Genesis 39:19 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 39:19
And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
sovereign · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
heard
כִשְׁמֹ֨עַkhish.Mo.a'
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
words
דִּבְרֵ֣יdiv.Rei
H1697
a word · noun, common masculine plural construct
wife
אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ'ish.To
H802
a woman · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
spake
דִּבְּרָ֤הdi.be.Rah
H1696
perhaps properly · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
saying
לֵאמֹ֔רle.Mor
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
manner
כַּדְּבָרִ֣יםka.de.va.Rim
H1697
a word · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
did
עָ֥שָׂהּ'A.sah
H6213
to do or make · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
servant
עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ'av.De.kha
H5650
a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
wrath
אַפּֽוֹ'a.Po
H639
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
kindled
וַיִּ֖חַרvai.Yi.char
H2734
to glow or grow warm · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 4:5-6 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Job 29:16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
Proverbs 6:34-35 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
Proverbs 18:17 He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.
Proverbs 29:12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utter…
Acts 25:16 To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to…
2 Thessalonians 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 39:19–end
Here is, 1. Joseph wronged by his master. He believed the accusation, and either Joseph durst not make his defence by telling the truth, as it would reflect too much upon his mistress, or his master would not hear it, or would not believe it, and there is no remedy, he is condemned to perpetual imprisonment, Gen 39:19, Gen 39:20. God restrained his wrath, else he had put him to death; and that wrath which imprisoned him God made to turn to his praise, in order to which Providence so disposed that he should be shut up among the king's prisoners, the state-prisoners. Potiphar, it is likely, chose that prison because it was the worst; for there the iron entered into the soul (Psa 105:18), but G…
Then she called unto the men of her house--Disappointed and affronted, she vowed revenge and accused Joseph, first to the servants of the house, and on his return to her lord.
See, he hath brought in an Hebrew . . . to mock us--an affected and blind aspersion of her husband for keeping in his house an Hebrew, the very abomination of Egyptians.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 39:14
He hath brought in a Hebrew unto us - Potiphar's wife affects to throw great blame on her husband, whom we may reasonably suppose she did not greatly love. He hath brought in - he hath raised this person to all his dignity and eminence, to give him the greater opportunity to mock us. לפחק letsachek, here translated to mock, is the same word used in Gen 26:8, relative to Isaac and Rebekah; and is certainly used by Potiphar's wife in Gen 39:17, to signify some kind of familiar intercourse not allowable but between man and wife.
John Gill on Genesis 39:19
And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife,.... The story she related concerning Joseph, which was her own invention, and a lie:
which she spake unto him, saying, after this manner did thy servant to me; attempting to violate her chastity, as she pretended:
that his wrath was kindled; that is, against Joseph, without strictly examining her words, which they would not bear, her story being but ill put together, and without hearing Joseph's defence.
The Church Fathers
When she could not protect her own vices, she accused the innocent; she joined deceit to deceit, held on to the possessions of others, herself condemned others and set no limit to her fury. Whatever was the reason for her cruelty? Only that she saw that her cravings were meeting with resistance and her forbidden desires were being frustrated of receiving consent. See the reason why the prison opens—to admit the innocent. Why criminals are freed of their chains—that these may be put on the faithful! Why falsifiers of the truth are let go—that one who refused to falsify his trust may be locked in!
That woman, however, did what she threatened, lied to her husband and was believed; and still God was patient. Holy Joseph was thrown into prison. He was held captive like a guilty man, although God was not offended by him. Nor did God fail him there, since Jacob was not guilty in his sight. The Lord was with holy Joseph; because he loved what was holy, he was not overcome by the love of a woman. Her age did not arouse the chaste mind of the youth, nor did the authority of the one who loved him move him to associate with his despised mistress. With her own lips she plotted against the young man. Secretly and without witnesses the shameless woman seized him with her own hand, urging him by her insolent words to sin. Indeed, he is not overcome there, but as words followed words, so one thing followed another; although he had refused when asked repeatedly, still he was seized at the time he fled.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Potiphar — Dedicated to Ra; i.e., to the sun-god, the Egyptian to whom the Ishmaelites sold Joseph (Gen. 39:1). He was “captain of the guard”, i.e., chief, probably, of the state police, who, while they formed…
Temptation — (1.) Trial; a being put to the test. Thus God “tempted [Gen. 22: 1; R.V., ‘did prove’] Abraham;” and afflictions are said to tempt, i.e., to try, men (James 1:2, 12; comp. Deut. 8:2), putting their…
Accusation, False · .Against Joseph by Potiphar’s wife — .Against Joseph by Potiphar’s wife
Chastity · .Joseph — .Joseph
Decision · .JOSEPH — .JOSEPH
Egypt · History of Israel in: Joseph unjustly cast into prison — History of Israel in: Joseph unjustly cast into prison
Master · .Potiphar’s wife to Joseph — .Potiphar’s wife to Joseph
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Genesis 39:19
When his master heard the words of his wife. Seeing that a color so probable was given to the transaction, there is no wonder that jealousy, the motions of which are exceedingly vehement and ardent, should so far have prevailed with Potiphar, as to cause him to credit the calumnies of his wife. Yet the levity with which he instantly thrust a servant, whom he had found prudent and honest, into prison, without examining the cause, cannot be excused. He ought certainly to have been less under the influence of his wife. And, therefore, he received the just reward of his too easy folly, by cherishing with honor, a harlot in the place of a wife, and by almost performing the office of a pander. Thi…
Joseph in Prison. - Potiphar was enraged at what he heard, and put Joseph into the prison where (אשׁר for שׁם אשׁר, Gen 40:3 like Gen 35:13) the king's prisoners (state-prisoners) were confined. הסּהר בּית: lit., the house of enclosure, from סהר, to surround or enclose (ὀχύρωμα, lxx); the state-prison surrounded by a wall. This was a very moderate punishment. For according to Diod. Sic. (i. 78) the laws of the Egyptians were πικροὶ περὶ τῶν γυναιῶν νόμοι. An attempt at adultery was to be punished with 1000 blows, and rape upon a free woman still more severely. It is possible that Potiphar was not fully convinced of his wife's chastity, and therefore did not place unlimited credence in…
This was the second time that Joseph, while faithfully doing the right thing, was thrown into bondage with his clothing used deceptively as evidence (cp. 37:23-24, 31-33).
Rashi on Genesis 39:19
ויהי כשמע אדניו AND IT CAME TO PASS WHEN HIS LORD HEARD etc. — She said this when he was alone with her, caressing her. This is what she meant by כדברים האלה “things like these did thy servant do to me” — caresses such as these.
