1 Joseph had been taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites, who had sold him to Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officers, the commander of the royal guard. 2 The Lord was with Joseph and made him successful. He lived in his Egyptian master's house. 3 His master noticed that the Lord was with him and made him successful in everything he did. 4 Potiphar appreciated Joseph and his service, and put him in charge of his household and made him responsible for everything he owned. 5 From the time he put Joseph in charge and trusted him with all he had, the Lord blessed Potiphar's household because of Joseph. The Lord blessed everything he had, whether in his house or in his fields. 6 So Potiphar left Joseph to care for everything he owned. He didn't bother with anything except to decide what food he was going to eat. Now Joseph was handsome, having a good physique, 7 so some time later he caught the eye of his master's wife. She propositioned him, saying, “Come here! Sleep with me!” 8 But he turned her down, telling his master's wife, “Look, my master trusts me so much he doesn't even bother to find out how his household is running. He's put me in charge of everything he owns— 9 no one in this house has more authority than me! He hasn't held back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such an evil thing as this, and sin against God?” 10 Day after day she persisted in asking him, but he refused to sleep with her and tried to avoid her. 11 But one day he went into the house to do his work and none of the other servants were there. 12 She grabbed him by his clothing, and demanded, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his clothing in her hand, he ran out of the house. 13 Seeing that he'd left his clothing in her hand, and had run out of the house, 14 she shouted out to her servants, “Look at this! He brought this Hebrew slave here to dishonor us! This man came to try and rape me, but I screamed at the top of my voice. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his clothing beside me and ran outside.” 16 She kept his clothing with her until her husband came home. 17 Then she told him her story. It went like this: “That Hebrew slave you brought here tried to come and dishonor me. 18 But as soon as I screamed and called for help, he left his clothing beside me and ran outside.” 19 When Potiphar heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is what your servant did to me,” he became angry. 20 He took Joseph and put him in the prison where the king's prisoners were kept, and there he stayed. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph, showing him trustworthy love, and made the chief jailer pleased with him. 22 So the chief jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners there and gave him the responsibility for running the prison. 23 The chief jailer didn't bother with anything for Joseph took care of it all for the Lord was with him and made him successful.
Genesis 39 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Joseph
Betrayed and enslaved, he rose to rule Egypt and saved his family from famine.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 37; 39–50
Potiphar
An Egyptian officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard who bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites, put him in charge of his household, and had him thrown into prison after his wife's…
Cited in the guide: Genesis 37:36; Genesis 39:1; Genesis 39:4
Cross references (20)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Genesis 37:28; Psalm 105:17; Genesis 37:36; Genesis 37:25; Acts 7:9
- 2 1 Samuel 18:14; Psalm 91:15; Jeremiah 15:20; Genesis 26:28; Acts 7:9–10
- 3 Psalm 1:3; 2 Chronicles 26:5; 1 Samuel 18:14; Genesis 30:27; Matthew 5:16
- 4 Genesis 39:21–22; Genesis 19:19; Proverbs 27:18; Genesis 39:8; Genesis 24:2
- 5 Genesis 30:27; 2 Samuel 6:11–12; Acts 27:24; Psalm 72:17; Genesis 12:2
- 6 1 Samuel 16:12; Luke 19:17; Proverbs 31:11; Genesis 29:17; Genesis 39:23
- 7 Ezekiel 16:34; 2 Samuel 13:11; 2 Peter 2:14; Ezekiel 16:32; Ezekiel 23:12–16
- 8 Proverbs 22:14; Proverbs 23:26–28; Proverbs 9:13–18; Proverbs 1:10; Proverbs 7:5
- 9 2 Samuel 12:13; Genesis 20:6; Genesis 42:18; 1 John 3:9; Luke 12:48
- 10 1 Peter 2:11; 1 Corinthians 15:33; 2 Timothy 2:22; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:22
- 11 Ephesians 5:3; Ephesians 5:12; Malachi 3:5; Proverbs 9:17; Jeremiah 23:24
- 12 2 Timothy 2:22; Proverbs 7:13–27; Ecclesiastes 7:26; 1 Peter 2:11; Proverbs 5:8
- 14 Matthew 26:59; Genesis 40:15; Psalm 120:3; Genesis 39:17; Proverbs 10:18
- 16 Psalm 37:32; Psalm 37:12; Titus 3:3; Jeremiah 9:3–5; Jeremiah 4:22
- 17 Exodus 23:1; Psalm 55:3; 1 Kings 18:17; Proverbs 12:19; 1 Kings 21:9–13
- 19 2 Thessalonians 2:11; Proverbs 18:17; Job 29:16; Proverbs 29:12; Acts 25:16
- 20 Genesis 40:15; 1 Peter 2:19; Genesis 41:9–14; 2 Timothy 2:9; Genesis 40:1–3
- 21 Isaiah 41:10; Exodus 3:21; 1 Peter 3:17; Acts 7:9–10; Isaiah 43:2
- 22 Genesis 40:3–4; Genesis 39:4; Genesis 39:9; 1 Samuel 2:30; Genesis 39:6–7
- 23 Isaiah 43:2; Psalm 1:3; Genesis 39:2–3; Daniel 6:22; Genesis 49:23–24
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
"Thou broughtest in unto us here an Hebrew servant to mock us." It was not this man that mocked thee, O wretched and unhappy woman, but the devil that told thee that thou couldest break down the adamant.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)