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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 39:10 and Esther 3:4

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In Esther, officials confront Mordecai about his refusal to follow the king’s order, echoing the language of Joseph in Genesis resisting the advances from his master’s wife. Esther likely draws on Genesis to ground its narrative in established tradition.

Passages

Genesis 39:10

Hebrew Bible
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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Esther 3:4

Hebrew Bible
2 As a result, all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate were bowing and paying homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded. However, Mordecai did not bow, nor did he pay him homage. 3 Then the servants of the king who were at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you violating the king’s commandment?” 4 And after they had spoken to him day after day without his paying any attention to them, they informed Haman to see whether this attitude on Mordecai’s part would be permitted. Furthermore, he had disclosed to them that he was a Jew. 5 When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing or paying homage to him, he was filled with rage. 6 But the thought of striking out against Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed of the identity of Mordecai’s people. So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.
200–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Esther

References

"... The laws of history begin with the principle that the merit of the founders sustains the children to come. The model for the transaction in merit - which underlines and explains the theory of genealogy as the foundation of Israel’s social entity - comes to expression in the life of Joseph. Joseph both derived benefit from the merit of his ancestors and handed on merit to his descendants. No. 2 asks why only Joseph is mentioned as the family of Jacob. The inner polemic is that the merit of Jacob and Joseph would more than suffice to overcome Esau/Rome. Joseph’s life, as much as Abraham’s or Jacob’s, represents the history of Israel and its meaning ... ... “And although she spoke to Joseph [day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie with her or to be with her. But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, ‘Lie with me.’ But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house]” (Genesis 39:10-13) ... “the trials affecting them were the same: ‘And although she spoke to Joseph [day after day.’ ‘Now it came to pass, when they spoke to him day by day’; (Esther 3:4) ..."
Jacob Neusner, The Idea of History in Rabbinic Judaism, BRLJ 12 (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 278–279.

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 39:10 and Esther 3:4

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