Limitless Word

Genesis 39

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Part of Joseph📖 Genesis introduction

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1Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. ✦ 2And the Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. ✦ 3Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did prosper in his hand. ✦ 4So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and put him in charge of all that he owned. ✦ 5It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; so the Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field. ✦ 6So he left Joseph in charge of everything that he owned; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. ✦ 7And it came about after these events that his master’s wife had her eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Sleep with me.” ✦ 8But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put me in charge of all that he owns. ✦ 9There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?” ✦ 10Though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. ✦ 11Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the people of the household was there inside. ✦ 12So she grabbed him by his garment, saying, “Sleep with me!” But he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. ✦ 13When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make fun of us; he came in to me to sleep with me, and I screamed. ✦ 15When he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.” 16So she left his garment beside her until his master came home. ✦ 17Then she spoke to him with these words: “The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make fun of me; ✦ 18but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” 19Now when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” his anger burned. ✦ 20So 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 the prison. ✦ 21But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the warden of the prison. ✦ 22And the warden of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. ✦ 23The warden of the prison did not supervise anything under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and, the Lord made whatever he did prosper. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Where this chapter connects

Gen 39 ·18Prov 6 ·8Prov 7 ·7Gen 40 ·6Ps 37 ·6Prov 5 ·51 Pet 2 ·4Gen 26 ·4

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 39 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical

    On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

  • VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical

    Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.

  • ReferenceBook of Genesis — Visual GuideBibleProject · Free

    A free structured guide to the whole book — outline, themes, and links to each video.

  • DocumentaryIs Genesis History?Del Tackett · Free · evangelical

    A young-earth-creationist case for a literal Genesis, free on YouTube. (YEC is one view held by faithful Christians; others read Genesis differently — see the genre guide on how to read it.)

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryGenesis (Word Biblical Commentary)Gordon J. Wenham · Paid · evangelical

    For decades the gold-standard commentary on Genesis — technical but rich. (See the ranked list for alternatives like Hamilton, NICOT.)

  • BookThe Pentateuch as NarrativeJohn H. Sailhamer · ~560 pp · Library · evangelical

    A literary-theological reading that makes Genesis's design visible.

Commentaries & study tools

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