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Genesis

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Joseph in Potiphar's House

Chapter 39

1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, purchased him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.⁠ 2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful and lived in the household of his Egyptian master. 3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar appointed Joseph overseer of his household and put him in charge of everything he owned. 5 From the time Potiphar appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both in his house and in his fields. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; he gave no thought to anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well built and good-looking.⁠ 7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me.”⁠ 8 But he refused, saying to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought to his household with me here, and everything that he owns he has put into my care. 9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”⁠ 10 Even though she continued to speak to Joseph day after day, he did not respond to her invitation to go to bed with her.⁠ 11 One day he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants were there in the house.⁠ 12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought in a Hebrew man to us to humiliate us. He tried to go to bed with me, but I screamed loudly. 15 When he heard me raise my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.” 16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 17 This is what she said to him: “That Hebrew slave you brought to us tried to humiliate me, 18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.” 19 When his master heard his wife say, “This is the way your slave treated me,” he became furious.

Joseph in Prison

20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. 22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. 23 The warden did not concern himself with anything that was in Joseph’s care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 37:36 and Genesis 39:1

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Genesis 37 and 39 present distinct accounts of who sold Joseph in Egypt, with one saying it was the Midianites and the other the Ishmaelites. This narrative discrepancy suggests that two distinct traditions were later edited together in Genesis.

Passages

Genesis 37:36

Hebrew Bible
34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters stood by him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. “No,” he said, “I will go to the grave mourning my son.” So Joseph’s father wept for him. 36 Now in Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Genesis 39:1

Hebrew Bible
1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, purchased him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful and lived in the household of his Egyptian master. 3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

References

"... In J the Ishmaelites bring Joseph to Egypt and sell him to Potiphar; in E it is the Midianites. (They are also referred to as Medanites below. Note that the births of both Midian and Medan come from E, Genesis 25:2, 4) The Redactor of J and E combined these by making it appear that the Midianites sell him to the Ishmaelites, who then sell him in Egypt. But this still leaves a contradiction, because verse 36 (E) still says that the Midianites (or Medanites) sell him to Potiphar, but 39:1 (J) says that “Potiphar ... bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there” ..."
Richard Elliott Friedman, The Bible with Sources Revealed: A New View into the Five Books of Moses (New York: HarperOne, 2005), 94.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 37:36 and Genesis 39:1

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