The story now switches back to Egypt where Joseph has been sold by the traders. If Judah had failed the test and so was not vindicated or justified when it came to relationships, how would Joseph fare?
Read Genesis 39:1-20
The traders sell Jospeh to Potiphar, a commander in the Egyptian army. It seems that he holds a senior rank, is wealthy and powerful (v1). There in his master’s house, Joseph is successful and begins to rise in status through the ranks in the household, though he remains a slave. The reason for his success is explicitly stated up front. Yahweh was with him (v2). Potiphar is able to see that God is with Joseph and so he puts him in charge of the entire household, as a result, God blesses all that Joseph does so that Potiphar is blessed too and prospers (v3-5). Potiphar did not have to worry about anything but was simply able to enjoy life at home (v6).
Potiphar’s wife sets eyes on Joseph, or in modern parlance, “makes eyes at him” and tries to seduce him “come lie with me.”[1] Joseph refuses. This would be to wrong his master who has shown him favour but more importantly, it would be a sin against God (v6b-10).
One day, Potiphar’s wife catches Joseph alone in the house and grabs hold of him but he runs away leaving her clutching onto his garment (v11-12). She calls out to others to come, falsely accusing him of attempted rape. She repeats the accusation to Potiphar when he gets back to the house. She blames him, saying he has brought a Hebrew into the house in order to insult them (v13-18).[2] Potiphar is angry and has Joseph thrown into prison. Though perhaps the fact that he does not have him killed indicated some question marks in his mind (v19-20).
Digging Deeper
In terms of typology, we can see how Joseph’s experience of temptation foreshadows Christ’s temptation in the wilderness. If Joseph would have to resit, day after day, Jesus would face forty days and nights of Satanic onslaught. Unlike Judah, Joseph proves upright and righteous. This does not protect him from false accusation. Jesus too would face false accusation. Here, Potiphar’s wife is even able to use false evidence against Joseph that appears to incriminate,
A look at ourselves
There may be some helpful ethical and practical application here. I do think that we are meant to learn about how to live as God’s people, living faithfully and righteously, withstanding temptation. We can also see here how even those who do right will be unjustly accused. 1 Peter instructs us on how to live righteously, there is an element of looking to Christ as example but this is only after we see his obedience and sacrifice as substitution, He is redeemer before example. Joseph foreshadows Christ as the one “tempted in every way but without sin” so that he could be just that.
[1] It is worth considering that if Joseph was overseeing the household, then in Proverbs 31 terms, he was taking on the role that she should have been fulfilling and perhaps this indicates a lack of trust in her on Potiphar’s part too.
[2] This may also reflect Egyptian antipathy to semitic people, there was rivalry with other groupings including the Hyskos.
Faithroots 