Chapter 39
Joseph, Blessed of God.[a] 1 When Joseph was brought down into Egypt, Potiphar, a counselor of Pharaoh and the commander of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.
2 The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered. He remained in the house of the Egyptian, his master. 3 His master realized that the Lord was with him and that whatever he undertook prospered. 4 Thus Joseph found favor with him and became his personal attendant. Potiphar even placed him in charge of his household and he entrusted him with all his possessions. 5 From the moment that he was made overseer and entrusted with his possessions, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph, and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that Potiphar had, whether in the house or out in the fields. 6 He entrusted Joseph with all that he had, and he did not concern himself with anything other than the food he ate.
The Righteous One Calumniated.[b] Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. 7 After some time, the wife of his master set her eyes upon Joseph and said to him, “Sleep with me!”
8 But he refused and said to the wife of his master, “Look, my lord does not worry about anything in his house and he has entrusted me with all his possessions. 9 He has no more authority in this house than I do. He has not kept anything from me but you, for you are his wife. How could I ever do this evil thing and sin against God?” 10 Although she spoke every day to Joseph, he would not agree to sleep with her or even to be near her.
11 One day he entered the house to do his work, but none of the servants was around. 12 She took hold of his tunic saying, “Sleep with me!” But he left his tunic in her hands and ran out of the house.
13 Seeing that he had left his tunic in her hands and that he had fled outside, 14 she called out to the servants and told them, “Look, this Hebrew has been brought into the house to mock us! He came in to lie with me, but I screamed out loud. 15 As soon as he heard me raise my voice and call out, he left his tunic with me and ran out of the house.”
16 She left the tunic lying next to her until her master came home. 17 Then she told him these same things: “That Hebrew servant, whom you brought to our house, seized me to insult me. 18 But as soon as I cried out and shouted, he left his tunic next to me and ran out of the house.”
19 When the master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is what your servant has done to me,” he became very angry. 20 He seized Joseph and put him into the prison where they held royal prisoners.
21 But the Lord was with Joseph. He showed him kindness and caused him to find favor with the chief jailer. 22 The chief jailer entrusted all the prisoners to Joseph. Whatever had to be done there, he did it. 23 The chief jailer did not have to worry about any of those things that were entrusted to Joseph, for the Lord was with him and made whatever he did prosper.
Footnotes
- Genesis 39:1 Joseph becomes the majordomo of the captain of the guard, in which capacity he is a model of honor, fidelity, and constancy. He is living proof of the words of St. Paul that “God makes all things work together for good for those who love him” (Rom 8:28).
- Genesis 39:6 Despite the powerful temptation, the young man remains heroically faithful to the word given to his master no matter what the cost. And God comes to his aid as he does to all those who love him in adversity as well as in success.