Joseph & Potiphar 3 - Genesis 39:10-20

39:10-11 - It seems like some people just have the worst luck, and in this case, it happens to be Joseph. He was sold into slavery by his turd brothers, and God blessed him with prosperity for his master’s house, but now his master Potiphar’s wife is coming after him. We discussed yesterday some of the reasons why Joseph’s response to her when he declined her proposition, was so profound. The IM makes another point that is profitable, saying, “Joseph’s answer to the advances of Potiphar’s wife shows his great personal righteousness. King Benjamin taught the Nephites that ‘when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.’ If that principle were to be stated negatively, it would read, ‘when ye are exploiting or sinning against your fellow beings, you are only sinning against God.’ Joseph understood this principle perfectly and answered Potiphar’s wife by pointing out that it would be a terrible thing to take advantage of his master in this way. He took the next logical step when he added, ‘How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?’”

This is very much an abstract, A=B=C, type of statement. I have thought a lot of times about why we can’ do the “victimless” sins, mostly sex stuff, consenting adults and all that, and even though I don’t see it as hurting anyone, I know that because it breaks the commandments, that Jesus had to atone for it. All this is to say that even though I might not think that it hurts anyone, my sin caused Jesus actual physical and emotional pain, so in that sense not only is it hurting someone, it’s hurting the most important someone. Maybe another way to say this would be “how can I make Jesus suffer like this?”

Even though Joseph said “no” to Potiphar’s wife’s proposition for sex, she wouldn’t leave this dude alone, and hounded him “day by day,” but “he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.” But she waited until she finally got him alone, when “there was none of the men of the house there within.” She grabbed his “garment,” or I think it says coat in some other translations, and said, “Lie with me,” and he ran out of the room, away from her, but in his haste he left either his entire coat or the coat ripped and a piece of it was left in her hand.

39:12-20 - Not only did Joseph tell her “no” again, but he physically ran away from her when they were alone. This was the only smart move that Joseph could have made, but again, he was stuck in a no-win situation. She decides that if Joseph isn’t going to be with her, then she is going to ruin his life. Using the coat as proof that Joseph had been close enough to her that she could get her hands on it, “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; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: 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.”

There is really no way to verify her story, it’s very much a he-said, she-said, but again, one is the master’s wife and one is a slave, so there’s really no contest in who everyone was going to listen to, even if they didn’t believe her. She knew what was going to happen to Joseph if she made a false allegation against him, especially that of rape, the consequence should have been death, and she would have known that.

It makes me wonder just how accountable people are going to be when it turns out that their actions resulted in the horrific death and suffering of others, and they knew it was going to play out that way. Kind of like the white lady who lied to her husband that Emmett Till whistled at her, and then he was tortured and murdered brutally. She lied and she knew that her husband would do to Till, but she did it anyway, how accountable will she be for that. Or what about people who turned in their Jewish neighbors who were hiding in Nazi occupied areas, knowing full well that they were going to come back, how accountable will they be for that. It’s a really interesting concept to think about.

She waits until her husband gets home and she tells Potiphar this same story she told the other men, and understandably, Potiphar’s “wrath was kindled.” Of course it was. My guess is that after he had some time to cool down and surely he heard Joseph’s side of the story, and I’m sure that he trusted Joseph more than he trusted his wife, because I’m sure she’s done this before. After all that, I bet he believed Joseph, and knew that his wife was lying and that’s why Potiphar put him in prison instead of executing him.

The IM comments, “Because Potiphar had great power with the pharaoh and perhaps was even head of the royal executioners, it was remarkable that Joseph was only put into prison and not executed. A slave accused of attempting to rape his master’s wife would seem to have deserved the most severe punishment, and yet Joseph was only imprisoned. Could it be that Potiphar, knowing of Jospeh’s character and his wife’s character, suspected the truth, and although he felt compelled to take action, chose comparatively lenient punishment? Whatever the case, the hand of the Lord certainly preserved Joseph from what would otherwise have been almost certain death.”

I wonder just how pissed off Potiphar was at his wife for lying and costing him Joseph. Of course Potiphar had to do something, his wife had made a scene in front of everyone, so everyone knew of the allegations. If he had left Joseph to remain in his position, then Potiphar’s own reputation and social standing would have collapsed. Action had to be taken, and because Potiphar thrived so greatly with Joseph running his household, it would have taken a huge hit when Joseph left, and Potiphar had to have known that his wife was lying. So again, I wonder, just how angry Potiphar was at his wife for putting him in this position.