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Genesis 39

Genesis 39 traces YHWH’s presence with Joseph through trusted service, resistance to sexual pressure, and unjust imprisonment.

Joseph is brought to Egypt as a slave and bought by Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh. YHWH makes his work prosper, and Potiphar places his household under Joseph’s care. Potiphar’s wife demands that Joseph sleep with her. He refuses, naming the act as sin against God, and flees when she grabs his garment. She uses that garment to support a false accusation. Potiphar sends Joseph to prison, where YHWH remains with him and he gains the keeper’s trust.

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Read
1Joseph 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.
2The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
3His master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did prosper in his hand.
4Joseph found favor in his sight. He ministered to him, and Potiphar made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
5From the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake. The LORD’s blessing was on all that he had, in the house and in the field.
6He left all that he had in Joseph’s hand. He didn’t concern himself with anything, except for the food which he ate. Joseph was well-built and handsome.
7After these things, his master’s wife set her eyes on Joseph; and she said, “Lie with me.”
8But he refused, and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, my master doesn’t know what is with me in the house, and he has put all that he has into my hand.
9No one is greater in this house than I am, and he has not kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
10As she spoke to Joseph day by day, he didn’t listen to her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
11About this time, he went into the house to do his work, and there were none of the men of the house inside.
12She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” He left his garment in her hand, and ran outside.
14she called to the men of her house, and spoke to them, saying, “Behold, he has brought a Hebrew in to us to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice.
16She laid up his garment by her, until his master came home.
17She spoke to him according to these words, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought to us, came in to me to mock me,
19When his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your servant did to me,” his wrath was kindled.
20Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were bound, and he was there in custody.
21But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22The keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever they did there, he was responsible for it.
23The keeper of the prison didn’t look after anything that was under his hand, because the LORD was with him; and that which he did, the LORD made it prosper.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Genesis 39:2YHWH’s presence explains Joseph’s success in Potiphar’s house, even while Joseph remains enslaved in Egypt.
Genesis 39:21After the false accusation and imprisonment, YHWH’s kindness continues through the prison keeper’s favor toward Joseph.
Genesis 39:23The closing verse echoes Joseph’s earlier success, showing YHWH sustaining his work while his confinement continues.
Where this chapter reaches

Acts recounts Joseph’s enslavement and God’s presence with him, while Psalm recalls his imprisonment before his rise to authority. Proverbs shares the chapter’s concern with resisting adultery, a concern expressed here through Joseph’s refusal before the false accusation that follows.

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After reading the whole chapter

What do Joseph’s words and actions reveal about his reasons for refusing Potiphar’s wife?

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How does Joseph’s continued imprisonment shape your understanding of the repeated phrase “the LORD was with him”?

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Questions people ask about Genesis 39

Why was Joseph put in prison in Genesis 39?

Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of approaching her for sex after he refused her demands and fled her grasp. She kept his garment and presented his flight as evidence against him. Potiphar became angry and imprisoned Joseph. The narrator shows that her account reverses what happened.

What does it mean that Joseph prospered while he was a slave?

The chapter describes success in the work entrusted to Joseph: Potiphar’s household receives blessing, and both Potiphar and the prison keeper place responsibilities in his hands. The text attributes this success to YHWH’s presence. Joseph still suffers enslavement, false accusation, and confinement; prosperity here includes no immediate freedom.

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What the Bible says about temptation →What the Bible says about anger →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).