Genesis 39 - 40
Joseph in Potiphar’s House
39Now Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian official of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him 1from the aIshmaelites, who had brought him down there. 2aAnd Yahweh was with Joseph, so he became a 1successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. 3Now his master asaw that Yahweh was with him and how Yahweh bcaused all that he did to succeed in his hand. 4So Joseph afound favor in his sight and 1attended on him; and he appointed him overseer over his house, and ball that he owned he gave in his hand. 5Now it happened that from the time he appointed him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, Yahweh ablessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus bthe blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field. 6So he left everything he owned in Joseph’s hand; and with him there he did not 1concern himself with anything except the 2food which he 3ate. Now Joseph was abeautiful in form and beautiful in appearance.
7And it happened after these events athat his master’s wife 1set her eyes on Joseph and said, “bLie with me.” 8But ahe refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master 1does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has given all that he owns into my hand. 9“1,aThere 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 bsin against God?” 10So it happened that as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her.
11Now it happened 1one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. 12Then she seized him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled and went outside. 13Now it happened, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14that she called to the men of her household and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in a 1Hebrew to us to laugh at us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I 2screamed. 15“Now it happened that when he heard that I raised my voice and 1screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.” 16And she placed his garment beside her until his master came home. 17Then she aspoke to him 1with these words, saying, “The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to laugh at me; 18and as I raised my voice and 1screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”
Joseph Is Put into Jail
19Now it happened that when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “1This is what your slave did to me,” ahis anger burned. 20So Joseph’s master took him and aput him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. 21But aYahweh was with Joseph and 1extended lovingkindness to him and bgave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. 22So the chief jailer agave into the hand of Joseph all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was 1the one who did it. 23aThe chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s hand because bYahweh was with him; and whatever he did, cYahweh made to succeed.
Joseph Interprets the Officials’ Dreams
40Now it happened that after these things, athe cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 2And Pharaoh was afurious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. 3So he put them in confinement in the house of the acaptain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned. 4And the captain of the bodyguard appointed Joseph as overseer over them, and he 1attended to them; and they were in confinement for 2some time. 5Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation. 6Now Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them, and behold, they were dejected. 7So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, saying, “aWhy are your faces so sad today?” 8Then they said to him, “aWe have 1had a dream, and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “bDo not interpretations belong to God? Recount it to me, please.”
9So the chief cupbearer recounted his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream, 1behold, there was a vine in front of me; 10and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes. 11“Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s 1hand.” 12Then Joseph said to him, “This is the ainterpretation of it: the three branches are three days; 13within three more days Pharaoh will 1lift up your head and restore you to your 2office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer. 14“Only remember me when it goes well with you, and please ashow me lovingkindness by remembering me to Pharaoh and getting me out of this house. 15“For aI was in fact stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the pit.”
16And the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, so he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; 17and in the top basket there were some of all 1sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” 18Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; 19within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head off of you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off of you.”
20Thus it happened on the third day, which was aPharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; band he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21And he restored the chief cupbearer to his 1office, and ahe put the cup into Pharaoh’s 2hand; 22but ahe hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but aforgot him.