KNOWN AS THE “NO-NAME WIFE” OF A BODY GUARD
Genesis 39
IMAGINE: Being the rich Egyptian wife of the highest official to Pharaoh; but even so, choosing to set your sites on the well-built and handsome new household slave, only to have this Hebrew foreigner reject your advances.
This woman is not necessarily known as anyone other than the “wife of Potiphar”. Scripture is silent as to her name, age, and heritage. What can be surmised is she is a spoiled, wealthy persona of evil who is self-serving and Godless, with a lustful spirit. She is a nameless, diabolical, and totally wicked woman. She lived in the palace, within the city life of Egypt, in and among the rich and famous.
Now Joseph was well-built and
handsome. After some time his
master’s wife looked longingly at
Joseph and said, “Sleep with me”.
Genesis 39:6, 7
Mrs. Potiphar, covered in all her richness, is a faithless, lying wife who persists on Joseph going to bed with her.
Although she spoke to Joseph
day after day, he refused
to go to bed with her.
Genesis 39:10
Was little Ms. No-name neglected? Probably. Needy? Most definitely. Starved for attention? Appears so.
Mrs. Potiphar was married to a well known and powerful man. Her husband, Mr. Potiphar, was “captain of Pharaoh’s guard”. The Pharaoh was the most powerful person in Egypt. He owned all the land, made laws, collected taxes and protected Egypt from all enemies.
Potiphar had access to Pharaoh, the political and religious leader of the Egyptian people, which allowed his missus anything she wished or wanted. Sadly, what she wanted was a young, Hebrew slave preferably without his high morals intact.
Her position as Potiphar’s wife probably left her with way too much time on her hands and with servants to do her bidding, she was left with little or no responsibilities. Interestingly, it is unknown if Mrs. Potiphar was beautiful and used to getting her way with men or if she was just going through a midlife crisis. Nothing indicates Joseph was ever tempted by this floozy foreigner.
Scripture, mentioning she spoke with Joseph day after day, indicates she was not coy about what she wanted from him, but outright pushy concerning the subject of him sleeping with her. She believed her opportunity had arrived when Joseph comes to do his daily chores and all the household servants are gone. More than likely, unknown to him, she had sent them packing for the day.
She grabs him by his garment and insists he sleep with her. Apparently, having no shame, she is persistent in having her way with him. He escapes and runs outside and away from her, but in the scramble, she is left holding his garment she had grabbed hold of.
Some scholars say this was an outer garment and some insist it was an under garment. Which either case it may have been the outcome of this circumstance was not going to end well for Joseph. The story she attaches to the garment being in her possession, first to the servants and later to her husband, gives suspicion she is more evil than lonely.
When she realized that he had left his
garment with her and had run outside,
she called the household servants.
“Look,” she said to them, “my husband
brought a Hebrew man to us to make
fun of us. He came to me so he could
sleep with me, and I screamed as loud
as I could. When he heard me screaming
for help, he left his garment
with me and ran outside.”
Genesis 39:13-15
Amazingly, she was able to call her servants to tell her harrowing story and they heard her and came. But no one heard her “scream as loud as she could” when this Hebrew animal supposedly attacked her?
She later tells the same story to Mr. Potiphar when he arrives home from work. She has become enraged by the humiliation this slave has brought upon her, or more to the point, she has brought upon herself. But her need for vengeance has now replaced her lust and become all consuming.
Then she told him the same story:
“The Hebrew slave you brought to us
came to me to make fun of me,
but when I screamed for help, he
left his garment with me and ran outside.”
Genesis 39:17, 18
Outside where the household servants, more than likely, had been sent? Did they see Joseph make his escape from this she-devil? Did they say nothing contrary to Mrs. Potiphar’s story so as to keep their place of employment or their heads attached to their body?
This woman’s story has so many holes in it. One of many being the fact that very seldom does the victim hang on to the perpetrator’s clothing. If indeed she had tried to break free from her supposed attacker he would have been left holding her attire not the other way around.
Mrs. Potiphar is definitely one smooth seductress. She blames her husband for her plight. If he had not been so thoughtless as to bring this Hebrew to the household, she would not have had to go through this horrible ordeal. Pretty sneaky putting hubby on a guilt trip, placing all bad behavior on him, leaving her the innocent babe.
As the story of Mrs. Potiphar and Joseph unfolds there is a piece of the puzzle missing. Mr. Potiphar! This gentleman is the captain of the guard. He is an Egyptian, which literally means this Hebrew is a slave to do his bidding. He had been bought and paid for from the Ishmaelites who brought him there. (Gen. 39:1).
Potiphar quickly had caught on that the Lord was with Joseph and thus gave him authority over all he owned. Even so this did not make them best of friends as Egyptians did not have a liking toward Hebrews. This was strictly a boss/slave relationship.
Potiphar was one of Pharaoh’s officials. His status meant he held a great deal of importance and influence. It is believed this position was actually captain of Pharaoh’s bodyguards.
Scholars believe Potiphar’s position included being in charge of the prison where those who displeased or disobeyed Pharaoh were kept. Some believe he may have served as an executioner. If indeed this was the case, why throw Joseph in prison instead of pronouncing a death sentence on him?
Some scholars believe Potiphar was not all believing of his wife’s tale of events. This was the captain of the palace guard. He was most likely a pretty stout man, demanding, ruthless, with not much of anything getting past him. His work would have required he observe and know everything going on in and around the palace compound.
In that day and culture, a foreigner committing, or even trying to commit adultery, was immediately put to death. Even more so if the attempted rape victim was the wife of a high-ranking official of the Egyptian government. Yet Potiphar spared Joseph’s life?
Scripture does note that Potiphar “did not concern himself with anything but the food he ate.” (Gen. 39:6). Did he recognize he had not been caring of his husbandly duties toward his wife? Joseph had been put in the impossible position of betraying Potiphar or offending his wife. Possibly his life was spared since he chose the lesser of two evils by choosing not to offend his employer.
Potiphar may have known his wife all too well and did not want the embarrassment of the truth to spill forth. Scripture does not state one way or another why Potiphar spared Joseph’s life, so all is speculation concerning his response and thinking toward Joseph. It is noted that Potiphar had taken notice of the fact that the Lord was with Joseph and everything he did was successful. Potiphar had just sent his blessing to prison. His wife had dishonored him and made him a disgrace.
What is absolute, is Joseph being in prison is what connected him with Pharaoh. Simply by his ability, through God’s enlightenment, Joseph was enabled to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. This connection saved the lives of thousands upon thousands of Hebrews as they lived and became many in Egypt.
After Mrs. Potiphar spews her poisonous story to Mr. Potiphar, that is the last mention of her. There is no mention as to what became of her. Did her husband keep a better eye on her or just not care what became of her. Oddly, this is also the last Scripture mentions of Potiphar.
There is no mention of Joseph wanting revenge or retaliation concerning these two rather dysfunctional people. These two disappear off the pages of Scripture. Joseph, on the other hand, seems to have a forgiving heart toward not only these two, but later toward his own brothers who had put him in the predicament in the first place.
Was Mrs. Potiphar evil, or just had too much time on her hands? Was she lonely, or was she just acting out in her humanness, not knowing the one true living God? Probably a portion of all of the above.
We must learn as Joseph did, that through no fault of our own, what someone may spill forth as evil God will use for our own good and His own glory. (Gen. 50:20).
Something to consider:
For the good or for the bad,
decisions make life changes.
BIBLICAL PEOPLE 