Yosef runs his master’s entire house and refuses to sin even when none of the household is there.
The story
Yosef was brought down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian and one of Pharaoh’s officers, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. God was with Yosef, and he prospered. Yosef was in the house of his Egyptian master, and his master saw that God was with him, and that God made all he did succeed.
וַיְהִי ה׳ אֶת־יוֹסֵף וַיְהִי אִישׁ מַצְלִיחַ
Bereshit 39:2
Yosef won his master’s favour and served him, and his master put him in charge of his house and all he owned. From then on God blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Yosef, blessing all he had, at home and in the field. His master left everything in Yosef’s hands and, with Yosef there, knew nothing but the bread he ate.
וַיַּעֲזֹב כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ בְּיַד־יוֹסֵף
Bereshit 39:6
Yosef was well built and handsome. After this, his master’s wife cast her eyes on Yosef and asked him to lie with her. Yosef refused.
Yosef told her that with him there, his master did not know what was in the house, and put all he owned in Yosef’s hands. No one in this house was above him, and his master held back nothing from him but her, since she was his wife. He asked how he could do this great wrong and sin against God.
וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־יֶשׁ־לוֹ נָתַן בְּיָדִי
Bereshit 39:8
Day after day she spoke to Yosef, and he did not give in to her. One day he came into the house to do his work, and none of the household was there. She caught him by his garment and asked again. He left his garment in her hand and fled outside.
He is no greater than I am in this house, and he has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do this great wrong, and sin against God?
Words from the verse
וְלֹא־חָשַׂךְand did not hold back
בַּאֲשֶׁרbecause
וְחָטָאתִיand I would sin
What it teaches: Awe of Heaven
Always remembering before Whom we stand, and so keeping away from wrong.
Yosef speaks of the trust his master placed in him, and ends by saying the act would be a sin against God. And when none of the household was there, he left his garment and fled. So the Torah teaches that awe of Heaven means remembering before Whom we stand, even when there are no witnesses.
A question to sit with
What helps you keep God in mind when no one else is watching?
Questions about the story
According to the story, because of whom did God bless the Egyptian’s house?
Because of Potiphar, who bought Yosef
Because of Pharaoh, king of Egypt
Because of Yosef, who was put in charge
Answer
c. Because of Yosef, who was put in charge
From the time his master put Yosef in charge of his house, God blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Yosef, blessing all he had, at home and in the field.
According to Yosef, what had his master held back from him?
Only his wife
Only his fields
Only what was in the house
Answer
a. Only his wife
Yosef said his master had put everything in his hands and held back nothing from him except his wife.
The lesson
Whoever knows before Whom they stand needs no witnesses to say no.
For this week
Try this week: when something small tempts you and no one is looking, get up and walk away, and tell yourself, “God is with me here too.”
From the sources
The Talmud, in tractate Sotah, says that Yosef “sanctified the name of Heaven in private,” and Yehuda “sanctified the name of Heaven in public.” For what Yosef did in private, with no audience, one letter from the name of God was added to his own.
The verses are from Miqra according to the Masorah (Wikisource, CC BY-SA 4.0), via Sefaria, without the cantillation marks. On this site the four-letter Name is written ה׳.
