Genesis · chapter 39 of 50
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Genesis 39 tells how Joseph, sold into Egypt, prospers in Potiphar's house because the Lord is with him. Potiphar's wife tries to seduce him day after day, and Joseph refuses and flees. She falsely accuses him and Joseph goes to prison, where the Lord stays with him and gives him favor with the prison warden.
Genesis 38 interrupted Joseph's story to show Judah. Genesis 39 returns to Joseph in Egypt, and contrasts with the previous chapter: while Judah gave in to temptation, Joseph resists. The phrase that keeps coming back is that the Lord was with Joseph, even as his situation worsens, and it is a key for reading the rest of the story.
Joseph is taken down to Egypt and bought by Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. The Lord is with Joseph, and everything he does succeeds. Potiphar sees it, puts him in charge of his house and all he owns, and the Lord blesses the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake. Potiphar concerns himself with nothing except the food he eats.
Joseph is handsome, and Potiphar's wife looks at him with desire and asks him to lie with her. Joseph refuses. He says his master has trusted him with everything except her, because she is his wife, and that this would be a great evil and a sin against God. She presses him day after day, but he does not give in or stay with her. One day, when no one else is in the house, she grabs him by his garment. Joseph leaves it in her hand and runs outside.
She calls the people of her household and accuses Joseph of trying to take advantage of her; she presents the garment as evidence. When Potiphar comes home, she repeats the accusation. Potiphar's anger burns and he puts Joseph in the prison where the king's prisoners are held. But the Lord is with Joseph, shows him steadfast love and gives him favor in the sight of the prison warden, who puts all the prisoners in his care. The warden pays no attention to anything under Joseph's charge, because the Lord is with him and makes whatever he does succeed.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord was with Joseph, and so he became a successful man in his master's house. The text does not say his situation was comfortable, for he is a slave, but that God was with him. That phrase repeats as the key to the whole chapter.
Joseph refuses the temptation by saying it would be a great evil and a sin against God. His reason is not only fear of being found out, but loyalty to Potiphar and, above all, to God. It is a solid moral conviction.
Joseph leaves his garment in the woman's hand and runs outside. Sometimes wisdom is not arguing with temptation but leaving it behind. He paid a price for doing right.
The Lord was with Joseph in prison, showed him steadfast love and gave him favor with the prison warden. Prison does not mean God has abandoned him: his presence does not depend on circumstances.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. — Genesis 39:1
Answer: That the Lord was with Joseph and made all he did succeed. — Genesis 39:2-3
Answer: That his master had trusted him with everything except her, and that it would be a great evil and a sin against God. — Genesis 39:8-9
Answer: He left his garment in her hand and ran outside. — Genesis 39:12
Answer: Of trying to take advantage of her; she showed the garment as proof. — Genesis 39:14-18
Answer: In the prison where the king's prisoners were held. — Genesis 39:20
Genesis 39 shows that obeying God does not always bring an immediate reward. Joseph did right and ended up in prison, but the text insists that the Lord was with him. In a small group, this encourages those who suffer for having kept their integrity: God's presence does not depend on the outcome.
It also gives a practical lesson about temptation. Joseph did not negotiate or stay to argue; he ran. Ask where you need to put distance between yourself and situations that tempt you, and what deep reasons, such as loyalty to God, support your decisions when no one is watching.
Genesis 39 ends with Joseph in prison, with the Lord at his side. In Genesis 40 he will meet two of Pharaoh's officials there, and their dreams will be the next step in God's plan.
Because he refused the temptation out of loyalty to his master and, above all, to God, and because he did not stay near the danger: he fled. His integrity also did not depend on anyone seeing him, since no one else was in the house.
The text gives no explanation in this chapter. Yet prison will bring him to Pharaoh's officials, and through them he will reach Pharaoh. Later Joseph will say that God used everything for good, in Genesis 50:20.
It means God accompanied him, guided him and gave him favor, even as a slave and prisoner. It does not mean the absence of trouble, but that God's presence goes with Joseph at every stage.