Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 39:19
And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
Gen 39:19-23
But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison
Joseph in prison
A superior man will manifest his superiority in any situation.
In slavery, in prison, in exile, his worth will be disclosed and acknowledged. Joseph was a remarkable example of this. Though a prisoner in name, he soon was the actual warden. I invite attention to some of the lessons taught us by the experience and demeanour of Joseph in prison. Consider–
(1) What it is that gives one special power over men. Not great natural gifts merely, or original superiority of mind. Many people who possess these are without much influence. Neither is it the gifts of rank or fortune. Joseph had neither of these to commend him to favour. The Scriptures point to the true cause of his ascendency: The Lord was with Joseph, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison; and the latter committed to him the prisoners, because the Lord was with him, and that which he did the Lord made it to prosper. Since he was a good man, and obviously enjoyed Gods favour, he had influence and power over men. Right is mightier than wrong. As one clear, sweet voice singing in tune will bring a whole multitude of discordant voices into harmony with it, because it is right and they are wrong, and concord is superior to discord, so one godly man will prevail over many wicked. Men are always impressed by manifestations of a good conscience. They are persuaded that one who has a conscience void of offence toward God, is more likely to have one void of offence toward men also. His fidelity to his religious convictions wins their confidence. They will honour him, even though he vexes them by his scruples. Nicholas Biddle, we have been told, once had for a private secretary a Christian young man, whom he wished to keep at work on the Sabbath. The secretary objected to working on the Lords Day. I shall discharge you, said his employer, if you do not conform to my wishes. The secretary was poor, and had, moreover, a widowed mother dependent upon him; but rather than violate his conscience by doing what he considered wrong, he gave up his place. A day or two after, Mr. Biddle was in the company of some gentlemen who proposed to start a new bank, and the question was, where should they find a suitable man to be its cashier? I know of one, said Mr. Biddle; and he recommended to them his late secretary, saying, He had too much conscience for my work, but none too much for the more responsible office you have. And through his recommendation the place was given to him. In no way can parents do so well for their children, or so certainly insure for them positions of power and influence, as by an early religious training.
(2) Josephs demeanour in prison teaches the duty of patient accommodation to the situation in which God has seemed to place us. Evidently he tried to make the best of his prison life. He does not yield to despair and refuse to see any hope of good. He is cheerful and helpful to all about him, displaying there, in that uncongenial place, the same serenity of mind and the same religious faith as elsewhere. He rested in the Lord, and waited patiently for the manifestation of His will, never fretting over the peculiar hardship of his case, nor complaining because he was the innocent victim of the wicked devices of another. He believed that God would take care of him, and deliver him out of all his troubles. Though he could not see, what we see, that his prison was only a necessary way-station in his path to the lordship of Egypt, yet he knew that God was there, and that where God was it was safe for him to be, and not ill. His faith sustained him.
(3) Josephs life in prison teaches that there is good work to be done everywhere. Joseph discovered new capabilities of service in that dismal office. He shed upon it a humane and softer light. He reformed old abuses and introduced new improvements. He did noble work there, work animated by pity and mercy; such work as we impute to angels in their ministries of compassion among the suffering and wretched. It was work, too, which blessed his soul in the doing of it, and which paved the way to that future greatness to which he was advancing. The same thing may be true of the worst situation in which a man may be placed. He can, if he will, ennoble it by good work; make it bright by deeds of love and mercy; make it a field of great usefulness to others, and tributary to his own subsequent advancement.
(4) Josephs life in prison illustrates how all things work together for good to them that love God. I have done nothing, he said, that they should put me into the dungeon. It seemed a hard case. He was there through the slanderous spite of a bad woman. Falsehood and wickedness seemed to have triumphed over truth and innocence. But it was only that the person in whom they were represented might be the more exalted. Josephs case reveals how God can make everything bend to His purpose. (A. H.Currier.)
Joseph in prison
I. AN EXAMPLE OF THE MYSTERIOUS WAYS OF PROVIDENCE.
II. AN EXAMPLE OF THE STRENGTH OF GODS CONSOLATIONS IS THE WORST TRIALS.
1. He had a present reward (Gen 39:21).
2. His goodness was made manifest. (T. H. Leale.)
Josephs conduct in the dungeon
I. THE TENDERNESS OF HIS SYMPATHY (Gen 39:6-7). Suffering is absolutely necessary to capacitate us for sympathy.
II. THE PROFESSION OF HIS INNOCENCE. Of which notice the calmness and simplicity.
III. THE INTEGRITY OF HIS TRUTHFULNESS. Having undertaken the office of interpreter, he fulfilled it faithfully. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Joseph in prison; or, an epitome of heavens rule over the world
I. THAT GODS RULE OVER THE WORLD SUFFERS THE RIGHTEOUS TO BE GRIEVOUSLY OPPRESSED BY THE WICKED.
1. Joseph was the subject of cruel envy.
2. Joseph was the subject of the vilest calumny.
II. THAT GODS RULE OVER THE WORLD AFFORDS THE RIGHTEOUS AMPLE SUPPORT, EVEN UNDER THE GREATEST TRIALS OF LIFE. Joseph had three things in that dungeon to support him.
1. The approbation of his own conscience.
2. The respect of his circle.
3. The special presence of his God.
III. THAT GODS RULE OVER THE WORLD WORKS OUT THE GOOD OF THE RIGHTEOUS BY EVERY VARIETY OF INSTRUMENTALITY.
1. The evil passions of men.
2. The apparent accidents of life.
3. The mental visions of men.
4. The system of material nature.
Lessons:
1. The shortness of our trials compared with our destiny.
2. The unimportance of worldly condition compared with our moral character.
3. Greatness, however depressed and obscured, must rise one day through all obstructions to its rightful sovereignty. (Homilist.)
Life in a dungeon
I. THE PRISON. Literally, the round-house. Probably at first Joseph was confined in a dark and dismal subterranean inner-prison, where Psa 105:18) he was put in irons. A gloomy condition! But this seemingly overwhelming misfortune is but one of the links by which a mysterious but all-wise Providence is to conduct him into ultimately far higher honours and far more important trusts.
II. JOSEPHS IMPRISONMENT IS WHOLLY WITHOUT CAUSE. He was really suffering for his adherence to the right. He received the reward, which many have done since, of reproach, slander, and every injury, where the highest respect and honour were justly due. Instead of the admiration and lasting gratitude of his master, he was thrust into the prison, and his feet made fast in irons. But in this unwelcome and undeserved experience Joseph was but joining that illustrious company, swelled by subsequent ages to a mighty multitude, who have been made to suffer for well doing, many of whom have had to seal their testimony with their blood. The purest of all was numbered with the transgressors.
III. How JOSEPH DEPORTED HIMSELF IN PRISON. True to his beautiful antecedents, even in this black midnight he was still his noble self.
IV. THE LORD WAS WITH HIM.
1. Let me commend to your prayerful study the beautiful bearing and admirable spirit manifested by this young hero in this trying era in his extraordinary history.
2. Learn from this subject to be faithful under all circumstances, and to endeavour so to deport yourselves as to show forth a blameless and praiseworthy life. (J. Leyburn, D. D.)
Joseph in prison
A strange place, we might say, for a saint of God to be in! And yet a place in which the saints of God have often been found; for the world hath frequently misjudged them, deeming ill of whom it should have thought well, and instead of loving them for the example of purity and goodness which they have afforded, has made them the victims of its suspicion and hate. Thus it has come to pass that the excellent of the earth, the men worthy of thrones and palaces, have been ofttimes thrust into dark and noisome dungeons. State records have their stories of illustrious prisoners; and so also have the annals of the Church–and harrowing ones indeed they are. Samson, Micaiah, Jeremiah, John Baptist, Peter, Paul and Silas. And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of others who, in apostolic and post-apostolic times, were in prisons oft, and would joyfully have been there oftener, for the blessedness that they realized there from the presence of Him who can make of a prison a palace, and change dungeon darkness into heavenly light. We will now, therefore, return to Joseph, to whose imprisonment our text relates–And he was there in the prison.
I. WHY WAS HE THERE? What crime had he committed? Against whom had he offended? How had he sinned, that he should be found in such a place as this? Listen to the answer, for it is a rare answer. There is not one prisoner of a thousand respecting whom it could be truly given. He had not sinned at all! He had wronged no one l He was guiltless of any crime whatever! Then why was he there? I will give you the answer in a positive form. He was there because he chose to suffer rather than to sin–he preferred shame, and privation, and sorrow, to guilt. He would rather be an inmate of a prison–aye, for life–with a clear conscience, than the dweller in a mansion with an accusing one. Such is the answer to the question, Why was Joseph where we now find him? And it suggests a practical remark of very considerable importance and use, namely, that the highest integrity will not protect a man always from misjudgment and oppression. The very reality of goodness is the pledge that it will be tried, and these sufferings, attendant often–I might say uniformly–on a course of spiritual integrity, are just Gods way of trying it. Bear this in mind, dear friends, and you will not then be overwhelmed if, like Joseph, your fidelity to conscience and to God should bring you into circumstances of deepest humiliation and pain.
II. How DID IT FARE WITH HIM THERE? And this is a question which admits, as you will see, of a twofold answer–a sad and a pleasing one. At first it seems to have gone ill enough with this young servant of God there in the prison. He was made to suffer all the rigours of an Eastern dungeon. We learn from the one-hundred-and-fifth Psalm, that the simple record in Genesis does not tell us all that he underwent; for it is said there that his feet were hurt with fetters, that he was laid in iron. Indeed, it was a most trying lot, and must have been hard to bear, despite the consciousness of innocence to console and sustain the mind. And yet there was a necessity for it; a necessity, I mean, in connection with the wonderful drama which Josephs history was designed to form. Without all this trial and suffering, so undeserved, so apparently mysterious, there would have been wanting what gives the chief interest to the final development, and makes the whole so beautiful a lesson of trust in Providence, and patient waiting for the unfolding of Gods ways. And I would say, my brethren, there may be a corresponding necessity in your case for those circumstances in your lot which are most baffling and painful. It is not sent to you out of mere capriciousness on the part of your Heavenly Father; but because it is essential to the working out of His purposes of mercy in relation to you. Just as it was not only part of Gods plan that Joseph should be unjustly imprisoned, but also that his sufferings in prison should take, at first, a character of special severity; so everything in the circumstances of His people is equally the result of design, pointing to a future, hidden from them now, but hereafter to unfold itself, and to display to their astonished view wonders of Divine wisdom and faithfulness in the very events of their history which they had deemed the most painful and obscure. But I said that the question as to how it fared with Joseph in prison admits of a twofold answer. What I have just spoken to may be called the sad part of the answer. Let us now look at the more pleasing aspect of it. The severity was probably only temporary. At all events, we soon find the young man enjoying a degree of liberty and consideration that mark a wondrous change in his condition. But there is something more than this. That which the spiritual mind fastens upon here with most eagerness and delight is the statement about Gods regard to the suffering prisoner. This it is specially that forms the pleasing part of the answer, as to how it fared with Joseph in prison. Mark what is said at the end of the chapter–But the Lord was with Joseph, etc. You see that the one idea here is the presence of God with His servant; the favour of God, the prospering blessing of God. The mind of the sacred writer seems to have been full of that. It was in his estimation the grand thing, the salient point in the story–all. Joseph found his prison-life eventually not only not sad, but happy, because God was with him. Joseph won consideration and favour from his gaoler because God was with him. Joseph succeeded so well in every business matter entrusted to him because God was with him. Friendless and alone he could not be in that case. Inwardly cast down for long he could not be in that case. Now, the practical truth I wish to press upon you all here is the supreme value to be attached to the presence and favour of God. (C. M. Merry.)
Joseph in prison
I. “GOD WAS WITH JOSEPH–WHERE?
1. God is no respecter of places. Men speak with bated breath of prison-houses.
2. A sample of Gods faithfulness. Potiphar, from very unworthy reasons, had withheld his favour from Joseph. Very likely many in the mansion had secretly rejoiced in Josephs fall. He keepeth covenant for ever.
II. GOD WAS WITH HIM.–IN WHAT MANNER?
1. Gods best gifts are spiritual. There was no miraculous vindication of Joseph. Yet, though unseen, God was there, with hands full of blessing.
Did Joseph retain his hold on God, and often speak to Him in prayer? God nourished that faith. Did Joseph cherish a peaceful assurance, that God would over-rule this disaster for good? Then God was dwelling in him.
2. God gave him mercy, This hardship led Jacob to faithful self-examination.
3. God lightened his burden. The effect of Gods presence was twofold, viz., inward and outward. The real worth of Joseph was patent to the governor of the gaol. It was soon felt by warders and prisoners alike that Joseph was an injured man.
4. God made him useful. In that grim gaol his life was not doomed to inglorious idleness. So in the prison Joseph did his very best; nobly exercised his talents; lived as a king: and prepared himself to be ruler of Egypt. There were lessons to be learnt here which he could not learn elsewhere; a good school this.
III. GOD WAS WITH HIM–WITH WHAT RESULT?
1. There was prosperity. That is, there was order, peacefulness, good discipline.
2. Knowledge was gained. Joseph learnt how little mischief bad men and bad women can do to a good man.
3. It was a stepping-stone to sovereignty. Very likely the advantage in the formation of Josephs character was immense. Excrescences were pruned away. Good principles were better rooted. A generous forgetfulness of self was fostered. He was daily growing into a nobler and purer man. (J. Dickerson Davies, M. A.)
Joseph in prison
I. FAITHFUL JOSEPH SUSTAINED IN PRISON BY A FAITHFUL GOD.
1. By manifestation of personal friendship.
(1) With him, to comfort him in his peculiarly trying position, his character being falsely accused.
(2) With him, to impart strength and skill for the proper discharge of duty.
2. By giving him favour in the eyes of others.
(1) By Gods interposition, he becomes the wardens favourite.
(2) Unbounded trust is, through Gods grace, placed in one whose character has been assailed.
(3) It is Gods prerogative to dispose the hearts of men toward His children (Pro 21:1).
II. THE MYSTERIOUS POWER OF DREAMS USED BY GOD IN BEHALF OF HIS WRONGED CHILD.
1. The tyranny of ancient monarchs.
2. The activity of the mind.
(1) While the body sleeps, the mind continues wakeful and full of thought.
(2) This mental activity during sleep, which we call dreams, God has frequently used in all ages for providential purposes.
III. TO INTERPRET DREAMS A DIVINE PREROGATIVE.
1. A dream from God, like a speech in an unknown tongue, cannot be understood until interpreted by one who knows the language.
2. If a dream is designed to reveal a Divine purpose, that purpose must be distinctly explained by special communication by God.
3. The folly of assuming intelligence enough to interpret dreams without special revelation from God.
Lessons:
1. The advantages of true piety in the practical affairs of life.
2. A lesson for resignation under most trying circumstances. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
Joseph in prison
I. If we take our whole impression of his prison-life from the Book of Genesis, our impression cannot be either accurate or complete. For, though the inspired narrative tells us that Joseph was bound; though it records his earnest entreaty that the cup-bearer, when he was released, would do his utmost to deliver him; though it represents him as speaking with a certain bitterness of having done nothing to deserve that he should be thrust into this hole; though, therefore, it implies that Joseph was the victim of a gross injustice, and had a keen sense of the injustice done to him, it nevertheless leaves the impression on our minds that, for a prisoner, his condition was a singularly happy one; that he enjoyed an altogether exceptional freedom, and rose to no small measure of official place and dignity. But, as we learn from a supplementary Scripture, Joseph was by no means of our mind, nor were his circumstances altogether so happy as we have supposed them to be. In Psa 105:17-19, we read: He sent a man before them: Joseph was sold for a slave. They tormented his feet with fetters; his soul came into iron, until the time when his word came; the word of the Lord cleared him. The light shed by these words shines into the dark Egyptian dungeon, and enables us to see the prisoner and his condition more distinctly. Honoured and trusted as he was, he was nevertheless tormented with fetters. He was a prisoner, although a favoured prisoner, and thought more of his captivity than of the favour which softened its rigours. Through long bitter months he bends sad questioning eyes on a heaven no longer flushed wit-h rosy dawns of hope, but dark with the hues of doubt and despair. Yet, as we know, the road to the throne lay through that hole; and but for the hateful fetters which tormented him, he would never have worn the signet from Pharaohs hand, nor the golden chain which Pharaoh flung round his neck. The night in which he sat ushered in a long and brilliant day.
II. Now, the prison experience of Joseph is by no means an exceptional experience. Its value for us lies mainly in the fact that it helps us to understand the common lot of man. It would seem to be a law of the Divine government that in proportion as men are great in capacities for service, they should have their capacities developed by bitter and long-sustained afflictions. We can be patient and hopeful when once we are assured that all our defeats and disappointments, our failures and reverses and broken illusions, are parts of the discipline by which God is training us for the work we long to do, and are qualifying us to enjoy the freedom we crave. If only our character is being moulded and hardened, and its capacities brought out by suffering, then it is not unjust of God to inflict suffering upon us. If we can become perfect only through suffering, shall we not thank Him for the suffering which perfects us? If only as we learn to rule in the prison of deterred opportunities and defeated hopes, we can become fit to rule over the many cities of the heavenly kingdom, shall we shrink from the prison which leads to the throne? If the iron must enter our souls that we may be strong amid the flatteries and the adversities of fortune, shall even the fetters which torment us be unwelcome to us? (S. Cox, D. D.)
Free though bound
Though his body is in fetters, Josephs pure spirit is still free. The one, man may load with irons; the other, God alone can bind in the prisonhouse of torture. With integrity preserved, the prison may be a palace. With Gods favour there may be happiness in a dungeon; without it, wretchedness in a royal court. There may be spiritual liberty while shackles are chafing the weary limbs, there may be the bondage of sin while no visible chains are eating into the quivering flesh. In point of fact, Potiphars wife was the slave–the slave of sin; Joseph the freeman, the emancipated of the Lord. He is a freeman whom the truth makes free, all besides are slaves. Many, alas! though their limbs are unshackled, are yet bound captives, to human appearance hopelessly fettered by iniquity. Who is there so lost to honour that he would not prefer Josephs situation to that of his assailant? purity to impurity? Gods favour in a prison, to Gods displeasure in the decorated halls of wordly grandeur? (J. S. Van Dyke.)
True prosperity
Now, do let us all be thoroughly instructed from this, what it is that constitutes true prosperity. It is said of the soldiers of a certain king, in ancient times, that they lost a great battle by mistaking the shadows for the ,persons of their enemies. They discharged their arrows at the empty resemblance, instead of the living and moving ranks of men. How many make a similar mistake with regard to prosperity I They mistake the shadow for the substance; and thus they take a wrong aim. All their energies and all their efforts are directed to something short of the mark. Outward distinctions and outward blessings, considered in themselves, form only the shadow of prosperity. It does not consist in greatness, or grandeur, or riches, or plenty, or ease. These are all sometimes possessed by the wicked; and sometimes they are possessed by those, who, instead of being prosperous, have actually to groan through the very disquietude of their heart. True prosperity is something different to this, and independent of this. It can flourish without such things as these, and make us happy either with or without them. It consists in what Joseph had–the favour, and presence, and blessing of Almighty God, our heavenly Father. This can make us happy in every place, and in every state. (C. Overton.)
Uses of adversity
It is good for man suffer the adversity of this earthly life, for it brings him back to the sacred retirement of the heart, where only he finds he is an exile from his native home, and ought not to place his trust in any worldly enjoyment. It is good for him also to meet with contradiction and reproach, and to be evil thought of and evil spoken of, even when his intentions are upright and his actions blameless, for this keeps him humble and is a powerful antidote to the poison of vain glory; and then chiefly it is that we have recourse to the witness within us, which is God, when we are outwardly despised, and held in no degree of esteem and favour among men. Our dependence upon God ought to be so entire and absolute that we should never think it necessary, in any kind of distress, to have recourse to human consolation. (De Imitatione Christi.)
Providences of God
We are tried by our disappointments, we are tried by our successes. God heaps mercies upon men, and then takes them all away. He blesses, enriches, and establishes men, and then shuts them up, impoverishes, and subverts them. The whole train of the dealings of God with them in respect of the providential ordering of their affairs is either to break the hold of this earth upon the human soul, through its senses and passions, or else to inspire its religious faculties to take hold upon God and eternity. This is the secret of the whole round of unspeakable and so-called mysterious providences of God towards men; unspeakable and mysterious because God is acting in one way and they are acting in another. (H. W.Beecher.)
A prisoner kindly treated
It is said that when John Bunyan was in Bedford jail, some of his persecutors in London heard that he was often out of the prison; they sent an officer to talk with the gaoler on the subject, and in order to discover the fact he was to get there in the middle of the night. Bunyan was at home with his family, but so restless that he could not sleep; he therefore acquainted his wife that, though the goaler had given him liberty to stay till the morning, yet, from his uneasiness, he must immediately return. He did so, and the gaoler blamed him for coming at such an unseasonable hour. Early in the morning the messenger came, and interrogating the gaoler, said Are all the prisoners safe? Yes. Is John Bunyan safe? Yes. Let me see him. He was called, and appeared, and all was well. After the messenger was gone, the goaler, addressing Mr. Bunyan, said, Well, you may go in and out again just when you think proper, for you know when to return better than I can tell you.
When God commands the life all goes well
In the course of my inspection of the lines that morning, while passing along Culps Hill, I found the men hard at work entrenching, and in such fine spirits as at once to attract attention. One of them finally dropped his work, and approaching me, inquired if the reports first received were true. On asking what he referred to, he replied that twice word had been passed along the line that General McKeller had been assigned to the command of the army, and the second time it was added that he was on the way to the field, and might soon be expected. He continued, The boys are all jubilant over it, for they know that if he takes command, everything will go right. (One Thousand New Illustrations.)
Equanimity of character
The equanimity which a few persons preserve through the diversities of prosperous and adverse life reminds me of certain aquatic plants which spread their tops on the surface of the water, and with wonderful elasticity keep the surface still if the water swells, or if it falls. (J. Foster.)
God with His people in trouble
Think not that the presence of God with His people is limited to palaces or to churches. It has been often manifestly seen that He was with them in prisons, in caves or dens, on gibbets, in fiery furnaces. Ask not, why He does not snatch away His people from such dreary places, if He is present with them? Why should you think yourself wiser than God? You know why Christ, though He was the Son of God, did not come down from the cross, that His enemies might believe in Him. The sufferings of Christ were necessary for our salvation. The sufferings of the saints are necessary for their own salvation, though in another sense. (G. Lawson, D. D.)
Integrity repaid by confidence
Joseph, diligent and trusty, finds friends even in the prison. Integrity invariably secures confidence. The conscientious, the honest, and the truthful commonly find those with whom they deal willing to exhibit the same qualities. On the other hand, the deceitful and the unprincipled are extremely liable to be paid in their own coin. Indeed, so strong is the disposition to judge others by ourselves, that we are tolerably safe in concluding that those who charge the world with want of sympathy are not themselves extremely sympathetic; that those who pronounce mankind unprincipled will bear watching. Since the world is a kind of mirror, we are quite apt to see in others only a reflection of ourselves. Since its polished hardness approaches flintiness, our treatment of the world is liable to be turned back upon ourselves–the force of the rebound as well as its nature being determined by our own conduct. If we love our fellow-men, they will love us; if we hate them, they will hate us; if we aid them, they will aid us; abuse them, and abuse returns, sometimes steeped in the poison of malice. Hence it commonly happens that he who can control himself can usually determine the treatment he is to receive from others. Josephs kindness secured a return of kindness even from the Egyptian jailer; his integrity was repaid in confidence. He who has the love which our Saviour recommends possesses the means of securing kindness from most persons, and respect from all (J. S. Van Dyke.)
.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife,…. The story she related concerning Joseph, which was her own invention, and a lie:
which she spake unto him, saying, after this manner did thy servant to me; attempting to violate her chastity, as she pretended:
that his wrath was kindled; that is, against Joseph, without strictly examining her words, which they would not bear, her story being but ill put together, and without hearing Joseph’s defence.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Joseph in Prison. – Potiphar was enraged at what he heard, and put Joseph into the prison where ( for , Gen 40:3 like Gen 35:13) the king’s prisoners (state-prisoners) were confined. : lit., the house of enclosure, from , to surround or enclose ( , lxx); the state-prison surrounded by a wall. This was a very moderate punishment. For according to Diod. Sic. (i. 78) the laws of the Egyptians were . An attempt at adultery was to be punished with 1000 blows, and rape upon a free woman still more severely. It is possible that Potiphar was not fully convinced of his wife’s chastity, and therefore did not place unlimited credence in what she said.
(Note: Credibile est aliquod fuisse indicium, quo Josephum innocentem esse Potiphari constiteret; neque enim servi vita tanti erat ut ei parceretur in tam gravi delicto. Sed licet innocuum, in carcere tamen detinebat, ut uxoris honori et suo consuleret ( Clericus). The chastity of Egyptian women has been in bad repute from time immemorial ( Diod. Sic. i. 59; Herod. ii. 111). Even in the middle ages the Fatimite Hakim thought it necessary to adopt severe measures against their immorality ( Bar-Hebraei, chron. p. 217), and at the present day, according to Burckhardt (arab. Sprichwrter, pp. 222, 227), chastity is “a great rarity” among women of every rank in Cairo.)
But even in that case it was the mercy of the faithful covenant God, which now as before (Gen 37:20.) rescued Joseph’s life.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. 20 And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. 21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. 23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.
Here is, 1. Joseph wronged by his master. He believed the accusation, and either Joseph durst not make his defence by telling the truth, as it would reflect too much upon his mistress, or his master would not hear it, or would not believe it, and there is no remedy, he is condemned to perpetual imprisonment, Gen 39:19; Gen 39:20. God restrained his wrath, else he had put him to death; and that wrath which imprisoned him God made to turn to his praise, in order to which Providence so disposed that he should be shut up among the king’s prisoners, the state-prisoners. Potiphar, it is likely, chose that prison because it was the worst; for there the iron entered into the soul (Ps. cv. 18), but God designed to pave the way to his enlargement. He was committed to the king’s prison, that he might thence be preferred to the king’s person. Note, Many an action of false imprisonment will, in the great day, be found to lie against the enemies and persecutors of God’s people. Our Lord Jesus, like Joseph here, was bound, and numbered with the transgressors. 2. Joseph owned and righted by his God, who is, and will be, the just and powerful patron of oppressed innocence. Joseph was at a distance from all his friends and relations, had not them with him to comfort him, or to minister to him, or to mediate for him; but the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, v. 21. Note, (1.) God despises not his prisoners, Ps. lxix. 33. No gates nor bars can shut out his gracious presence from his people; for he has promised that he will never leave them. (2.) Those that have a good conscience in a prison have a good God there. Integrity and uprightness qualify us for the divine favour, wherever we are. Joseph is not long a prisoner before he becomes a little ruler even in the prison, which is to be attributed, under God, [1.] To the keeper’s favour. God gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Note, God can raise up friends for his people even where they little expect to find them, and can make them to be pitied even of those that carry them captive, Ps. cvi. 46. [2.] To Joseph’s fitness for business. The keeper saw that God was with him, and that every thing prospered under his hand; and therefore entrusted him with the management of the affairs of the prison, Gen 39:22; Gen 39:23. Note, Wisdom and virtue will shine in the narrowest spheres. A good man will do good wherever he is, and will be a blessing even in bonds and banishment; for the Spirit of the Lord is not bound nor banished, witness St. Paul, Phi 1:12; Phi 1:13.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
19. When his master heard the words of his wife. Seeing that a color so probable was given to the transaction, there is no wonder that jealousy, the motions of which are exceedingly vehement and ardent, should so far have prevailed with Potiphar, as to cause him to credit the calumnies of his wife. Yet the levity with which he instantly thrust a servant, whom he had found prudent and honest, into prison, without examining the cause, cannot be excused. He ought certainly to have been less under the influence of his wife. And, therefore, he received the just reward of his too easy folly, by cherishing with honor, a harlot in the place of a wife, and by almost performing the office of a pander. This example is useful to all; yet husbands especially are taught that they must use prudence, lest they should be carried rashly hither and thither, at the will of their wives. And, truly, since we everywhere see that they who are too obsequious to their wives are held up to ridicule; let us know that the folly of these men is condemned by the just judgment of God, so that we may learn to pray for the spirit of gravity and moderation. There is no doubt that Moses expressly condemns the rashness of Potiphar, in becoming inflamed against Joseph, as soon as he had heard his wife, and in giving the reins to his indignation, just as if the guilt of Joseph had been proved; for thus all equity is excluded, no just defense is allowed, and finally, the true and accurate investigation of the cause is utterly rejected. But it may be asked, How could the jealousy of Potiphar be excited, since Moses before has said that he was an eunuch? (148) The solution of the question is easy; they were accustomed to be called eunuchs in the East, not only who were so really, but who were satraps and nobles. Wherefore, this name is of the same force as if Moses had said that he was one of the chief men of the court. (149)
(148) See the comment on Gen 37:36.
(149) To the whole of this account the sceptical writers of the continent imagine that they have found an insurable objection. Tuch remarks, “The narrator abandons the representation of a distinguished Egyptian, in whose house the women live separately,” etc. “The error,” observes Hengstenberg, “however, lies here, not on the side of the author, but on that of his critics. They are guilty of inadvertently transferring that which universally prevails in the East to Egypt, which the author avoids, and thereby exhibits his knowledge of the condition of the Egyptians. According to the monuments, the women in Egypt lived under far less restraint than in the East, or even in Greece.” — Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 26. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Gen. 39:22. Keeper of the prison.] An inferior officer who was charged with the actual discipline of the prison.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Gen. 39:19-23
JOSEPH IN PRISON
I. An example of the mysterious ways of Providence. The outward sufferings of Joseph were grievous. He was bound as well as imprisoned. They hurt his feet with fetters. (Psa. 105:18.) But his trouble went deeper than this. The iron entered his soul. Though conscious of innocence, yet in the eyes of men he suffered as one guilty. He had to bear shame, and reproach, and punishment on account of his integrity and uprightness. All this time his enemies flourished and triumphed over him. Such is the mystery of Providence in all ages. The prizes of the world seem mostly to fall to the lot of the selfish and the sinful. The just is often made a prey to the sons of violence, and condemned to obscurity and failure, while the ungodly are in great prosperity and are borne to the stars by flatteries and applause. This has been the puzzle of Gods people in all ages. When they have thought upon the dark ways of Gods dealings here it has been a pain and grief to their souls. To all outward appearance, it is not justice, but the blindest and most undiscriminating chance that rules the world.
II. An example of the strength of Gods consolations in the worst trials. Joseph had Gods consolations within him which enabled him to bear up, and hope on, and press forward, even though he could not see his way before him.
1. He had a present reward. The Lord was with Joseph. The promise made to Abraham was his. The Lord was in all places and in all circumstances his exceeding great reward. (Gen. 15:1.) He had the satisfaction of a good conscience, in the thought of duty nobly done. God was with him, and near him, his help and stay. What can be greater than this to a man who can fully realise it? It is true that Joseph was afterwards exalted to greatness and prosperity. But this was not his true reward, which was one altogether spiritual and unseen by the world. In a most sacred and exclusive sense, his reward was with the Most High. God does not pay His people in the coin and honours of this world.
2. His goodness was made manifest. That brought him a further reward in the sight of men, and led the way to his advancement and exaltation. The first effect was to give him influence over others. He rose in favour with the keeper of the prison. (Gen. 39:21.) We observe here the real nature of human influence. It is not the influence of rank, but of character. Make all men equal in rank to-day, and to-morrow there will be found those who have acquired influence over the others. These prisoners were all in the same position, but very soon Josephs character gained him influence. Thus, by the influence of Paul, the jailer at Philippi was converted, Felix trembled before him, and Agrippa was almost persuaded to be a Christian. Let such a man be imprisoned, but he will soon have converted Csars household, for his influence is real.(Robertson.)
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen. 39:19-20. A prison is a place of humiliation and shame. The inmates are the actual or suspected perpetrators of evil, whose name is a reproach, whom society casts out. But within these walls of guilt we find a guiltless man. The blameless Joseph is here immured. Without transgression, he is numbered with transgressors. Joseph in custody, reviled for iniquity which he knew not, foreshadows Jesus, who, without sin, is made sin for us. He for whom the heaven of heavens is no worthy throne, is clothed for us in prison garb, and tastes for us the prison shame. Hence the Spirit records, He was taken from prison and from judgment. But Jesus was arrested by the justice of God. But wherefore? He lived the Holy Man Jesus. He died the Holy Sufferer. How then could justice touch Him with a jailors grasp? Because, though no shade of sin was in Him, mountains of sin were upon Him. God transfers the sins of the sinful to His sinless Son. Wondrous is the word, but true as wondrous, The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquities of us all. [Archdeacon Law: Christ is All.]
Gen. 39:21-23. No sooner is Joseph a prisoner, than a guardian of the prisoners. Trust and honour accompany him wheresoever he is: in his fathers house, in Potiphars, in the jail, in the court; still he hath both favour and rule. So long as God is with him, he cannot but shine in spite of men. The walls of that dungeon cannot hide his virtues, the irons cannot hold them. Pharaohs officers are sent to witness his graces, which he may not come forth to shew.(Bp. Hall.)
A prison keeps not God from His; witness the apostles and martyrs, whose prisons, by Gods presence, became palaces; the fiery furnace, a gallery of pleasure; the stocks, a music school. (Act. 16:25.)(Trapp.)
Observe the religious tone of this account. We read nothing of Josephs intellectual superiority, but that the Lord was with him. The reason of his influence was the God within him. Just so far as a man is Christlike will he have influence.(Robertson.)
In Josephs condition, nothing is to be seen but death, the loss of his fair fame, and of all his virtues. Now comes Christ with his eyes of grace, and throws light into the grave. Joseph is to become a Lord, though he had seemingly entered into the prison of hell.(Luther). Josephs way is now for a time in the darkness, but this is the very way through which God often leads his people.(Lange.)
Joseph had much yet to do in this world. He was to become the shepherd and the stone of Israel. He was to be lord of Pharaohs house, according to the dreams which came to him from heaven; he was to become the father of two powerful tribes in Israel. He could not perish while the promises he had received were yet unaccomplished. All the powers of darkness combined would find themselves unable to put one of Gods servants to death whilst any part of his work remained unperformed. What can man do against God? Not only the righteous and the wise, and their works, but the unrighteous, the unwise, and the worst of their works, are in the hands of God.(Bush.)
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Pro 6:34-35 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 39:19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
Ver. 19. His wrath was kindled. ] Heb., Exarsit nasus eius. Good cause he had, if all had been true that his wife told him. Pro 6:34-35 It is well known how the rape of Lucrece was punished upon the Tarquins. Valentinian, the Emperor, defiled the wife of his subject Maximus. Maximus afterwards slew Valentinian, succeeded him in the empire, ravished his wife, and forced her to marry him. She, to be revenged, sent for Gensericus, who seized upon all Italy, &c. a But Potiphar was too light of belief; and should have examined the matter ere he had condemned the man. Credulity is a note of folly. Pro 14:15
a Eudoxiam Valentiniani uxorem vi compressam, turpibus nuptiis sibi copulat.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 39:19-23
19Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” his anger burned. 20So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. 21But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. 22The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. 23The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made to prosper.
Gen 39:20 “So Joseph’s master took him and put him in jail” The normal punishment for this kind of crime was death (The IVP Bible Background Commentary, p. 71). It seems that Potiphar might have had some doubts concerning the veracity of his wife’s statement. I am sure that at this point in Joseph’s life, even with great faith in God, he must have wondered what was happening (cf. Gen 40:15)!
“the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was placed there in the jail” This is a very unusual term for jail. It seems to be from the root “to be circular” (from Son 7:2) or “enclosed” (BDB 690, found only in Gen 39:20-23; Gen 40:3; Gen 40:5) and some commentators assert that it was a round-shaped prison, while others believe it was a special building on the grounds of the captain of the guard (i.e., Potiphar). If this is true we can see how Joseph was apparently transferred from the master’s house to the master’s prison which was not too far distant.
God’s “unseen hand” is at work to start the next step of His plan. Joseph has been radically changed by his faith in YHWH since chapter 37. Knowing God should affect our character and actions!
Gen 39:21-23 The presence of God was still with Joseph in a very unique and, apparently, visible way. This does not mean that there were not some very difficult experiences of body and mind which he went through, but God’s care was obviously with him.
Gen 39:23 This phrasing is similar to Gen 39:6. Joseph took care of everything. He was a divinely gifted administrator and later we will learn, dream interpreter.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
After this manner = According to these words.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Joseph Fares Well in Prison
Gen 39:19-23; Gen 40:1-8
These two men remind us of the two thieves crucified beside our Lord; to the one He was a savor of life, to the other of death. Jeremy Taylor says that he must be in love with peevishness who chooses to sit down on his little handful of thorns, when there are so many causes that call for him. Wherever in the world we are, there is a fellowship of sad and lonely hearts for us to cultivate. Like Joseph, let us set about helping others, and so find solace and help for ourselves. We must move in and out among our fellows with a glorious morning face. Keep your sorrows for your Lord and yourself, but learn from your own experiences how to comfort those who are in any sorrow by the comfort with which you yourself have been comforted of God. How quick Joseph was to detect the added anxiety on the two faces! It was because he had known similar alternations of experience. See 2Co 1:4.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
heard: Job 29:16, Pro 18:17, Pro 29:12, Act 25:16, 2Th 2:11
his wrath: Gen 4:5, Gen 4:6, Pro 6:34, Pro 6:35, Son 8:7