History of Israel: Joseph in Egypt

In this episode of Bible Backdrop, we pick up again with Joseph. He is sold as a slave to Potiphar and then, through a false accusation, put into prison. However, it's here that he will have contact with Pharaoh and ultimately save both Egypt and Israel. As we continue the narrative, we answer a few questions. Who was Potiphar? Why was his wife so focused on Joseph? What does a cupbearer do? Listen to this episode of Bible Backdrop to learn this and much more!

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Transcript

Hello again and welcome to the next episode of Bible Backdrop! Today, we’re continuing our series on the history of Israel by following Joseph into Egypt. Last episode, we saw him being sold into slavery while also looking at the narrative with Judah and Tamar. Genesis 39 picks up again with Joseph where he finds himself sold to Potiphar. So who was Potiphar? According to the Bible he was “captain of the guard” for Pharaoh. The definition of this is somewhat unclear; he could have been the captain of Pharaoh’s bodyguard or the leader of a peacekeeping force. He also may have been in charge of the prisons. Pharaoh, of course, was the ultimate ruler in Egypt. Much more than simply a king, he was in many ways worshiped as a god by the people. Potiphar, then, was a high official in the Pharaoh’s court with all the fortune and favor that comes along with it. 

Joseph comes into this environment and quickly establishes himself as being head and shoulders above the other slaves. We’re not sure exactly how this happened. It’s possible that, while living with Jacob, he had more administrative type duties to do while his brothers did the more physical type labor. He also had to be a quick study to learn and understand Egyptian customs and he probably had to learn the language. He became so good at his job that the Bible says “So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.” Even though he was successful, this must have been a humbling time for Joseph but he was about to be humbled even more.

If we follow the math in Genesis, Joseph is in Potiphar’s house for about 11 years; from age 17 to 28...approximately. It’s at this point that he catches the eye of someone that turns out to be bad news. Verses 6-7 say “Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said ‘Come to bed with me.’” Joseph declines but his response is interesting. At the end of verse 9 he says “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” He doesn’t say he can’t sin against Potiphar...he says he can’t sin against God. This says quite a bit. Joseph knows who he really works for; he doesn’t work for Potiphar, but he works for God. He may realize that God has placed him here for a reason. It’s also interesting how this is really the first time that Joseph has mentioned God. Even in relaying his dreams, he never said they came from God. Maybe his relationship with God was not strong when he was sold, but he remembered his father’s stories and drew closer to God during his time as a slave.

As time goes on, Potiphar’s wife becomes more insistent but Joseph holds his ground. This is also quite interesting by what is not said. Why was Potiphar’s wife so intent on making this happen? One possibility is that Potiphar may have been a eunuch and the marriage was a political one. The Hebrew word for “official” in verse 1 is the same as eunuch. There’s quite a bit of debate on this and nothing is settled, but it would make sense why she kept trying. Adultery, while definitely illegal and discouraged, was not uncommon in Egyptian culture. Still, why did she keep coming back to Joseph? Yes, he was handsome but if sexual satisfaction was all she wanted, she probably could have found it with another slave that may have been more willing. Why keep coming back to Joseph and get rejected? Personally, I believe it was two things: First, she may have had an obsessive personality. Once she set her eyes on Joseph, that’s the only person she wanted and his constant rejection only increased that desire. Second, although not mentioned, I believe there was a spiritual battle going on here. God is using Joseph to save His people and Satan is working just as hard to thwart that plan. Similar to Judah and Tamar, God is using these situations to bring about His plan. Satan is working to either make Joseph sin and stop the plan or, as we’ll see, have something else happen to Joseph. He inflames the desires of Potiphar’s wife and triggers her obsessive nature. 

As chapter 39 continues, Potiphar’s wife steps up here game to an ultimate showdown. Joseph goes into the house to start his duties and she has made it so that nobody else is in the house. Joseph is certainly unaware of this when she shows up and tries one more time to get him to sleep with her. Joseph runs away but she clutches his cloak and he has no choice but to leave it behind. 

This act will lead to what seems like a great injustice, but it all works to God’s plan. Seeing that she has constantly been rejected, Potiphar’s wife accuses Joseph of attempted rape. First, she tells her servants then later she tells Potiphar himself. The Bible says his “anger burned.” Interestingly, it doesn’t say who his anger burned against. We’re led to believe it was Joseph, but that wouldn’t explain what Potiphar did. Slaves, of course, had no rights and their masters could punish them anytime...even up to capital punishment. In a case like this, summary execution would be the normal procedure. However, that’s not what happened here. Potiphar put him in prison. Could Potiphar’s anger have been against his wife? He probably knew her personality better than anyone. He also knew that Joseph had been a loyal servant for 11 years and this accusation was very out of character. Why do it now? Why not any other time? Unfortunately, Potiphar was stuck between a rock and a hard place. His wife had made an accusation of a slave and had hard evidence. The Bible also doesn’t mention that Joseph made a defense. He understood his station as a slave and knew that it would probably be useless; it may even make the situation worse if he denied the allegations. Seeing this, Potiphar decides to put Joseph in prison; perhaps the very prison he runs as captain of the guard. While we see this as an injustice, it is actually an act of mercy. 

Why does God do this to Joseph? While not explicit, Joseph may have needed to be humbled again to really understand that God was in control. God is also, in a way, getting him closer to Pharaoh. As a slave with Potiphar, he would not have the contact he will have in this Egyptian prison.

Before moving on, one thing I wanted to touch on was the concept of a prison in ancient times. For ancient civilizations, prisons were pretty unusual and if they did exist, people usually didn’t stay there long. Most of the time, people were brought up on charges and were sentenced the same day. Either they were executed, put into slavery, or given their freedom. The idea of a prison where the state would have to pay for someone to live and not do anything for the state was seen as counter-productive. In this case, the prison may have included bunkhouses where those that had to do slave labor would stay and cells where people would be held for trial. Again, justice was much swifter in these times as opposed to modern days.

Once he’s thrown into prison, the warden sees something special about Joseph and puts him in charge of the administrative duties of the prison. It may have been that Potiphar put in a good word for Joseph with the warden. Either way, Joseph is honing his administrative talents. Even though he doesn’t know it, God is preparing him for what is to come where these talents will save not only Egypt, but his family from whom will be born the Messiah.

Some time goes by when two people close to Pharaoh are put into prison and meet Joseph. This encounter will change the course of history for two nations. One of these men is Pharaoh’s cupbearer and the other is his baker. What is a cupbearer? In ancient times, the cupbearer poured the wine for Pharaoh and the royal table. It was a position of supreme trust as the threat of poisoning was very real and the cupbearer had to be trustworthy. It also meant that the cupbearer would be a close confidant and, in some cases, could even control access to Pharaoh. So this was a position of high importance. Similarly, the baker was in charge of all the baked goods that were served to Pharaoh and would be another trustworthy person. Both are thrown into prison. Why? The Bible simply says that they “offended their master.” They may have done something egregious as part of their official duties...or they may have been caught saying something negative about Pharaoh or someone on the court...or they may have shared some secret that they were not supposed to tell. It’s also possible that they were suspected of a coup against Pharaoh and were put into prison until the situation was sorted. Nobody knows, but it was bad enough for them to be thrown into prison while their fate was being decided. While there both men have a dream and are dejected because they don’t know what it means. Joseph, seeing their sadness, asks what’s wrong and they relate that they each had a dream but couldn’t interpret it. Joseph tells them that God owns all interpretations and to tell him the dreams.

The cupbearer relays his dream first. He sees a vine and 3 branches grow from the vine. Then grapes miraculously grow quickly on the vine and he crushes them and puts the juice in Pharaoh’s cup that is in his hand. Joseph tells him that the 3 branches are three days and that in that time he will be restored to his position. He asks the cupbearer to remember him to Pharaoh as he has been kidnapped from his home and unjustly punished for a crime he didn’t commit.

The baker, seeing the positive report about the cupbearer’s dream, relays his own. He has 3 baskets on his head with the top one filled with bread. The birds kept taking and eating the bread from the top basket. God revealed the interpretation to Joseph, but it must have pained him to give it. The 3 baskets were three days when he would lose his head and be impaled on a pole and the birds of the air would eat his flesh from his bones. So it seems that in the course of the investigation, the cupbearer would be cleared but the baker would be found guilty.

Sure enough, Pharaoh’s birthday is 3 days later. He restores the cupbearer to his position and has the baker executed. The Bible then says that the cupbearer forgot about Joseph. I’m not sure how that’s possible given the circumstances. He was probably so relieved at being restored and having to attend to his duties, it must have slipped his mind. Or he purposely “forgot” Joseph since there wouldn’t be a reason to bring up his case to Pharaoh.

Fast forward two years and now we come to the crux of the story. Pharaoh has two dreams and is very disturbed by them. He explains them to his magicians and wise men, but they cannot interpret it. At that point, the cupbearer remembers Joseph and tells Pharaoh about his encounter with the Hebrew and how he was able to interpret the dream. Pharaoh sends for him and, after shaving and changing his clothes, Joseph is brought before Pharaoh who explains his dreams to him. In the first dream, 7 cows come out of the Nile river, sleek and fat. After that 7 gaunt and thin cows come out and eat the fat cows. In the second dream, 7 large heads of grain grow from a single stalk. Then 7 small and withered grains grow and destroy the large grains. God gives Joseph the interpretation. For the next 7 years, there will be abundance in Egypt as never before. That is the 7 fat cows and large heads of grain. After that will come 7 years of severe famine that will be so bad, that the good years will not be remembered. God has given the dream twice to confirm that He will do this and will do it soon. Then Joseph reaches into his administrative experience to make a suggestion. Commissioners should be appointed to take a fifth of all the produce of the land to be gathered during the 7 years of plenty and stored against the 7 years of famine. This way the country would not be ruined by the famine.

What happens next had to surprise everyone...especially Joseph. He probably expected to be sent back to prison once he was done. At best, he may have been hoping to be freed so he could return to his home. However, Pharaoh surprises him and probably everyone in the court by appointing Joseph as his second in command...basically, he became the prime minister of Egypt and would be in charge of the program that he suggested. His time in Potiphar’s house and in prison would not be wasted as he would use those administrative talents to save not only Egypt, but also his family and the future nation of Israel.

Along with the title, Joseph also was given a new name: Zaphenath-Paneah. Doing a quick search on Google revealed several possible interpretations. It may mean “He who deciphered what was hidden”; it may mean “the god speaks and he lives”; some believe it means “creator” or “preserver of life.” Any of these could work for Joseph. Along with a new name, he is given a wife...a daughter of the priest of On. On was not a god, but a city, also called Heliopolis. She was probably the daughter of a priest of the sun god who was the chief deity in Egypt. During the years of plenty, she bears him 2 sons who he names Manasseh and Ephraim. Keep these names in mind for future episodes.

On that note, I think we’ll stop here with the narrative about Joseph. Next episode, I’m going to talk a bit about what Egypt was like when Joseph was there. The culture, the language, and their religion. If you are enjoying Bible Backdrop, please subscribe and leave a 5 star review. Word of mouth is still the best way for this podcast to grow, so please tell a friend and have them subscribe. If you wish to get in touch with the show, you can e-mail me at BibleBackdrop@gmail.com. Thank you again for listening and have a great week!