1Nadat Jozef door de Ismaëlitische handelaars was meegevoerd naar Egypte, werd hij gekocht door Potifar, de commandant van de lijfwacht van de farao.2De HERE zegende Jozef tijdens zijn verblijf in het huis van zijn meester. Alles wat hij deed, lukte hem.3Potifar merkte dit en besefte dat de HERE Jozef op een bijzondere manier zegende.4Op die manier werd Jozef Potifars meest gewaardeerde dienaar. Hij kreeg de leiding over de hele huishouding en al zijn zakentransacties.5-6Ter wille van Jozef zegende de HERE de hele huishouding van Potifar, evenals zijn oogst en zijn vee. Potifar liet al zijn zaken aan Jozef over en had nergens meer omkijken naar. Hij bemoeide zich alleen nog met zijn eigen eten! Jozef was intussen echter een knappe, aantrekkelijke jongeman geworden.7In die tijd liet Potifars vrouw haar oog op Jozef vallen en zij vroeg hem of hij met haar naar bed wilde gaan.8Maar Jozef weigerde met de woorden: ‘Mijn meester heeft mij zijn hele huishouding toevertrouwd, ik heb hier eigenlijk net zoveel te zeggen als hij!9Hij heeft mij niets geweigerd, uitgezonderd u, omdat u zijn vrouw bent. Hoe kan ik dan zoiets slechts doen? Bovendien zou het een grote zonde tegen God zijn.’10Maar zij bleef aandringen, elke dag weer. Ook al luisterde hij niet en ontliep hij haar zo veel mogelijk, het hielp niet.11Op een dag was hij binnenshuis aan het werk—er was niemand in de buurt—toen zij weer bij hem kwam.12Zij greep hem bij de mouw en eiste: ‘Ga met me naar bed!’ Hij rukte zich los, maar daarbij gleed zijn mantel af. Hij rende het huis uit en zij bleef achter met zijn mantel in haar handen.13Toen begon ze te gillen.14Tegen de mannen die op haar gegil afkwamen, schreeuwde ze: ‘Mijn man heeft die Hebreeuwse slaaf gekocht om ons te beledigen!15Hij probeerde mij te verkrachten, maar toen ik begon te schreeuwen, sloeg hij op de vlucht. Kijk maar, hij heeft zijn mantel in de haast vergeten.’16Ze hield de mantel bij zich en toen haar man die avond thuiskwam, vertelde zij hem haar verhaal.17‘Die Hebreeuwse slaaf die je hier hebt rondlopen, probeerde mij te verkrachten.18Hij is ervandoor gegaan toen ik schreeuwde. Maar hij heeft zijn mantel achtergelaten.’19Haar man was woest toen hij het verhaal hoorde.20Hij gooide Jozef in de gevangenis, waar alle andere gevangenen van de farao ook in de ketens zaten.21Maar de HERE was ook daar bij Jozef, zodat de hoofdcipier hem de beste baantjes gaf.22Het kwam zelfs zover dat de hoofdcipier hem de hele administratie van de gevangenis liet doen, zodat de andere gevangenen verantwoording aan hem schuldig waren.23De hoofdcipier hoefde zich vanaf dat moment nergens meer druk over te maken, want Jozef regelde alles tot in de puntjes en de HERE zorgde voor hem, zodat alles goed bleef gaan.
1Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. (Gen 37:25; Gen 37:28; Gen 37:36)2The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. (Gen 21:22; Gen 26:24; Gen 26:28; Gen 28:15; Gen 39:21; 1 Sam 16:18; 1 Sam 18:14; 1 Sam 18:28; Hand 7:9)3His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. (2 Kron 26:5; Ps 1:3)4So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. (Gen 19:19; Gen 33:10; Gen 39:8; Gen 39:21)5From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. (Gen 30:27)6So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. (Gen 29:17; 1 Sam 16:12)7And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”8But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. (Gen 39:4)9He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (2 Sam 12:13; Ps 51:4)10And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. (Spr 1:10)11But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house,12she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. (Spr 7:13; Spr 7:18)13And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house,14she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.15And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.”16Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home,17and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me.18But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”19As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled.20And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. (Gen 40:3; Gen 40:5; Gen 40:15; Gen 41:14; Ps 105:18)21But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. (Gen 39:2; Ex 3:21; Ex 11:3; Ex 12:36; Hand 7:9)22And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. (Gen 40:4)23The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed. (Gen 39:2)