Genesis 39: Overcoming setbacks

Joseph isn’t enslaved by enslavement or imprisoned by imprisonment.

Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as we discover new insights and new perspectives from a very old book.

I’m reading the Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

It’s interesting that the YLT calls Potiphar a “eunuch” whereas the NRSV an “officer.” Apparently the original Hebrew word had two different meanings. “Eunuch” makes sense as a reason Potiphar’s wife required sexual attention, except that eunuchs wouldn’t have been married in the first place. I’m assuming that “officer” is contextually more accurate.

If, as I’ve been saying throughout these writings, that “the LORD” is a place in our consciousness, then it appears that Joseph had a high degree of that consciousness, and seemed to prosper with grace and ease. In the last chapter it’s shown that he was pre-eminent among the brothers, although the second-youngest. When he’s sold to Egypt as a slave, he quickly rises to manage all of Potiphar’s household and affairs. And when he’s imprisoned, the chief jailer puts him in charge.

In other words, when Joseph has setbacks — enslavement and imprisonment are pretty big setbacks —…