The actual identity of the woman known as “Potiphar’s wife” has never been verified, though in the book of Genesis chapter 39, she is the woman who caused Joseph to be thrown in jail unjustly. This gives some historians enough clues to speculate that she likely lived around 1600-1700 B.C., possibly when Sesostris I was Pharaoh of Egypt. Her story has all the sizzle and drama of a soap opera, but her adverse, immoral actions were real. She became a part of the salvation story when she crossed paths with Joseph, Abraham’s great grandson, whom God used to protect the lineage of Abraham and to bring the promised Savior into the world.
Joseph experienced life’s ups and downs…literally. His family was so dysfunctional that when he was a teenager, his brothers, in a fit of jealousy, threw him into a cistern to die. But they had second thoughts and sold him to a caravan of Arabian merchants on their way to Egypt. The merchants in turn sold him as a slave to Potiphar, the captain of the Egyptian Pharaoh’s guard. We can draw some insights from the Genesis story about Joseph and Potiphar’s wife:
Potiphar’s wife was a powerful woman.
Joseph rose to new heights as Potiphar’s slave because God blessed him and all those around him. Potiphar trusted Joseph so much that he concerned himself only with what he himself ate! In Genesis 39:11-23, we find the story of Joseph’s fall from Potiphar’s highly trusted aide to a despised prisoner because of a lie told by Potiphar’s wife. Whether the attacks came from jealous brothers or zealous women, “God sees to it that Joseph ends up in situations in which he will be elevated to a position of leadership.”[1]
We can only speculate about the kind of life Potiphar’s wife led, but we do know her husband was one of the most powerful men in Egypt. The position may compare to the head of the President’s Secret Service in the United States. Another possibility is that he was the harem guard which means he may have been a eunuch. This leads to conjecture by historians about the nature of their relationship as husband and wife. Whatever the case, her husband was an influential and powerful man in the Egyptian government.
Who was Potiphar’s wife? “We find the story of Joseph’s fall from Potiphar’s highly trusted aide to a despised prisoner because of a lie told by Potiphar’s wife.”
As an Egyptian, she lived in a polytheistic nation that also was a world power of the time, which may account for some of her attitudes. The culture was rigidly dictated by class structure. In the ruling class, she had status and authority over others. From the biblical description, we know she ran a household that included servants, and she was comparatively wealthy.
Potiphar’s wife abused her power with sexual immorality.
From Genesis 39:10, we learn that she participated in her husband’s work enough to be acquainted with Joseph, and she had daily contact with him. We know that Joseph was a handsome young man (v. 6), and we might imagine that the wife of a powerful Egyptian official would be a beautiful and sensuous woman. As Joseph moved up the ranks to become Potiphar’s most trusted assistant, she had so much access to him that “she cast her eyes on him” (Genesis 38:6–7, ESV). These terms imply that she became infatuated with Joseph, filled with an ardent desire that she chose not to deny.
She propositioned Joseph at least twice and tried her best to seduce him, expecting him to submit to her commands: “And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and . . . she caught him by his garment, saying, ‘Lie with me.’ But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house” (Genesis 39:7a, 12 ESV).
Joseph rejected temptation because the strength he had in God far exceeded the power of the woman’s charms. He was acquainted with the dangers of sexual sin. In fact, the writer of Joseph’s story contrasts Joseph’s moral strength with his brother Judah’s moral weakness. The biblical account interrupts Joseph’s story, leaving him sold as a slave and on his way to Egypt. Genesis 38 takes a detour with the account of Judah’s adultery with Tamar.
“Joseph rejected temptation because the strength he had in God far exceeded the power of the woman’s charms.”
In James’s letter to the church, we read, “But each person is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15, ESV). Joseph knew the kind of damage and shame such immorality would cause. He had the wisdom to stand firm against the woman’s demands because of those repercussions. He “refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge'” and, “‘How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?'” (Genesis 39:8–9, ESV).
She abused her power with dishonesty.
When Joseph refused her advances, she was so humiliated and infuriated that she launched a threefold attack. First, to incriminate Joseph, she stole his cloak and cried out to the servants, staging herself as the victim. Next, she had to create a diversion to hide her own actions with a veiled accusation against her husband: “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us” (Genesis 39:14b, ESV). Finally, she insulted Potiphar to his face and further muddled the story by exploiting the racial bias against the Hebrews, when she said, “‘The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me’” (Genesis 39:17, ESV).
The scheme his wife created allowed Potiphar no opportunity to view the incident calmly. Commonsense questions could have exposed the lies. How would it happen, on a normal day, that no one was anywhere in or near the house to hear her screams for help? Is it feasible that no one saw or questioned what had happened when Joseph ran to his own quarters naked (without his cloak)? How is it that the “victim” did not find servants and have Joseph detained in some way? Where in the protest is the actual accusation of rape or an attack? And finally, why didn’t Potiphar have Joseph executed? This could have been a common punishment for a slave or servant who in some way assailed his master’s wife. Her troubling story begs the question: with whom was Potiphar angry?
“The scheme his wife created allowed Potiphar no opportunity to view the incident calmly.”
Potiphar’s wife could have used her human power for good instead of evil.
Potiphar’s wife had the freedom and the opportunities to do good. She simply chose not to. When she demanded, “Lie with me,” Joseph refused, saying, “How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” The contrast is startling. What makes it so startling is that Joseph does not express repulsion toward the woman, but toward offending God. When we have a decision to make, our criterion should be, “Will it offend God?”
Human power can never preclude God from conducting his plans. Yet God has also endowed humans with a great measure of power. We can control ourselves and use the abilities and opportunities God gives us for good. Every person has freedom of choice, and it is within our power to choose good. Another aspect of human power is the impact we can have over other people. Often a simple suggestion will affect another’s actions. We can exert that power through our example, our attitudes, and how we treat others. A position of authority further allows us to influence someone else and provides a multitude of opportunities to show goodwill.
“When we have a decision to make, our criterion should be, ‘Will it offend God?'”
It’s worth remembering that we women are included in this; we also have a great measure of God-given power. Feminine “wiles” and sexuality need to not go underestimated. Potiphar’s wife was probably accustomed to getting her way with men. However, she missed a wonderful opportunity to be an honored part of the salvation story instead of the villain. Whatever relational power we wield, let’s make sure we are offering it to God each day to be used for his purposes, not our own selfish ambition.
[1] Paul Kissling, Genesis, Volume 2, College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin: College Press, 2009), 453.
