Genesis (39:7–20) tells how Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, was bought by Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard. Potiphar's wife (who is not named in the Bible) took a liking to the young man and made several failed attempts to seduce him.
According to the Book of Genesis 39:1–20, Joseph was bought as a slave by the Egyptian Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh. Potiphar's Wife tried to seduce Joseph, who eluded her advances.
The storyline that we are following today is simple. Joseph refuses the advances of Potiphar's wife. Potiphar's wife brings a false accusation against Joseph. Joseph loses his job and ends up in prison.
In the Bible, Pharaoh honors Joseph by giving him as a wife Asenath, “the daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On” (LXX: Heliopolis; Gen 41:45).
In the book of Genesis and Jewish traditions, exemplified in Midrashic texts and the Aggadah, the wife of Potiphar (or Zuleika as named in the Jewish Aggadah) is firmly established in her representation of the wiliness of women which men are urged to avert in fear that it would threaten their righteousness (Amos 242; ...
The story of Zuleika, wife of Potiphar (q.v.), and Joseph (q.v.) appears in the Judaeo-Christian Old Testament and in the Koran. In the Old Testament she is described simply as Potiphar's wife, her name being given only in the Koran.
Scripture's Command: Flee!
Ultimately, Potiphar's wife became so aggressive in her advances that Joseph had to run! “One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, 'Come to bed with me!
Potiphar's wife Henet is strongly attracted to Joseph and tries to seduce him. When he refuses, she falsely accuses him of attempting to rape her, and Joseph is thrown into prison. Later, when Potiphar learns what Henet has done, he kills her and then himself.
But, Reuben stepped in on Joseph's behalf and convinced his brothers to throw Joseph in the pit instead. Secretly, Reuben planned to come back and save him. The brothers listened to Reuben and did not kill Joseph, but when Reuben returned to rescue Joseph, he was gone!
As we have already mentioned, Scripture is not conclusive on whether or not Mary and Joseph had sex after the birth of Jesus, but tradition weighs in here and supplies the datum of faith that, in fact, they did not.
The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"
And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place." So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
Brothers Sold Joseph
Here we see that the brothers captured Joseph, stripped him of his ornate robe, and planned to kill him. The eldest brother, Reuben, tried in vain to help Joseph escape. But in the end, it was Judah who convinced the others that they should sell Joseph into slavery rather than kill him.
The eldest brother Reuben (with a twinge of regret and responsibility to his father) steps in and convinces the other brothers not to kill Joseph but to throw him into a pit instead (37:21-24).
Joseph prospers as a slave but is accused of immorality and sent to prison (39:1–20). The keeper of the prison gives Joseph responsibility over the other prisoners (39:21–23).
Thus, it can be guessed that Potiphar's wife was pretty unsatisfied at home. After Joseph refused her advances enough, she got mad, falsely accused him of sexual assault, and had him locked up presumably for life.
We could learn a lesson about the mysteries of how the world works. Believers and non-believers can see it as an illustration of the need to keep trying and persevere. Joseph shows that the worst conditions possible may not be final. We never know when the next step will lead to success.
Most of the ancient commentators of the Bible interpreted it as meaning that Joseph was law-abiding, and as such decided to divorce Mary in keeping with Mosaic Law when he found her pregnant by another. However, his righteousness was tempered by mercy and he thus kept the affair private.
In Genesis 37 Joseph is seventeen years of age; when he gets out of prison in 41,30 he is thirty years old. Did Potiphar's wife not only try to seduce him “day by day”, but perhaps even “year by year”? Why was there, in other words, no earlier accusation?
The two dreams told to Joseph in jail were a dream about seven fat cows and seven lean cows, and a dream about seven good ears of grain and seven withered ears of grain. b. Joseph interpreted the dreams to mean that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.
In The Divine Comedy, Dante sees the shade of Potiphar's wife in the eighth circle of Hell. She does not speak, but Dante is told by another spirit that, along with other perjurers, she is condemned to suffer a burning fever for all eternity.
Tamar is a Canaanite widow, banished to obscurity until she plays the harlot and pulls one over on her father-in-law. Potiphar's wife doesn't even get her own name, but she's got a house full of servants in Egypt–including a very handsome Joseph.
The “coat of many colors” Jacob gave to Joseph (see Genesis 37:3) is thought to represent the fact that Joseph received the birthright (see William Wilson, Old Testament Word Studies [1978], “colour,” p. 82).
There is no archaeological evidence establishing the tomb as Joseph's, and modern scholarship has yet to determine whether or not the present cenotaph is to be identified with the ancient biblical gravesite.