Joseph Imprisoned

Despite his loyalty and trustworthiness, more trouble soon came into Joseph’s life. As we see in Genesis 39:6-7, Joseph was a handsome young man, and Potiphar’s wife soon pursued him to come to bed with her. Joseph rejected her advances, but she kept pursuing him as we see recorded in Genesis 39:11-18.

On a day when none of the other servants happened to be in the house at the time, Joseph went in to do his work. Potiphar’s wife then caught him by his garment, demanding that he come to bed with her. Joseph ran out of the house to get away from her, and as he did so, he left his garment in her hand.

In her anger and frustration at having been rejected yet again, she called out to some of her other servants, showed them Joseph’s garment that he had left behind, and then she accused of him of trying to force himself upon her. She said that as soon as she screamed for help, Joseph fled, leaving his garment beside her. When Potiphar came home, she told him the same story, and when he heard it, he had Joseph imprisoned.

While Joseph was in prison, the Lord was with him there also. The Lord showed him kindness and granted him favor with the prison warden.

The warden, as Potiphar had done before, came to trust Joseph and eventually put him in charge of the other prisoners. He gave him responsibility for running the affairs of the prison, because it was evident that the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Sometime later, Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker displeased him, and he had them thrown into the same prison where Joseph was. After they had been in custody for a while, both the cupbearer and the baker had a dream the same night. Each one told Joseph of the dream he had, and Joseph, saying that interpretations belong to God, interpreted the dream of each man.

Joseph interpreted the dream of the cupbearer saying that he would be released from prison and restored to Pharaoh’s service in three days. He then asked the cupbearer to remember him and mention his case to Pharaoh, because he had done nothing to deserve the imprisonment that he was suffering. Joseph then interpreted the dream of the baker, saying that he would be beheaded in three days.

When the three days had passed, events transpired exactly as Joseph said they would. The cupbearer was restored to Pharaoh’s service. However he did not remember Joseph, but forgot about him and did not mention his case to Pharaoh as Joseph had asked him. Joseph continued to be imprisoned though he had done no wrong.