Genesis 39:2 Commentary and Bible Study

Joseph is brought down to Egypt as a slave, despite what he is destined to become later, nevertheless he prospers and becomes the key servant to his master, Potiphar. His bearing is such that he becomes a favourite. Probably, Potiphar has many slaves, but this inferior one suddenly rises to prominence. His diligence, and trustworthiness, and the Lord’s blessing all he does, earns him the favour of his master. Joseph became a prosperous or successful man, and his master could not help but see this. He was still a slave, serving in his master’s house, but he evidently served with good will and respect for his master, and he is rewarded with status in the house. Potiphar knew that the Lord was Joseph’s God, and it is obvious that Joseph was open about his faith and did not hide it from anyone. Potiphar took this seriously enough to conclude that the Lord was blessing Joseph, and blessing him in a most unusual way. God was with Joseph, and his honesty earned him the trust of his master. He served, not with eye-service, but whether or not he was in his master’s sight, he sought his master’s good. These qualities are so rare that when Christian character is discovered, it often earns respect even from the unconverted. Joseph found favour with his master and his master greatly valued his service and knew he could trust Joseph to work for his interests. Integrity, honesty, hard work, and reliability were rare virtues in Egypt, and Joseph was very different to most slaves. He could relieve his master of much of the burden of running the affairs of his house. When a man shows himself to be trustworthy in lesser matters, he shows that he can be trusted in greater matters also. Honesty earns more trust, and Potiphar never saw Joseph to do anything to make him question this, and so he put all his affairs in Joseph’s hands. Joseph evidently also had the ability to manage other staff in the household, and was therefore given the position of overseer over the entire house. That would have relieved Potiphar of a great deal of trouble and effort, but he had complete peace of mind about handing over the running of the house to this Hebrew slave, and his household saw much blessing. Not only so, but it was obvious to Potiphar that this blessing was due, not just to Joseph skills and integrity, but to the Lord, his God. The blessing was coming from God, and though Potiphar did not worship the Lord, he could appreciate that God was blessing his house for Joseph’s sake. The timing of the improvement in his household affairs was very clearly linked to the time Joseph had been made overseer. Joseph ran the entire estate, including the use of Potiphar’s agricultural land. So great was his trust in Joseph, that he stopped even keeping a check on what he was doing, because he was so sure that Joseph would never cheat him of anything. The last thing the passage tells us is that Joseph was very good looking, and this prepares for what comes next.