited by those who judged dispassionately and from the bare actual results. But this recognition and promotion brought with it serious temptation. So capable a person was he that a year or two had brought him to the highest post he could expect as a slave. His advancement, therefore, only brought his actual attainment into more painful contrast with the attainment of his dreams. As this sense of disappointment becomes more familiar to his heart, and threatens, under the monotonous routine of his household work, to deepen into a habit, there suddenly opens to him a new and unthought-of path to high position. An intrigue with Potiphars wife might lead to the very advancement he sought. It might lift him out of the condition of a slave. It may have been known to him that other men had not scrupled so to promote their own interests. Besides, Joseph was young, and a nature like his, lively and sympathetic, must have felt deeply that in his position he was not likely to meet such a woman as could command his cordial love. That the temptation was in any degree to the sensual side of his nature there is no evidence whatever. For all that the narrative says, Potiphars wife may not have been attractive in person. She may have been; and as she used persistently, "day by day," every art and wile by which she could lure Joseph to her mind, in some of his moods and under such circumstances as she would study to arrange he may have felt even this element of the temptation. But it, is too little observed, and especially by young men who have most need to observe it, that in such temptations it is not only what is sensual that needs to be guarded against, but also two much deeper-lying tendencies-the craving for loving recognition, and the desire to respond to the feminine love for admiration and devotion. The latter tendency may not seem dangerous, but I am sure that if an analysis could be made of the broken hearts and shame-crushed lives around us, it would be found that a large proportion of misery is due to a kind of uncontrolled and mistaken chivalry. Men of masculine make are prone to show their regard for women. This regard, when genuine and manly, will show itself in purity of sympathy and respectful attention. But when this regard is debased by a desire to please and ingratiate ones self, men are precipitated into the unseemly expressions of a spurious manhood. The other craving-the craving for love-acts also in a somewhat latent way. It is this craving which drives men to seek to satisfy themselves with the expressions of love, as if thus they could secure love itself. They do not distinguish between the two; they do not recognise that what they most deeply desire is love, rather than the expression of it; and they awake to find that precisely in so far as they have accepted the expression without the sentiment, in so far have they put love itself beyond their reach.
This temptation was, in Josephs case, aggravated by his being in a foreign country, unrestrained by the expectations of his own family, or by the eye of those he loved. He had, however, that which restrained him, and made the sin seem to him an impossible wickedness, the thought of which he could not, for a moment, entertain. "Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; there is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Gratitude to the man who had pitied him in the slave market, and shown a generous confidence in a comparative stranger, was, with Joseph, a stronger sentiment than any that Potiphars wife could stir in him. One can well believe it. We know what enthusiastic devotedness a young man of any worth delights to give to his superior who has treated him with justice, generosity, and confidence; who himself occupies a station of importance in public life; and who, by a dignified graciousness of demeanour, can make even the slave feel that he too is a man, and that through his slaves dress his proper manhood and worth are recognised. There are few stronger sentiments than the enthusiasm or quiet fidelity that can thus be kindled, and the influence such a superior wields over the young mind is paramount. To disregard the rights of his master seemed to Joseph a great wickedness and sin against God. The treachery of the sin strikes him; his native discernment of the true rights of every party in the case cannot, for a moment, be hoodwinked. He is not a man who can, even in the excitement of temptation, overlook the consequences his sin may have on others. Not unsteadied by the flattering solicitations of one so much above him in rank, nor sullied by the contagion of her vehement passion; neither afraid to incur the resentment of one who so regarded him, nor kindled to any impure desire by contact with her blazing lust; neither scrupling thoroughly to disappoint her in himself, nor to make her feel her own great guilt, he flung from him the strong inducements that seemed to net him round and entangle him as his garment did, and tore himself, shocked and grieved, from the beseeching hand of his temptress.
The incident is related not because it was the most violent temptation to which Joseph was ever exposed, but because it formed a necessary link in the chain of circumstances that brought him before Pharaoh. And however strong this temptation may have been, more men would be found who could thus have spoken to Potiphars wife than who could have kept silence when accused by Potiphar. For his purity you will find his equal, one among a thousand; for his mercy scarcely one. For there is nothing more intensely trying than to live under false and painful accusations, which totally misrepresent and damage your character, which effectually bar your advancement, and which yet you have it in your power to disprove. Joseph, feeling his indebtedness to Potiphar, contents himself with the simple averment that he himself is innocent. The word is on his tongue that can put a very different face on the matter, but rather than utter that word, Joseph will suffer the stroke that otherwise must fall on his masters honour; will pass from his high place and office of trust, through the jeering or possibly compassionating slaves, branded as one who has betrayed the frankest confidence, and is fitter for the dungeon than the stewardship of Potiphar. He is content to lie under the cruel suspicion that he had in the foulest way wronged the man whom most he should have regarded, and whom in point of fact he did enthusiastically serve. There was one man in Egypt whose good-will he prized, and this man now scorned and condemned him, and this for the very act by which Joseph had proved most faithful and deserving.
And even after a long imprisonment, when he had now no reputation to maintain, and when such a little bit of court scandal as he could have retailed would have been highly palatable and possibly useful to some of those polished ruffians and adventurers who made their dungeon ring with questionable tales, and with whom the free and levelling intercourse of prison life had put him on the most familiar footing, and when they twitted and taunted him with his supposed crime, and gave him the prison sobriquet that would most pungently embody his villainy-and failure, and when it might plausibly have been pleaded by himself that such a woman should be exposed, Joseph uttered no word of recrimination, but quietly endured, knowing that Gods providence. could allow him to be merciful; protesting, when needful, that he himself was innocent, but seeking to entangle no one else in his misfortune.
It is this that has made the world seem so terrible a place to many-that the innocent must so often suffer for the guilty, and that, without appeal, the pure and loving must lie in chains and bitterness, while the wicked live and see good days. It is this that has made men most despairingly question whether there be indeed a God in heaven Who knows who the real culprit is, and yet suffers a terrible doom slowly to close around the innocent; Who sees where the guilt lies, and yet moves no finger nor speaks the word that would bring justice to light, shaming the secure triumph of the wrongdoer, and saving the bleeding spirit from its agony. It was this that came as the last stroke of the passion of our Lord, that He was numbered among the transgressors; it was this that caused or materially increased the feeling that God had deserted Him; and it was this that wrung from Him the cry which once was wrung from David, and may well have been wrung from Joseph, when, cast into the dungeon as a mean and treacherous villain, whose freedom was the peril of domestic peace and honour, he found himself again helpless and forlorn, regarded now not as a mere worthless lad, but as a criminal of the lowest type. And as there always recur cases in which exculpation is impossible just in proportion as the party accused is possessed of honourable feeling, and where silent acceptance of doom is the result not of convicted guilt, but of the very triumph of self-sacrifice, we must beware of over-suspicion and injustice. There is nothing in which we are more frequently mistaken than in our suspicions and harsh judgments of others.
"But the Lord was with Joseph, and allowed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison." As in Potiphars house, so in the kings house of detention, Josephs fidelity and serviceableness made him seem indispensable, and by sheer force of character he occupied the place rather of governor than of prisoner. The discerning men he had to do with, accustomed to deal with criminals and suspects of all shades, very quickly perceived that in Josephs case justice was at fault, and that he was a mere scapegoat. Well might Potiphars wife, like Pilates, have had warning dreams regarding the innocent person who was being condemned; and probably Potiphar himself had suspicion enough of the true state of matters to prevent him from going to extremities with Joseph, and so to imprison him more out of deference to the opinion of his household, and for the sake of appearances, than because Joseph alone was the object of his anger. At any rate, such was the vitality of Josephs confidence in God, and such was the light-heartedness that sprang from his integrity of conscience, that he was free from all absorbing anxiety about himself, and had leisure to amuse and help his fellow-prisoners, so that such promotion as a gaol could afford he won, from a dungeon to a chain, from a chain to his word of honour. Thus even in the unlatticed dungeon the sun and moon look in upon him and bow to him; and while his sheaf seems at its poorest, all rust and mildew, the sheaves of his masters do homage.
After the arrival of two such notable criminals as the chief butler and baker of Pharaoh-the chamberlain and steward of the royal household-Joseph, if sometimes pensive, must yet have had sufficient entertainment at times in conversing with men who stood by the king, and were familiar with the statesmen, courtiers, and military men who frequented the house of Potiphar. He had now ample opportunity for acquiring information which afterwards stood him in good stead, for apprehending the character of Pharaoh, and for making himself acquainted with many details of his government, and with the general condition of the people. Officials in disgrace would be found much more accessible and much more communicative of important information than officials in court favour could have been to one in Josephs position.
It is not surprising that three nights before Pharaohs birthday these functionartes of the court should have recalled in sleep such scenes as that day was wont to bring round, nor that they should vividly have seen the parts they themselves used to play in the festival. Neither is it surprising that they should have had very anxious thoughts regarding their own fate on a day which was chosen for deciding the fate of political or courtly offenders. But it is remarkable that they having dreamed these dreams Joseph should have been found willing to interpret them. One desires some evidence of Josephs attitude towards God during this period when Gods attitude towards him might seem doubtful, and especially one would like to know what Joseph by this time thought of his juvenile dreams, and whether in the prison his face wore the same beaming confidence in his own future which had smitten the hearts of his brothers with impatient envy of the dreamer. We seek some evidence, and here we find it. Josephs willingness to interpret the dreams of his fellow-prisoners proves that he still believed in his own, that among his other qualities he had this characteristic also of a steadfast and profound soul, that he "reverenced as a man the dreams of his youth." Had he not done so, and had he not yet hoped that somehow God would bring truth out of them, he would surely have said: Dont you believe in dreams; they will only get you into difficulties. He would have said what some of us could dictate from our own thoughts: I wont meddle with dreams any more; I am not so young as I once was; doctrines and principles that served for fervent romantic youth seem puerile now, when I have learned what human fife actually is. I cant ask this man, who knows the world and has held the cup for Pharaoh, and is aware what a practical shape the kings anger takes, to cherish hopes similar to those which often seem so remote and doubtful to myself. My religion has brought me into trouble: it has lost me my situation, it has kept me poor, it has made me despised, it has debarred me from enjoyment. Can I ask this man to trust to inward whisperings which seem to have so misled me? No, no; let every man bear his own burden. If he wishes to become religious, let not me bear the responsibility. If he will dream, let him find some other interpreter.
This casual conversation, then, with his fellow-prisoners was for Joseph one of those perilous moments when a man holds his fate in his hand, and yet does not know that he is specially on trial, but has for his guidance and safe-conduct through the hazard only the ordinary safeguards and lights by the aid of which he is framing his daily life. A man cannot be forewarned of trial, if the trial is to be a fair test of his habitual life. He must not be called to the lists by the heralds trumpet warning him to mind his seat and grasp his weapon; but must be suddenly set upon if his habit of steadiness and balance is to be tested, and the warrior-instinct to which the right weapon is ever at hand. As Joseph, going the round of his morning duty and spreading what might stir the appetite of these dainty courtiers, noted the gloom on their faces, had he not been of a nature to take upon himself the sorrows of others, he might have been glad to escape from their presence, fearful lest he should be infected by their depression, or should become an object on which they might vent their ill-humour. But he was girt with a healthy cheerfulness that could bear more than his own burden; and his pondering of his own experience made him sensitive to all that affected the destinies of other men.
Thus Joseph in becoming the interpreter of the dreams of other men became the fulfiller of his own. Had he made light of the dreams of his fellow-prisoners because he had already made light of his own, he would, for aught we can see, have died in the dungeon. And, indeed, what hope is left for a man, and what deliverance is possible, when he makes light of his own most sacred experience, and doubts whether after all there was any Divine voice in that part of his life which once he felt to be full of significance? Sadness, cynical worldliness, irritability, sour and isolating selfishness, rapid deterioration in every part of the character-these are the results which follow our repudiation of past experience and denial of truth that once animated and purified us; when, at least, this repudiation and denial are not themselves the results of our advance to a higher, more animating, and more purifying truth. We cannot but leave behind us many "childish things," beliefs that we now recognise as mere superstitions, hopes and fears which do not move the maturer mind; we cannot but seek always to be stripping ourselves of modes of thinking which have served their purpose and are out of date, but we do so only for the sake of attaining freer movement in all serviceable and righteous conduct, and more adequate covering for the permanent weaknesses of our own nature -" not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon," that truthpartial and dawning may be swallowed up in the perfect light of noon. And when a supposed advance in the knowledge of things spiritual robs us of all that sustains true spiritual life in us, and begets an angry contempt of our own past experience and a proud scorning of the dreams that agitate other men; when it ministers not at all to the growth in us of what is tender and pure and loving and progressive, but hardens us to a sullen or coarsely riotous or coldly calculating character, we cannot but question whether it is not a delusion rather than a truth that has taken possession of us.
If it is fanciful, it is yet-almost inevitable, to compare Joseph at this stage of his career to the great Interpreter who stands between God and us, and makes all His signs intelligible. Those Egyptians could not forbear honouring Joseph, who was able to solve to them the mysteries on the borders of which the Egyptian mind continually hovered, and which it symbolized by its mysterious sphinxes, its strange chambers of imagery, its unapproachable divinities. And we bow before the Lord Jesus Christ, because He can read our fate and unriddle all our dim anticipations of good and evil, and make intelligible to us the visions of our own hearts. There is that in us, as in these men, from which a skilled eye could already read our destiny. In the eye of One who sees the end from the beginning, and can distinguish between the determining influences of character and the insignificant manifestations of a passing mood, we are already designed to our eternal places. And it is in Christ alone your future is explained. You cannot understand your future without taking Him into your confidence. You go forward blindly to meet you know not what, unless you listen to His interpretation of the vague presentiments that visit you. Without Him what can we make of those suspicions of a future judgment, or of those yearnings after God, that hang about our hearts? Without Him what can we make of the idea and hope of a better life than we are now living, or of the strange persuasion that all will yet be well-a persuasion that seems so groundless, and which yet will not be shaken off, but finds its explanation in Christ? The excess of side light that falls across our path from the present seems only to make the future more obscure and doubtful, and from Him alone do we receive any interpretation of ourselves that even seems to be satisfying. Our fellow-prisoners are often seen to be so absorbed in their own affairs that it is vain to seek light from them; but He, with patient, self-forgetting friendliness, is ever disengaged, and even elicits, by the kindly and interrogating attitude He takes towards us, the utterance of all our woes and perplexities. And it is because He has had dreams Himself that He has become so skilled an interpreter of ours. It is because in His own life He had His mind hard pressed for a solution of those very problems which baffle us, because He had for Himself to adjust Gods promise to the ordinary and apparently casual and untoward incidents of a human life, and because He had to wait long before it became quite clear how one Scripture after another was to be fulfilled by a course of simple confiding obedience-it is because of this experience of His own, that He can now enter into and rightly guide to its goal every longing we cherish.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Gen_39:1. Pharaoh.] The name is derived from Phra, meaning…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Gen_39:1. Pharaoh.] The name is derived from Phra, meaning the sun. Potiphar means belonging to the sun.—
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Gen_39:2. The Lord.] Jehovah. This, the covenant name of God, is here, for the first time, introduced into Joseph’s history.—
Gen_39:6. And he knew not aught he had, save the bread which he did eat.] Heb. Knew not anything with him. He did not insist upon a personal knowledge of his affairs, but left everything to Joseph. “But this committal of his affairs to Joseph did not extend to anything concerning his food, for that would have been an abomination.” (Gen_43:32.) (Alford.)—
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Gen_39:1-6
THE PROSPERITY OF JOSEPH IN THE HOUSE OF HIS FIRST MASTER
I. Its extraordinary nature. Here was a man who had everything against him. A youth of seventeen years of age, torn from his father, from home and country, and sold as a slave among idolators; what condition could be more hopeless and forlorn? And yet this youth is raised from his low and mean estate to the highest place in his master’s house, and has unlimited confidence reposed in him. He prospers to a wonderful extent, and causes all around him to prosper. (Gen_39:2-3.) Cast off by his own brethren, he rises amongst strangers to dignity and honour.
II. Its basis and security. How are we to account for this young man rising thus in the face of every disadvantage?
1. By his own bearing and conduct. Surely Joseph must have been cheerful and resigned under his hard lot. He must have made himself agreeable to his master by his diligence in business, and by a brave and manly behaviour. He had nothing of the meanness of the slave about him. His great character shined through every outward disadvantage, and charmed and impressed all who came under its influence. He was a noble example of one who was completely resigned to the will of God in affliction. In the day of adversity he would consider, and be quiet in his confidence, bating no jot of heart or hope; but still bearing up and trusting the faithfulness of his God. Firm faith in the revelations made to him of his coming greatness sustained him in the midst of overwhelming adversities. There was nothing like fretfulness about this man; for a gloomy and peevish spirit would not have won the admiration of his master. Joseph rose to influence by the force of character.
2. By the favour of God. It was the grace of God that made his character what it was, and imparted to it an energy for good. That grace, in the form of favour and blessing, made Joseph prosperous. “The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man.” The Covenant Jehovah was with him, his portion, his guide, his stay and support. He was like the tree planted by the rivers of water. “Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Psa_1:1; Psa_1:3.) He was robbed of all society but that of his God. He left behind him father and home, but he took God with him. He could be persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. Surely he could say in the spirit of the words of the Psalmist: “When my father and mother forsake me, then Jehovah will take me up.”
III. Its lessons.
1. That God’s blessings and grace are with His people everywhere, and under the severest trials. The grace of God was seen in the noble bearing of Joseph in adversity, and the blessing of God in that prosperity which he gained. No exile, no stroke of adversity can deprive God’s saints of their best comforts.
2. That God’s blessing and grace in His people are manifest to others. “His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord had made all that he did to prosper in his hand.” (Gen_39:3.) The spiritual convictions of Joseph, which made his outward life what it was, were recognised by his master. He felt that he was in the presence of a goodness which was uncommon and superior, and which could only be traced to a Divine spring. Such is the power of a saintly character which compels the world to ascribe it to the grace of God. If a man love the Lord, the same is known of him. The saints of God though hid as to their deepest feelings, and the Divine source of their strength, cannot be hid as to the influence of their lives and the impressions of their character. They are public lights. They compel observation, like a city set upon a hill which cannot be hid. It is to Joseph’s credit that his goodness was manifest to all, for this implies that he did not hide his religion. It is probable that he took his stand at once as a worshipper of the true God. The Lord gave him the hearts of all. “Them that honour me I will honour.” (1Sa_2:30.)
3. That God blesses others for the sake of His people. His Kindness overflows to those who, by His providence, are brought into relations with them. The Egyptian’s house is blessed for Joseph’s sake. (Gen_39:5.) God blesses those who bless His own people, according to the promise. (Gen_12:3.) He makes His saints a blessing. Thus was Jacob made to Laban; Joseph to the house of Potiphar, and afterwards to all Egypt; Israel to the world. “Salvation is of the Jews.”
4. That God is still working out His designs, even when they seem to fail. The hope of the house of Israel centered upon Joseph; and now, to all human appearance, all was lost. But God, though hidden for awhile in the mysterious way of His providence, was working out His own purposes. His wisdom would yet be manifest. Had the House of Jacob remained in Canaan, they would, in all probability, have been dispersed among the people, have lost their unity and independence, and been wasted by numerous wars. In Egypt they would grow up into a great and united people, and receive the advantage of an important educational influence by being brought into contact with that seat of culture and worldly power. They would thus acquire the elements of political strength. Even the afflictions which were visited upon them worked for their good, by drawing them closer together and thus preserving their unity, and by awakening in them a longing after redemption. The destiny of the church has often seemed, to merely human eyes, to hang upon the frail thread of some threatened life; from such threads as Joseph in prison, Moses in the ark, David in the cave of Adullam. But the providence of God, like His mercy, is ever faithful, ever sure.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen_39:1. Joseph brought down to Egypt and sold as a slave—a dark Providence. But consider his own interpretation of it when he reviews it in the time to come. “Be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that ye sold me hither; for God,” etc. (Gen_45:5; Gen_45:7.) God orders all the ways of His people; and though they may seem to be forgotten, His eye is always upon them.
This was to Joseph “the day of his distress,” as Jacob called that sad day when he departed from his father’s house. Surely the archers may well be said to have sorely grieved him.
Gen_39:2-3. The Covenant God victoriously carries forward His decrees through all the need, sufferings, and ignomony of His people.—(Lange.)
God’s presence can make up for any loss, and bless us in any place.
What a difference is there between the case of Joseph and that of Jonah! They were both in trouble, both absent from God’s people, and among the heathen; but the sufferings of the one were for righteousness sake, while those of the other were of his own procuring.—(Fuller.)
Prosperity is not always a sign of God’s special favour, yet His hand is always to be recognised in it by His people, when He sees it would be better for them than adversity, or when, by means of it, He proposes to make them blessings to others.—(Bush.)
Potiphar was constrained to acknowledge that Joseph was the object of Divine care and favour. Here is an example to Christians to recommend the Gospel by their fidelity and diligence, and to be faithful to God even when there are no religious friends about them to watch over them.
Gen_39:4. Joseph’s promotion illustrates—
1. The principle, that he who is faithful over a few things shall be made ruler over many things.
2. The principle, that God honours those who honour Him.
3. That God was carrying out hereby His purpose of mercy towards the house of Jacob.
He that is mourned for in Canaan, as dead, prospers in Egypt under Potiphar; and of a slave, is made ruler. Thus God meant to prepare him for a greater charge; he must first rule Potiphar’s house, then Pharaoh’s kingdom.—(Bishop Hall.)
Gen_39:5. Joseph reminds us of St. Paul (2 Corinthians 6), who through the persecutions of his brethren is forced to carry the light of God’s kingdom into the heathen world.
Pious stewards, and pious servants of every class, are a blessing to their masters, not only because they are faithful and manage their affairs with discretion, but because they draw down the special blessing of God upon the households to which they belong. Masters may learn what treatment is due to faithful servants; they ought to trust, to honour, and to love them. When men are precious in God’s sight they are honourable, whatever be their station in life.—(Bush.)
Gen_39:6. Potiphar took what was provided for him, and cared for no more. This is few men’s happiness; for usually the master is the greatest servant in the house.—(Trapp.)
Beauty of person and face is a quality which gains love, and ought to make the possessor of it thankful; but it easily proves a snare. It was Joseph’s comfort that he was beloved by his master, but it was his misfortune that he was too well beloved by his mistress.—(Bush).
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain We are accustomed to admire the mere act of…
Gen 39:9
We are accustomed to admire the mere act of resistance to temptation, by whomsoever and howsoever offered. But there is a vast difference between the ways in which temptation is resisted. Some, knowing the thing desired of them to be essentially wrong, have recourse to cowardly shifts and evasions. They are unable to comply; thus much they will answer; but for this inability they will render all sorts of secondary and insufficient reasons, and keep back the right one. How very different from this weak and ineffectual course is the refusal of one who fearlessly states at once the right and master reason why he should not yield to temptation; "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" One of the lowest advantages of the brave and decided course is that such a person has the least trouble after all. His place is ascertained; his colours are shown. He is no waverer, and the crowd of busy mischief-makers cease from him and let him alone. The noble words of our text let us into the whole secret of endurance.
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I. The answer of Joseph implies a sense of direct accountableness to God. This sense of responsibility leads at once to a truer estimate of right and wrong. While we tarry on the level of the world’s maxims and habits, and try to decide our line of conduct, many a matter seems ambiguous and difficult to determine; but rise to the throne of God, and look down from thence, and all is clear. Oh for that second and better nature, sprung from the habit of seeing God in everything, which, when doubts, when questionings, when temptations arise, asks counsel at once of Him, runs into the strong tower of His name, and is safe.
II. This answer implies a sense of sin. Sin is a word of which the world knows not the meaning. Men must know what God is, or they cannot know what sin is. When Joseph spoke of sinning against God, he used this term of a positive and definite God, who had manifested Himself, and with whom he was in covenant. To sin against Him, to break His positive command, was to reject and despise his covenant God; to tread under foot His promises and His mercies.
III. This reply shows that true courage and seasonable boldness which ever characterise the genuine soldier of heaven. In every occupation of life, in all intercourse, in toil and in recreation, our Christian armour should be worn, and never be laid aside. The moment our allegiance is tested, the moment that the world requires what God forbids or forbids what God requires, we must stand to our arms, and admit no thought of a surrender.
H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. vii., p. 245.
I. At once we recognise the presence of the Holy Ghost in this scene. He is its light and glory, its power and victory. God the Holy fills the entire field of vision, and Joseph is strengthened by an all-pervading awe of Him. The recognition of God keeps him from sin. His sacred presence blocks the way. This Authority ruling in and for righteousness shuts out all possibility of yielding.
II. This passage gives evidence of a large access of energy to Joseph’s conscience, from his perfect identification of God with his own personal purity.
III. Joseph differed from Jacob in that he had no Bethel visions, and from Abraham in not hearing the Divine voice; but he had the Divine facts of life, and in them he read the ideas and will of God. The oldest of all Bibles, the Bible of human experience, was before him, and he read, marked, learned, and inwardly digested its contents.
J. Clifford, Daily Strength for Daily Living, p. 57.
References: Gen 39:9.—C. Kingsley, Gospel of the Pentateuch, p. 103. Gen 39:12.—Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 207. Gen 39:20.—S. Cox, Expositor’s Notebook, p. 40; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 369. 39:20-40:14.—Parker, vol. i., p. 302. Gen 39:21. —Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. viii., p. 94, and vol. xxii., p. 159. Gen 40—F. W. Robertson, Notes on Genesis, p. 140; R. S. Candlish, Book of Genesis, vol. ii., p. 150; W. M. Taylor, Joseph the Prime Minister, p. 61. Gen 40:7.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. x., p. 90. Gen 40:8.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xii., p. 139. Gen 40:9-11.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. xi., p. 70. Gen 41—F. W. Robertson, Notes on Genesis, p. 146; M. Dods, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, p. 189; Parker, vol. i., p. 311. Gen 41:1-25.—Parker, vol. i., p. 311. Gen 41:1-37.—R. S. Candlish, Book of Genesis, vol. ii., p. 162. Gen 41:1-46.—W. M. Taylor, Joseph the Prime Minister, p. 76. Gen 41:4.—Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 185. Gen 41:9.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xii., No. 680; J. Burns, Sketches of Sermons on the Parables, etc., p. 314. Gen 41:37-57.—M. Dods, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, p. 209; R. S. Candlish, Book of Genesis, vol. ii., p. 171. 41:46-42:22.—Parker, vol. i., p. 320. Gen 41:47-52.—W. M. Taylor, Joseph the Prime Minister, p. 91. Gen 41:51.—Expositor, 3rd series, vol. iv., p. 401. Gen 41:56.—Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes, p. 24. Gen 42—M. Dods, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, p. 231; F. W. Robertson, Notes on Genesis, p. 152. Gen 42:1, Gen 42:2.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. v., No. 234. Gen 42:1-17.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. xiv., p. 240. Gen 42:1-24.—R. S. Candlish, Book of Genesis, vol. ii., p. 179. Gen 42:1-38.—W. M. Taylor, Joseph the Prime Minister, p. 108; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iv., p. 102. Gen 42:2.—Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 142.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain Section 3. (Gen 39:1-23; Gen 40:1-23; Gen 41:1-52.)
Section 3. (Gen 39:1-23; Gen 40:1-23; Gen 41:1-52.)
Zaphnath-paaneah, "the Revealer of Secrets."
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With the next section we return to Joseph, to see Christ in connection with the Gentiles. It is plain that, thus viewed, there is no continuity with the thirty-seventh chapter, but in some sort, a new beginning. Even the position of Joseph, under an Egyptian master, may remind us of Zechariah’s words, which I, with others, believe to be intended of Christ, "Man acquired Me as a slave from My youth." (Zec 13:5, Heb.) Here, notice, it is not said, Israel: the lowly service to which He has stooped has the widest scope. But what response did this service receive from man? "What are those wounds in Thy hands? Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends."
With Joseph in it, the house of the Egyptian is blessed of God; but with Christ ministering in it, how unspeakably was the world blest! All the power was there, and manifesting itself, which could have turned, and will yet turn, the need of man, however great and varied, into occasion for the display of the wealth of divine loving-mercy. But it availed not to turn man’s heart to God: false witness casts Joseph into Pharaoh’s prison, where, however, again all things come under his hand; while under false accusation, the Lord descends into a darker prison-house, in result to manifest Himself as Master of all there.
A higher power than man’s was working beneath all this in Joseph’s case. The path of humiliation was to end for him in glory; the sorrow of the way was to issue in joy -love’s own joy of service in a higher sphere. "God did send me before you to preserve life," he says to his brethren afterward; and he who in prison reveals himself as the interpreter of the mind of God, is, as such, qualified to administer the resources of the throne of Egypt, for the relief of the distress which is at hand for the world. All this is easily read as typical of the Lord, only that the shadows of the picture are immeasurably darker here, as the lights are inexpressibly brighter. From the humiliation and agony of the cross, in which He is the interpreter of man’s just doom on the one hand, and of the mercy for him on the other, the lowly Minister to human need comes forth to serve as the Wisdom and Power of God upon a throne of grace.
Seven years of plenty to be succeeded by seven years of famine, which shall devour them up, -such is the prophecy of Pharaoh’s dream. Even yet is the world enjoying its plenteous years, and little it believes in its plainly predicted future. The time of famine is nevertheless not far off, which is to manifest the resources of Him who will then be seen alone competent to meet its terrible exigencies. In that time of sore trial, both Israel is to be brought back to Him whom they have rejected, and the world subjected to the throne whose provision of grace He ministers.
But first, and as soon as ever he is exalted, we hear of new relationships for Joseph: "And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On; and Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt." The name given we may take as Hebrew, and in the meaning anciently given to it, "Revealer of Secrets." How precious a title for Him who has revealed to us the secrets of the heart of God! And especially appropriate is it in connection (as the text suggests) with Joseph’s Gentile marriage. To Christianity belongs above all the revelation of the divine "mysteries." The "mysteries of the kingdom," the "great mystery" of Christ and the Church," "the mystery of His will . . . for the administration of the fullness of times to head up all things in heaven and earth in Christ" (Mat 13:11; Eph 5:32; Eph 1:9-10) are given to us for the first time in these Christian days, while He is Himself, in His own person and work, the "mystery of godliness."
Even the false church appropriates (though but to pervert) this idea of mystery (Rev 17:5); while the apostle desires no better estimation for himself and others than "as ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God." (1Co 4:1.) For us even the stored treasures of the past dispensation are revealing themselves, and things which happened unto Israel happened unto them for types, and are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. (1Co 10:11.) All these things are pledges of new relationship, confidences, unspeakably precious, of the heart of Christ. (Joh 15:15.) Revealer of secrets indeed is He; no truer or sweeter name for Him who has been pleased to take, in these plenteous days before the time of the world’s famine, a Gentile bride.
At the same time, if our Joseph’s title can be shown to have in Egyptian the meaning, "Saviour of the world," we need not reject it. This is indeed the outward aspect in which Christ is now revealed.
As to Asenath, if the meaning of her name is conjectural only, those of her two sons are very significant. Born before the famine, and while Joseph’s brethren are yet strangers to his exaltation, "he called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, -for God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house;" while "the name of the second called he Ephraim, -for God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." For His Church, His heavenly bride, He has been content to be as if He remembered not His relationship with His people of old. The thread of prophecy lies unwoven in the shuttle of time, as if its wheel had stopped forever. Why this apparent forgetfulness on the part of Him who never slumbereth nor sleepeth? Surely, no change; but the pursuance of eternal purposes, which accomplished, Israel shall look upon the face of Him whom they have pierced, and a fountain be open to them also for sin and for uncleanness.
In the individual application we are again unable to go into much detail. We may easily, indeed, see how the wisdom of God, and His power in measure too, abide with such an one as our type represents. He is master of the circumstances by which at times he may appear mastered. All things necessarily serve the One who is ever with him, content Himself to find, through seeming defeat, His sure, eternal victory. Through all, he is preparing for the place where at last both his brethren shall be restored to him, and also the world shall be his own; for when Christ reigns (of which we have been tracing the figures here), His saints shall reign with Him.
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain Joseph in the House of Potiphar
Joseph in the House of Potiphar
5. Overseer] rather, 'house-steward.'
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6. Potiphar left everything under Joseph's control except his own food. There may be here an allusion to the strict caste laws of Egypt: cp. Gen_43:32; Gen_46:34.
7. Joseph was yet but a youth, when temptations are strongest, and he was far removed from all the restraining influences of home. But He who was 'the fear of Isaac' (Gen_31:42) was 'the fear of Joseph 'also, and his resolute resistance to temptation teaches that the prospect of earthly advantage or pleasure should never for a moment close our ears to the voice of conscience.
A papyrus has been found called 'The Tale of Two Brothers,' which gives in Egyptian form some incidents similar to this narrative.
8. Wotteth] RV 'knoweth.'
9. And sin against God] Other passages (e.g. Gen_40:8; Gen_41:16, Gen_41:51-52; Gen_42:18; Gen_50:19-20) show that Joseph 'made the consciousness of God's presence and intervention in his affairs, a vital principle of his actions, the law of his life': cp. Neh_5:15.
20. It is probable from the lightness of Joseph's punishment that Potiphar was not altogether convinced of his steward's guilt.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain CHAPTER 39 Joseph In Egypt
CHAPTER 39 Joseph In Egypt
1. In Potiphar’s house (Gen 39:1-6)
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2. Tempted by Potiphar’s wife (Gen 39:7-18)
3. Joseph in prison (Gen 39:19-23)
Potiphar, the master of Joseph, was an officer of Pharaoh. His name means “devoted to Ra,” a god of Egypt. Why is it stated a number of times that Potiphar was an Egyptian? Discoveries have shown that Egypt had come at that time under a new dynasty; therefore it is repeatedly stated that Potiphar, the Egyptian, was retained in his official position. Joseph in Egypt is the type of Christ among the Gentiles. Jehovah blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake.
The temptation of Potiphar’s wife brings out the marvelous character of Joseph. The critics in rejecting this story have dug their own pit into which they have fallen. A number of critics (Von Bohlen, Tuch, and others) claim “that Joseph could never have seen his master’s wife, for the women were secluded and had separate apartments.” Monuments and Egyptian paintings have shown that the women were not secluded, but mingled freely with the men. Woman in the hieroglyphics is called neb-t-en pa, which means “mistress of the house.” An ancient papyrus was discovered containing “the romance of the two brothers.” It contains an episode similar to that of our chapter. It fully bears out the fact that the temptation of Joseph is not a myth and it is thought that this event in Joseph’s life formed the basis for the romance of the two brothers.
Joseph suffered innocently, but the prison in which he was confined becomes the high road to power and glory. How much greater were the sufferings of Him, who was not only innocent, but holy.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Joseph Finds Favor with Potiphar
Joseph Finds Favor with Potiphar
v. 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 Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. The statement of Gen 37:36 is here repeated, since the story of Joseph is now resumed. He was sold as a slave to Potiphar, the chief officer of Pharaoh’s bodyguard, and incidentally the chief executioner.
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v. 2. And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Joseph, in his duties as one of the house-slaves of Potiphar, was faithful, and therefore enjoyed the favor and the assistance of the Lord: signal good fortune attended all his work.
v. 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. It did not take long for Potiphar to notice that the rapid increase in his prosperity was to be ascribed to Joseph and to the blessing of the Lord upon the latter’s faithfulness. Good fortune attended everything to which Joseph turned his hand.
v. 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. Naturally, the fact of his increasing prosperity caused Potiphar to look with favor upon his new slave, who was always willing and faithful in his service, and so the master entrusted to him the oversight over his entire establishment, which probably included the management of an extensive estate.
v. 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. Not only did Joseph show splendid executive ability, but it is emphatically stated that the blessing of God attended his work, and that Potiphar was blessed by the Lord on account of Joseph. Many a city and country has been blessed by God because of the believers, whose very presence served as a salt and whose prayers kept up the communication with the heavenly Father.
v. 6. a. And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not aught he had, save the bread which he did eat. So absolute was Potiphar’s confidence in Joseph that he placed into his hands his entire business and did not concern himself with any part of its management. He was only interested in, and concerned about, his food, about his meals. This was not mere Oriental indolence, but also a good share of Oriental wisdom, for the more he left Joseph to his own devices, the better off he was, the wealthier he became.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Joseph was brought down to Egypt
Joseph was brought down to Egypt
Travelling to Egypt is always considered as going "down" in contrast to going "up" to the promised land. This can be stated in active form. AT: "The Ishmaelites had taken Joseph to Egypt" (See: Idiom and Active or Passive)
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Yahweh was with Joseph
This means that Yahweh helped Joseph and was always with him. AT: "Yahweh guided Joseph and helped him" (See: Idiom)
He lived in the house
Here the author speaks of working in the master's house as if it were living in the master's house. Only the most trusted servants were permitted to work in their master's house. AT : "he worked in the house" (See: Metaphor)
his Egyptian master
Joseph was now Potiphar's slave.
translationWords
Joseph (OT)
Egypt
Potiphar
Pharaoh
Ishmael
Yahweh
lord
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 39:1–47:31 Joseph began as a slave, alienated from his…
39:1–47:31 Joseph began as a slave, alienated from his brothers and separated from his father; he ended as Pharaoh’s viceroy. Through the trips to Egypt, the covenant family went from the brink of apostasy, divided by jealousy and deception, to being reconciled and united by Judah’s intercession and Joseph’s forgiveness.
39:1-23 Joseph’s integrity in Potiphar’s service contrasts with Judah’s moral failure (ch 38). God was with Joseph (39:2-3, 21, 23) and enabled him to prosper and be a blessing (see study notes on 12:1-9; 28:16-22) despite his slavery and imprisonment.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.