JOSEPH AND POTIPHARS WIFE PARASHAT VAYESHEV GENESIS 39:1-23 Saturday, December 17, 2011

Rabbi Charles Feinberg

This week we read Parashat Vayeshev, which I believe is the most elegant portion in the book of Genesis. It is composed of four interlocking chapters. Each chapter plays off the other in this Parasha. In the first chapter (37), we read how Jacob favored Joseph, about Josephs dreams, about how his brothers came to hate him, and how they tried to dispose of him. In the second chapter (38), we read the story of Yehuda and Tamar, which climaxes with Yehuda taking responsibility for the child that Tamar is bearing. In the third chapter (39), we read the story of Joseph in the house of Potiphar: how Potiphars wife tried to seduce him, how he resisted, and how he was punished and taken to prison. In the last chapter (40), we read of Jacobs stay in prison, how once again he rises to prominence, and how he interprets the dreams of the wine steward and the baker. This week we will study chapter 39, the story of Joseph and the wife of Potiphar. Please read the entire Parasha and then read the material I have gathered. You will find Rashis commentary, a number of Midrashim from the Talmud and Midrash Rabba, and the commentaries of Prof. Robert Alter and The Jewish Study Bible. You will also find a number of questions following the last commentary. I look forward to our session this week. I very much enjoyed last weeks session. RASHIS COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 39
Verse 1: Joseph was brought down: [Scripture now] returns to the earlier narrative, but only interrupted it to relate Yehuda's descent [from power] to the selling of Joseph in order to indicate that it was because of him [Joseph] that they demoted him [Yehuda] from his high position. Also, in order to relate the narrative of Potiphar's wife to the narrative of Tamar, in order to indicate to you that just as this one [Tamar acted] with pure motives so, too, the other one [Potiphar's wife] acted with pure motives. She had seen in her astrological signs that she was destined to have children [descended] from him, but she did not know whether it would be from her or whether from her daughter. Verse 3: That Adonai was with him: He would regularly mention the Name of God. Verse 6: He did not concern himself with anything about him: [Meaning:] he paid no attention to anything. Except for the bread.]: A reference to his wife, but expressed euphemistically (See verse 9 for the clue). Joseph was well-built: Once he perceived himself as a ruler he began to eat, drink and curl his hair. G-d said: "Your father is in mourning and you curl your hair! I will provoke the bear against you." Immediately: Verse 7: His master's wife cast her eyes, etc: Whenever xg` is used it means immediately after. Verse 9: And sin against God: The descendants of Noach were commanded [to observe] the laws of chastity. Verse 10: To lie next to her: Even without intimacy. To be with her: In the World-to-Come [in Gehinnom]. Verse 11: It was on such a day: Meaning: it was when a special day arrived--- a day of merriment, a day of their idolatrous feasts, when they all went to their temples--- that she said, "I have no day as suitable to seduce Joseph, as this day." She [therefore] told them, "I am ill and cannot go [to the temple]."

To do his work.]: Rav and Shmuel [dispute what this means]: One says, [it means] literally, his work, and the other says he intended to have his way with her, but, his father's image appeared to him, etc., as is stated in Mesechet Sotah. Verse 14: See he brought us: This is an abbreviated statement. "He brought us," but it is not made clear who brought him. [Actually,] she was referring to her husband. Hebrew: The word means, One who comes from the other side of the river. [Also,] one who is a descendant of Eber. Verse 16: His master: [The master] of Joseph Verse 17: Came to me:1 In order to mock me, [so did] the Hebrew slave that you brought to us. Verse 19: When his master heard, etc: She told him this when they were intimate. This is what she said: "These are the things that your slave did to me." [I.e.,] intimate things such as these. Verse 21: Granting him favor: So that he was liked by all who saw him, having the same meaning as: "A beautiful bride and well-liked" [that is found] in the Mishnah. Verse 22: He was the one who did it: As Onkelos translates it: It was done at his command. Verse 23: Because Adonai was with him:

xy`a

means because God was with him.

BABYLONIAN TALMUD SOTAH 36B

R. Hana b. Bizna said in the name of R. Simeon the Pious: Because Joseph sanctified the heavenly Name in private on letter was added to him from the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He (See Psalm 81:6); but because Judah sanctified the heavenly Name in public, the whole of his name was called after the Name of the Holy One, blessed be he. How was it with Joseph [that he sanctified the Name]? As it is written: And it came to pass about this time, that he went into the house to do his work (Genesis 39:11). Rabbi Yohanan said: This teaches that both [Joseph and Potiphar's wife] had the intention of acting immorally. 'He went into the house to do his work (ibid.)' Rav and Samuel [differ in their interpretation]. One said that it really means to do his work; but the other said that he went to satisfy his desires. 'And there was none of the men of the house etc. is it possible that there was no man in a huge house like that of this wicked [Potiphar]! It was taught in the School of Rabbi Yishmael: That day was their feast-day, and they had all gone to their idolatrous temple; but she had pretended to be ill because she thought, `I shall not have an opportunity like today for Joseph to associate with me. And she caught him by his garment, saying etc (Genesis 39;12). At that moment his father's image came and appeared to him through the window and said: 'Joseph, your brothers will have their names inscribed upon the stones of the ephod and yours will be among theirs; is it your wish to have your name expunged from among theirs and be called an associate of harlots?' As it is written: He that keeps company with harlots wastes his substance (Proverbs 29:3). But taut was his bow, his arms every-moving (Genesis 49:24). Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of R. Meir: [This means] that his passion subsided. His arms every-moving: he stuck his hands in the ground so that his lust came out from between his finger-nails.

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LXXXVII:3

The way the verse is structured--- ---it literally means "that you brought to us to mock me," implying that that was the reason that Joseph was brought there. Obviously, this was not the case. Rashi amends the syntax of the verse.
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3. Therefore hearken unto me, men of understanding: Far be it from God that He should do wickedness (Job 34:10). What then is the workmanship of the Holy One, blessed be He? -- For the work of a man will He requite unto him, and cause every man to find his ways (ibid.11). R. Meir, R. Judah, and R. Simeon discussed the passage, And Joseph brought evil report of them, etc. (Genesis 37:2). R. Meir said: [He told Jacob,] Your children are suspect of eating limbs torn from the living animal. R. Judah said: They insult the sons of the bondmaids [Bilhah and Zilpah] and call them slaves. R. Simeon said: They cast their eyes on the daughters of the country. R. Judah b. R. Simon said: With respect to all three, A just balance and scale are the Lord's (Proverbs 16:11). The Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked him [Joseph]: You said, "They are to be suspected of eating limbs torn from the living animal": by your life, even in the very act of wickedness they will slaughter ritually, as it says, And they killed a he-goat (Genesis 37:31). You said, "They insult the sons of the bondmaids and call them slaves," ' Joseph was sold for a slave (Psalm 105:17). You said, "They cast their eyes upon the daughters of the land": I will incite a bear against you. HIS MASTER'S WIFE CAST HER EYES UPON JOSEPH AND SAID, LIE WITH ME (GENESIS 39:7). What precedes this passage? And Joseph was well built and handsome (Genesis 39:6). [And this is immediately followed by], HIS MASTER'S WIFE CAST HER EYES UPON JOSEPH. It may be illustrated by a man who sat in the street, penciling his eyes, curling his hair and lifting his heel, while he exclaimed, ' I am indeed a man. ' If you are a man, the bystanders retorted, here is a bear; up and attack it!"

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LXXXVII:4

AND SHE SAID: LIE WITH ME (GENESIS 39:7). R. Samuel b. Nahman said: Accursed are the wicked! In another passage [we find Ruth saying], Spread therefore your skirt over your handmaid (Ruth III, 9); but this one [Potiphar's wife] spoke like an animal, LIE WITH ME.

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LXXXVII:5

AND SAID UNTO HIS MASTER'S WIFE (GENESIS 39:8). He told her: ' It is the practice of the Holy One, blessed be He, to choose the beloved of my father's house for a burnt-offering, as He bade Abraham, Take now your son, your only son, etc. (Genesis 22:2). Shall I then listen to you? Perchance I have been chosen for a burnt-offering, and I will become unfit [through this sin]. Another interpretation of AND SAID UNTO HlS MASTER'S WIFE: The Holy One, blessed be He, is accustomed to appear to the beloved of my father's house at night. To Abraham: The word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision (Genesis 15:1); to Isaac: And the Lord appeared to him on that night (Genesis 26: 24); to Jacob: And he dreamed, and behold a ladder... and, behold, the Lord stood beside him (Genesis 28:12 f.). Shall I then listen to you? Perchance the Lord will reveal Himself to me and find me unclean. BEHOLD MY LORD [MASTER] GIVES NO THOUGHT TO ANYTHING IN THIS HOUSE (Ibid.) He said to her: I am afraid of the Behold My Lord! Adam violated but a light commandment, for which he was banished from the Garden of Eden; how much more then for a grave offence! ' Another interpretation of BEHOLD MY LORD [MASTER]: I am afraid of my father. Because Reuben lay with Bilhah, he was deprived of the birthright and it was given to me. Shall I listen to you and be deprived of my birthright? Another interpretation: BEHOLD MY MASTER-I am afraid of my master (i.e., Potiphar) . ' Then I will kill him, she urged. ' Is it not enough that I should be counted in the company of adulterers, but I am to be counted among murderers too! ' he replied. Yet if you desire this thing (sexual relations); BEHOLD MY MASTER- there he is before you! Another interpretation: I am afraid of the Holy One, blessed be He. ' But He is not here, she urged. ' Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised (Psalm 48:2), he answered. R. Abin said: She drove him from room to room and from chamber to chamber, until she brought him to her bed. Above it was engraved an image of an idol, which she covered with a sheet. You have covered its face

[for shame]; how much more then [should you be ashamed of] Him of whom it is written, The eyes of the Lord, that run to and fro through the whole earth (Zechariah 4:10)!

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LXXXVII:7

7. AND IT CAME TO PASS ON A CERTAIN DAY, WHEN HE WENT INTO THE HOUSE TO DO HIS WORK (GENESIS 39:11). R. Judah said: On that day there was a fete in honor of the Nile; everyone went to see it, but he went into the house to cast up his master's accounts. R. Nehemiah said: It was a day of a theatrical performance, which all flocked to see, but he went into the house to cast up his master's accounts. R. Samuel b. Nahman said: TO DO HIS WORK is meant literally, but that AND THERE WAS NOT A MAN-on examination he did not find himself a man,2 for R. Samuel said: The bow was drawn but it relaxed, as it is written, Yet his bow stayed taut (Genesis. 49:24). R. Isaac said: His seed was scattered and issued through his finger-nails: hence, And the seed of his hands was scattered (ibid.).3 R. Huna said in R. Mattena's name: He saw his father's face, at which his blood cooled: thus it continues, By the hands of the mighty one of Jacob, from thence, from the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel (Genesis 49:24.). Who achieved this? Even by the God of your father, who helped you.

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LXXXVII:9

AND JOSEPH'S MASTER TOOK HIM, AND PUT HIM INTO THE PRISON (XXXIX, 20). I know that you are innocent, he assured him, but [I must do this] lest a stigma fall upon my children.4

PROFESSOR ROBERT ALTER ON GENESIS 39

THIS chapter is the most elegantly symmetrical episode in Genesis. It comprises an introductory narrative frame (verses 1-6), a closing frame (20-23) that elaborately echoes the introductory verses, and the central story of the failed seduction, which is intricately linked to the framing verses by a network of recurring thematic key words. 1. an Egyptian man. This slightly odd designation of the high chamberlain might perhaps be used here in order to be played off against the derogatory identification of Joseph as "a Hebrew man" in verse 14. The household staff are also referred to as "men" (see verse II), though that plural form can include both sexes, which it probably does when the mistress calls in the "people of the house" in verse 14, as she will go on to stress their collective sexual vulnerability to the Hebrew intruder. 2-6. The thematic key words, emphatically repeated in phrase after phrase, are: all, hand, house, blessing, succeed-the last two terms being the manifestation of the reiterated "the LORD was with Joseph." 2. master. Only in the introductory verse is Potiphar referred to by name. Afterward he is designated consistently as Joseph's master. Although the source critics may be right in attributing this difference between verse 1 and the rest of the chapter to a difference in literary strands, the stylistic peculiarity of referring to Josephs lord only by role serves the thematic purpose of constantly highlighting the master-slave relationship and the concomitant issue of trust and stewardship. 6. And Joseph was comely in features and comely to look at. These are exactly the words used to describe Joseph's mother in 29:17. They signal an unsettling of the perfect harmony of Joseph's divinely favored stewardship -- that comprehensive management of "all" that is in the "house" -- as they provide the motivation for the sexual campaign of his mistress.
2
3

He actually went in to sin, but found himself impotent.

Reading wayyafuzu, ' scattered, instead of wayyafozu, ' made taut, and zar'o (his seed) instead of zero'e (the arms of). As the children of a harlot, if I do not pretend to believe her.-For had he really believed her, he would surely have put Joseph to death.
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7. Lie with me. The extraordinary bluntness of this sexual imperative -- two words in the Hebrew-makes it one of the most striking instances of revelatory initial dialogue in the Bible. Against her two words, the scandalized (and perhaps nervous) Joseph will issue a breathless response that runs to thirty- five words in the Hebrew. It is a remarkable deployment of the technique of contrastive dialogue repeatedly used by the biblical writers to define the differences between characters in verbal confrontation. 8. in the house ... all that he has ... placed in my hands. Joseph's protestation invokes the key terms "house," "all," "hand" of the introductory Frame, reminding us of the total trust given him as steward. 10. to lie by her. The narrator, by altering the preposition, somewhat softens the bluntness of the mistress's sexual proposition. This led Abraham ibn Ezra to imagine that she adopted the stratagem of inviting Joseph merely to lie down in bed next to her. 12. she seized him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me." The two-word sexual command, which is all she is ever reported saying to Joseph, is now translated from words into aggressive action. "Garment" (beged) is a generic term. It is certainly not an outside garment or "coat," as E. A. Speiser has it, though the Revised English Bible's "loincloth" probably goes too far in the opposite direction. In any case, Joseph would be naked, or nearly naked, when he runs off leaving the garment behind in her grasping hand. 13. The narrator repeats the terms of the preceding sentence both in order to build up momentary suspense -what will she do now?-- and in order to review the crucial evidence and sequence of events, which she is about to change. 14. he has brought us a Hebrew man to play with us. Rather contemptuously, she refers to her husband neither by name nor title. The designation "Hebrew" is common when the group is referred to in contradistinction to other peoples, but it may well have had pejorative associations for Egyptians. "Play" can mean sexual dalliance or mockery, and probably means both here. "Us" suggests they all could have been game for this lascivious -- or, mocking-barbarian from the north and is an obvious attempt on her part to enlist their sense of Egyptian solidarity. She is probably suggesting that the very supremacy of this foreigner in the household is an insult to them all. He came into me. She plays shrewdly on a double meaning. Though all she is saying is that he came into the house, or chamber, where she was alone, the idiom in other contexts can mean to consummate sexual relations. (It is the expression that in sexual contexts is rendered in this translation as "come to bed with.") 15. when he heard me raise my voice. We, of course, have been twice informed that the raising of the voice came after the flight, as a strategy for coping with it, and not before the flight as its cause. he left his garment by me. She substitutes the innocent "by me" for the narrator's "in her hand." A verbal spotlight is focused on this central evidentiary fact that she alters because of the earlier "left all that he had in Josephs hands" (the Hebrew actually uses the singular "hand"), and we are repeatedly informed that trust was placed in his hand. Now we have a literal leaving of something in her hand, which she changes to by her side. 16. she laid out his garment by her. She carefully sets out the evidence for the frame-up. This is, of course, the second time that Joseph has been stripped of his garment, and the second time the garment is used as evidence for a lie. 17. The Hebrew slave came into me. Talking to her husband, she refers to Joseph as "slave," not "man," in order to stress the outrageous presumption of the slave's alleged assault on his mistress. She avoided the term "slave" when addressing the household staff because they, too, are slaves. Again, she uses the ambiguous phrase that momentarily seems to say that Joseph consummated the sexual act. whom you brought us, to play with me. The accusation of her husband in her words to the people of the house is modulated into a studied ambiguity. The syntax -- there is of course no punctuation in the Hebrew --could be construed either with a clear pause after "brought us," or as a rebuke, "you brought us to play with me." 19. Things of this sort your slave has done to me. Rashi is no doubt fanciful in imagining that the first words here are to be explained by the fact that she is talking to her husband in the midst of lovemaking, but the comment does get into the spirit of her wifely manipulativeness.

20. the prison-house. The reiterated Hebrew term for prison, beyt sohar, occurs only here. It should be noted that the term includes a "house" component which helps establish a link with the opening frame and the tale of attempted seduction. Joseph, though cast down once more, is again in a "house" where he will take charge. And he was there in the prison-house. The division of the text follows the proposal of the nineteenthcentury Italian Hebrew scholar S. D. Luzatto in attaching these words to the concluding frame. In this way, the last part of verse 20 together with verse 21 becomes a perfect mirror image of verse 2. 21-23. The great rhythm of Josephs destiny of successful stewardship now reasserts itself as the language of the introductory frame is echoed here at the end: "God was with Joseph," "granted him favor in the eyes of," "placed in Josephs hands," "all," and, as the summarizing term at the very conclusion of the narrative unit, "succeed."

THE JEWISH STUDY BIBLE ON GENESIS 39

39:1-23: Joseph in Potiphars house: Genesis rejoins the story of Joseph after the digression of chapter 38. The bulk of chapter 39 centers on the heros resistance to seduction and the ensuing false accusation of the spurned matron. It shows remarkable similarities to an Egyptian tale, The Story of Two Brothers. Although some dependence is likely, the biblical narrative adapts its prototype to characteristic Israelite theological and ethical convictions. 39:1-6a: As in chapter 37, which speaks of Jacobs preference for Joseph (vv 3-4), so here the latter is the beneficiary of a mysterious favor, this time from the Lord. One senses that unbeknownst to all at the time, Jacobs favoritism for the son of his old age had been the medium for a higher purpose. Like Laban (30:2730), Potiphar benefits mightily from association with this descendant of Abraham. 6-7: Good looks are often a sign of divine favor in the Tanakh (e.g., I Samuel 9:2; 16:12), but here they set the one who bears them up for a potentially catastrophic temptation 8-9: Josephs pointed deference to his master stands in striking contrast with his dreams of dominance in 37:511. One senses that the brash and unreflective teenager of chapter 37 has matured into a more responsible man, with the appropriate humility. Josephs mention of God is his first. No one mentioned the deity in the previous two chapters. 12: The garment left in her hand (also in verse 13) contrasts with Potiphars placing in his hands all that he owned (v 4). The use of the garment as fraudulent evidence recalls Josephs brothers displaying the bloodstained tunic to their father (37:31-33) and contrasts with Tamars truthful presentation to Judah of his seal and cord and staff (38:25-26). Note the telling contrast between the woman who attempts to dishonor her marriage without success (Mrs. Potiphar) and the woman who, also acting boldly and seductively, succeeds in implementing the law and thus ensures the survival of her family (Tamar). 14: Her clever phrasing suggests a hope to profit from her staffs resentment of a foreigner and perhaps of their boss as well (he had to bring us a Hebrew). Here she sides with her servants (bring us), whereas in verse 17 she sides with her husband (whom you brought into our house), although in both cases she blames him for introducing Joseph into the household. 17-18: Now she blames Joseph primarily, and her husband only indirectly. Note that here (as in v. 15) she describes the garment that was left in her hand (v. 12) as with me, instead, subtly disguising her true involvement. 19-23: The tale ends where it began (v. 2), with an affirmation of Gods presence in Josephs affairs and the success it brings. Even in prison, the young man who had been second in rank in his family (37:3) and second in rank in the chief stewards household (vv. 4-6) achieves the same status, when the warden puts him in charge of the other prisoners.

QUESTIONS
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1. The opening verse of the chapter states that Potiphar bought Joseph from the
Ishmaelites. Yet compare the accounts in 37:28 and 37:36. Who actually bought and sold Joseph? Why might there be such an obvious contradiction in the Torah?

2. What is the relationship of chapter 39 to chapter 38, the story of Tamar? What is
Rashis take on this question? Rashi says that Potiphars wife hoped to have children with Joseph. According to the Midrash, it was her daughter who was supposed to have children with Joseph? What is the basis of this Midrash? See Genesis 41:45. 3. The Midrashim all assume that Joseph was really tempted to have sexual relations with Mrs. Potiphar. Are there any clues in the text for this assumption?

4. Why do you think Joseph resisted Mrs. Potiphars advances? The Midrash makes
a whole list of possible reasons. Which ones seem the most logical? 5. The Midrash compares Mrs. Potiphar unfavorably to Ruth. What is the major difference between the two? What is the implication of the Midrash regarding the passage in Ruth that is quoted? 6. What are some of the key words that repeat in this Parasha? How does their repetition enrich the narrative? 7. In 39:8, the Torah states that Joseph refused. The word for refused does not appear that often in the Torah. But it does appear three times in the JacobJoseph cycle of stories: 37:35, 39:8, and 48:19. Is there any relationship among three verses?

8. What is the significance of clothing in the Joseph stories? What are the two
meanings to the Hebrew root

cba?

9. The Midrash assumes that Potiphar knew Joseph was innocent but had to send
him to prison for the sake of his children. What does it mean by that? Do you think Potiphar was wise to the ways of his wife?

10. Why do you think that Potiphars name is only mentioned at the beginning of the
chapter? Why is Mrs. Potiphars name not mentioned at all?