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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Genesis 39:13 - 39:23
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Joseph Accused and Imprisoned
v. 13. And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
v. 14. that she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us. The lust of Potiphar's wife was changed to hatred. Since she did not succeed in having her will, she determined to have her revenge. Although her attack on Joseph had taken place in a part of the house which was open to all, and not in the intimacy of her own room, yet the fact that she had Joseph's outer garment in her hand must serve as an accusation against him. For with well-simulated scorn she refers to her husband as having brought in this Hebrew, this outcast of a nomadic nation, for the purpose of exercising wanton mockery, not only against her, but against the virtue of all the women in the house. She accuses Joseph of behaving himself in a manner which would indeed have been legitimate in the case of a husband toward his wife, Gen_26:8, but which was nothing more than a pretended seduction in her case. He came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice;
v. 15. and it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me! and fled, and got him out. She told her lie so skillfully that she even took care to state that Joseph had left his garment "at her side" instead of "in her hand," for the latter expression might have betrayed her.
v. 16. And she laid up his garment by her until his lord came home.
v. 17. And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant which thou hast brought unto us came in unto me to mock me;
v. 18. and it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. She could simulate outraged, innocent womanhood all the more easily since she knew that a slave could not testify for himself. In her boldness she almost reproaches Potiphar with having purposely endangered her chastity.
v. 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. Whether he suspected the true state of affairs to some extent or not, there was only one course open to the angry husband.
v. 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. The innocent young man was confined in the state prison, where the prisoners of the king, the criminals against the state, were kept. Thus many an innocent Christian has been obliged to suffer wrongfully, to be suspected and accused of crimes of various kind. In spite of all that, however, the believers place their trust in the mercy of God.
v. 21. But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. The hearts of men are in the hands of the Lord, and He can guide them like rivers of water. It was the mercy of the Lord which secured for Joseph the favor of the jailer, himself an officer under Potiphar.
v. 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. Although Joseph himself was a, prisoner, the jailer's trust in him was so great that he gave him charge of all the prisoners and of all the work which the prisoners had to perform.
v. 23. The keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand, with regard to all things which were expected of him he placed implicit confidence in Joseph; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. With a clear conscience and the Lord's favor on their side, the believers are able to endure not only false accusations, but even worse tribulations, the loss of liberty and of life.