Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 39:2

And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

2. the Lord was with Joseph ] This is the motif of the whole section. Jehovah stands by Joseph whether in trouble or in prosperity, in good report or in evil; cf. Gen 39:3 ; Gen 39:5 ; Gen 39:21 ; Gen 39:23. Joseph was one of those rare characters in which great personal attractiveness in manner and appearance was combined with high principle and good intellectual powers.

in the house ] i.e. not sent out to labour in the field.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

2. he was in the house of hismasterThose slaves who had been war captives were generallysent to labor in the field and subjected to hard treatment under the”stick” of taskmasters. But those who were bought withmoney were employed in domestic purposes, were kindly treated, andenjoyed as much liberty as the same class does in modern Egypt.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And the Lord was with Joseph,…. Blessing him with his gracious presence, with discoveries of his love, and communion with himself, though destitute of the means of grace and ordinances of worship he enjoyed in his father’s house; favouring him with bodily health, and protecting him from all evils and enemies:

and he was a prosperous man; in worldly things, and which was owing to the presence of God with him, and his blessing on him:

and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian; he continued there, and did not attempt to make his escape; or his employment lay chiefly, if not altogether, in the house, and herein he was prosperous, and continued to be so as long as he was in it; the Jews n say, he remained here twelve months. Near the pyramids built in the neighbourhood of Memphis, as is affirmed unanimously by the ancients, to this day is shown a hill, on which they say the house of Potiphar was built, whose servant the patriarch Joseph was, and some of the rubbish of the bricks are yet to be seen o.

n Seder Olam Rabba, c. 2. p. 5. o Jablonski de Terra Goshen, Dissert. 6. sect. 6.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

2. The Lord was with Joseph The holy covenant God of Israel was not absent from his faithful servant. He ever encampeth round about them that fear him.

A prosperous man Making to prosper whatever he undertook. Compare the Psalmist’s description of the blessed or happy man. Psa 1:3.

He was in the house of his master First as a house-servant, then overseer of all his possessions . Gen 39:4-6. Potiphar quickly discerned Joseph’s integrity and pious attention to all his affairs . He probably did not concern himself about the religious ideas of his slave, or learn from him any special doctrines of Jehovah . He doubtless adhered to his own Egyptian idolatries. But in Gen 39:2-6 the sacred historian shows that the integrity and prosperity of Joseph were due to the divine providence which favoured the faithful son of Israel.

“The great pictures of Egyptian civilization which are found in the monumental sepulchres, abound in representations of overseership in the house and in the field. Workmen are represented as engaged in various kinds of labour, such as gardening, farming, fishing, while the overseer watches and directs, and keeps the record of the work with a reed pen in a papyrus register. Division and subdivision of labour, and minute supervision, had at this time been carried to a high degree in this home of science and civilization. Great native talent as well as integrity is displayed in this sudden rise of a shepherd-lad, sold as a slave into such a land as Egypt. We see here unmistakable signs of superior abilities, which serve to explain the previous envy of his brethren. A man so clearly born to command must have displayed something of his power and the natural bent of his genius in early youth.” Newhall.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments