Joseph, Potiphar’s slave – the Bible text
Genesis 39:1-6
1 Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Pot’i-phar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ish’maelites who had brought him down there.
2 The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian, 3 and his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hands.
4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From 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 blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had, in house and field.
6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge; and having him he had no concern for anything but the food which he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking.
Reconstruction of ancient Egyptian houses, with dome-shaped grain silos
Her attempted seducton of Joseph
Genesis 39:7-12
7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, and said, “Lie with me.”
8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Lo, having me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand; 9 he is not greater in this house than I am; nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife; how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
10 And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie with her or to be with her.
11 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, 12 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.
The Wife of Potiphar, by Hermine F Schafer
The wife’s accusation
Genesis 39:13-20
13 And when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had fled out of the house, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice; 15 and when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment with me, and fled and got out of the house.”
16 Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to insult me; 
18 but as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment with me, and fled out of the house.”
19 When his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled.
20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.
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Reconstruction of an ancient bed.
Only the very wealthy had furniture like this.
Statue of Queen Merit, discovered at Amarna. This face shape was much admired at the time.
Potiphar’s wife – links
Movies
__________
Make a list of films about people who fight back against adverse circumstances – as Joseph did
__________
‘Potiphar had a beautiful wife, a woman used to getting her own way. She was lonely, bored and thrown into the company of an unusually handsome man, a Brad Pitt of the ancient world.’