40 

1  And it came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt.  Neh. 1:11                              2   And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker.                                                                         vv.20-22                                          3  So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard,in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined.     39:20                                                4  And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for awhile.

   What The baker and the butler did to offend the Pharaoh we do not know, some speculate the maybe they tried to poison him, or that a fly was found in the wine cup of the Pharaoh, and that maybe some sand or a pebble was found in a loaf of bread. As I said it is mere speculation as to the offense caused by these men, so I won’t dwell on this matter. One thing I can feel comfortable in saying for sure is that God has a special purpose for Joseph. And so I call it divine intervention for His purpose and will in Joseph’s life.     It is interesting to note, and remind the reader, that the Captain of the guard of the prison is none other than Potipher himself (Gen 39:1), So when Joseph was placed in prison by Potipher because of his wife’s accusation against Joseph, it makes it clear to me that this is why Joseph was put in charge of all the prisoners by the keeper of the prison. Either the keeper of the prison already knew of Joseph because of his stature during his time in charge of Potipher’s house and saw how everything prospered under Joseph’s care, or Potipher himself ordered the keeper of the prison to place him in charge of the prisoners.                                                                                                 On the spiritual side of these verses I see another example, or instance; if you will?  Of Joseph being seen here as a type of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: Joseph is placed in charge of all the prisoners, yet in the instance of the Butler and baker We read in verse four that Joseph served these two men. I am reminded of what Jesus Himself said to his disciples about the master being the servant and the servant is the master during the passover dinner and the  ( John 13:13-16), Wait !! oh but it doesn’t end there, here comes the meat! Which was just revealed to me as I was reading about the passover dinner, but I will only give you a taste of the meat here in this comment. We see that these two men, one identified as the cupbearer; (Gen 40:11,21) He poured the wine and gave it to the Pharaoh, and the baker made the bread for the Pharah to eat. In the New Covenant Jesus took the cup gave thanks, and gave it to his disciples, telling them, “Drink all of it, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins.” (Matt. 26:27-28), As we will read in the following Verses the butler is a symbol of the wine of the New Covenant. Also at the passover dinner, as they ate, Jesus took a loaf of bread and blessed it and broke it, and He gave it to the disciples saying, “Take, Eat; this is my body  (Mark 14: 22, Luke 22:19), here the baker is symbolic of the bread at the passover dinner. I will elaborate more on what I mean by the butler and baker being symbolic of the bread and wine of the New Covenant in verses twenty one thru twenty three of this chapter (which I feel is more appropriate to comment on then, rather than now).                                                    

5  Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with it’s own interpretation.          41:1                                          6  And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad.                                                                                                                        7  So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “why do you look so sad today?”   Neh. 2:2                          8  And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”

 In chapter thirty seven we see that Joseph has been given the gift of the interpretation of dreams. Joseph does not boast of himself for this gift, instead he gives all the glory to God, vs. 8. knowing this Joseph may be reflecting back to his own dreams he had when he lived with his family in Canaan, yet still unfulfilled. The butler and the baker (Which are not slaves) but Egyptians of high authority in some form or another, which is why they are entrusted with the food and drink of the Pharaoh (Who is considered a god to the Egyptian people), I am saying this to point out the fact that the Egyptians placed dreams of great importance and meaning in their lives. Joseph exhorts them that it is God alone who interprets dreams. Joseph asking them to tell him of their dreams is not his way of claiming to be God, instead he is saying (In my opinion), and I’m only second guessing here, “Tell me of these dreams and I will go to God and ask him the meanings of them.” not boasting of himself, but giving the glory to God Almighty.

9  Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him,”Behold, in my dream a vine was before me,                                                                                      10  “and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, it’s blossoms shot forth, and it’s clusters brought forth ripe grapes.                          11  “Then the Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into the Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.  12  And Joseph said to him,”This is the interpretation of it:The three branches are three days.                                                      v.20                                            13  “Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head  and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler.                                                                      14 But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house.      15  “For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”

In my opinion, verse nine is another example of Joseph being a type of Jesus. The chief butler told Joseph, “In my dream a vine was before me,” Jesus said to his disciples: I am the vine (John. 15:1), Joseph is before the butler, and the vine here in the butler’s dream is Joseph, and he is symbolic of Jesus Christ (Who is the true vine), Joseph being the type of Jesus here,  would never claim to be the vine, for that title belongs to our Lord and savior (Which in my opinion is why he gives no interpretation of the vine), I believe Joseph is well aware of the promise of the coming Messiah, and he would dare not claim to be the Messiah. God may have even revealed the Messiah to him when he went and inquired to the Lord of the butler’s dream. The branches tell of the fate of the butler. Again Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches” in this case, Joseph is symbolic of the vine, and the butler is symbolic of the branches. Let’s not forget that in this dream, the butler saw the branches flowered and the clusters brought forth much grapes. The butler pressed the grapes, poured them into to cup, and layed it in the Pharaoh’s hand: Jesus also said that the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it remains in the vine (John 15:5),The butler took and pruned the grapes,  pressed them in the Pharaohs cup, produced a wonderful drink for the king, and  put the cup in his hand. And it was thru Joseph who revealed this dream to him. We in the church are the branches, just as the butler was, and we cannot bear much fruit nor do nothing by and of ourselves, unless God, thru Jesus, living in us as the vine, reveals His word to us, just as God revealed this dream to the butler thru Joseph.

16  When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head.                                                                                                                                                    17 “In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”                                                        18  So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days.                                                     v.20                                                  19  “Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”           Deut. 21:22        20  Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants      vv. 12, 17                              21  Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in  Pharaoh’s hand.                                                                                                 

We read earlier that the reason the butler was in prison is because he had offended their lord, the king of Egypt, who is the Pharaoh. The word “Offended” in the Strong’s Lexicon number is (H2398), meaning, “To sin” Jesus Christ said in the passover dinner, before His death, that the wine he gave the disciples was His blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matt. 26:27-28), The butler was forgiven for the sin he committed against his lord, the king of Egypt (The Pharaoh), it may have been the Pharaoh who pardoned the butler, but make no mistake, God put it in his heart to forgive him.  Joseph asked the butler to remember him for the correct interpretation of his dream, so to did Jesus Christ command his disciples, every time they drank the cup which represented His blood, they should do so in remembrance of Him (1 Cor 11:25). Joseph is truly a type of our Lord Jesus Christ in so many ways, and this is just another example of that fact.

22  But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.               

As I stated earlier: The baker is symbolic of the bread that Jesus broke and gave to His disciples when He introduced the New Covenant to them. In this covenant Jesus said take, eat, this is my body ( Rom. 11:27, Mark 14:22, Matt. 26:26), Jesus’s blood was poured out for the remission of our sins (Matt 26:28), and His body was hanged from a tree (Acts. 5:30, 10:39, 13:29), That dying to sins, we might live to righteousness; by whose stripes we were healed (1 Pet 2:24), The baker was hanged from a tree, but as Christ rose on the third day, so to the baker will be called to rise again and given his first opportunity to truly live in righteousness, and have everlasting life. 

23  Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.  

Jesus asked the butler to remember him when he was released from Jail. Jesus Christ instructed His disciple’s and the church, that whenever they drank of the cup, to do it in remembrance of him (1 Cor 11:25), it took the butler a couple years to remember Joseph (Gen. 41:1), Yet during this time, he probably poured into the Pharaoh’s cup, placed it in his hand, on numerous occasions, too many to count I imagine; it is hard to believe that he never remembered Joseph until the Pharaoh had his dream. But when I think about it, how often does the world, and mainstream christianity, partake of the practice of the wine and bread? typically once a year during the passover season, or the so called easter holiday. People may never go to church all year long, but during their “easter holiday” they will go and take of the cup and wine, and then go back into the world and all it’s evil, not coming to church again until the next year (there was a time I was in the world and guilty of the same) not truly understanding the New Covenant ritual of the wine and Bread. Most churches stop there and forget the foot washing (which Jesus also said we should do) (John 13:12-15), and forget what Jesus had done for us,  they do this in an unworthy manner, not discerning the Lord’s body, and are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord (1 Cor 11:26-29), Don’t get me wrong, at one time in my life, I too took of the bread and wine in an unworthy manner, until I truly came to understand and discern the Lord’s body. Thru His body and blood, there is no condemnation, but forgiveness for all our sins past and present, we cannot think that whatever sin we may have, or may commit, is greater than the sacrifice He gave on calvary long long ago. Joseph told the Butler to remember him, we must never forget What Christ truly did for us on that great and terrible day.

39

1  Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potipher, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, Bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.   Gen 37:36                                           

As I have commented back in chapter thirty seven: of all accounts Joseph was around the age of Seventeen when he was sold into slavery in Egypt, thus beginning the four hundred years of affliction as told to Abraham by God almighty. I would refer the reader to go back to chapter thirty seven in my commentaries to get an understanding of how I came to this determination (as I feel I was led by the Spirit in my understanding),            Abraham lived in Egypt during the time of famine in the land of Canaan (Gen 12:10), during Abraham’s stay he is given the Egyptian handmaid Hagar, who bares a son by Abraham, named Ishmael (the father of the Arab nation), and as we will read later on, Joseph proclaims to his brothers that God brought him into Egypt to preserve the descendants of Israel, again during a time of famine in all the land ( Gen 45:7), so as to save their lives by a great deliverance.   God even describes the Egyptians as His people (Isa 19:25), and in the end times God will humble the people, and then bless them along with Israel, and Assyria. Egypt is used time and time again, in some form or fashion throughout their history, to serve His purpose, and His plan for Israel, and eventually for the salvation of all nations, who would be blessed by Him, who sits at the right hand of God to this day and forever more. God sent His only begotten Son (Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ), into Egypt when He was a child to save him from the Roman soldiers who were sent by King Herod for the purpose of killing Him ( Matt 2:13-15)

2  The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.   vs.21 Gen 26:24; Acts 7:9                                      3  And his Master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.  Ps. 1:3                                                                                    4  So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had put under his authority.                      5  So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s  house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and the field.  Gen 12:2, 3                                                                                                                   

Even though Joseph is not blessed with the blessing of Abraham: That of the promised seed in which all nations would be blessed, God is with him and will bless him in all he does throughout his life. Like his father Jacob, Joseph went off to a far place, away from his family, And so to when Jacob went into the land of Padan Aram, in a sense he to was a slave for fourteen years to his mothers brother (Laban the Syrian), laboring in his house for the right to marry Rachel (the wife that was nearest and dearest to his heart). while Jacob and Joseph served their masters, God was with them, and both Laban the Syrian, and Potipher, captain of the guard of Pharaoh, saw that the Lord was with them, and they too were were prosperous in all they had because of the Lord being with both Jacob and Joseph.                                                  The remainder of the book of Genesis is about the life of Joseph, a total of eleven chapters out of fifty are dedicated to his life. only Abraham has more chapters in the book of Genesis that account of his life (thirteen all total). Make no mistake about it, Joseph is near and dear to God’s heart, even though the promised seed does not come through him, yet Joseph is a type of the promised seed of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we have already seen early on in his life, and we will see more similarities between Joseph’s life and that of Jesus Christ. Instead on elaborating on them now, I will point out these similarities as I read through these final chapters and point them out as I go.                                                                                                                                                           There is also one more important aspect of Joseph and his descendants that I must point out concerning the end times, spoken of throughout the scriptures in prophecies. We can find the first prophecy of what is to come of his descendants thousands of years later, on thru the latter days leading up to the return of our Lord and soon coming Jesus Christ. The first part of this prophecy is foretold by Joseph’s father when he was old and nearing the end of his life in Genesis chapter forty eight, and picks up again in chapter forty nine (Gen 48:1-22, 49: 22-36). for those of us who live in Great Britain and America, first and foremost, these prophecies are very important to us. But also to all the other English speaking countries that trace their roots from Great Britain are a part of these prophecies. There is too much to go in detail here, in this format, to explain exactly what I mean. I would recommend that the reader click on the link:  The United States and Great Britain in Bible Prophecy. This can be downloaded, or ordered free of charge through The United Church of God’s website.

6  Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form of appearance.   Gen 29:17                                                                                                              7  And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”   2 Sam. 13:11; ,Prov. 2:16-19          8  But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.                                                                                                                                         

  Potipher trusted Joseph so much that he didn’t even bother to micro manage his house and all that he had. As the earlier verses stated: Potipher Knew that the Lord was with him. Just because the Egyptians worshiped many Gods, this doesn’t mean that they were unaware of the Almighty Creator God. it was only six hundred years ago that the great flood came upon the earth. That is not a very long time when you think about the grand scheme of things. Even though Potipher worshiped many Idols, in my opinion, he knew who the one true God was, he could see that this God, “The God,” was with Joseph, and his trust in Joseph could also be telling in his trust for the one true God, whom he see’s blessing Joseph in all that he does. Which may be why Potipher wasn’t even concerned with all that he had except what he ate.                                                                                                                  Joseph was young during this time, maybe seventeen to twenty years old when he caught the eye of Potipher’s wife, who was probably much older than him, may be fifteen to twenty years older. So Joseph was in his prime, physically speaking. He is described as being handsome in both form and appearance, meaning he was a good looking man who also had a great physique (Like that of a bodybuilder maybe), Joseph undoubtedly was very wise for his age, Which made him even more attractive to the wife of Potipher. Even though Joseph was a slave, he did not live the normal slave life. As he say’s himself, “There is no one greater in this house than I.” most people, with this kind of prestige and power would let this kind of power overwhelm them to the point where they feel that they can do anything they want and no one dare stop them. Not Joseph however, He was his father Jacob’s favorite, meaning, to me at least, that he was brought up in the teachings of the Lord by his father, more than all his other brothers. Joseph was twenty six when his Grandfather Isaac died in the year 2228 Ac; According to my calculations (Determined thru the scriptures), I will Refer the reader back to my commentaries in chapter thirty seven to see how I came up with this determination. In my humble opinion, I believe that not only did Joseph learn the ways of God thru his father Jacob, but also thru the teachings of his Grandfather Isaac, during the first seventeen years of his life, before being sold into slavery. With this said, I believe Joseph was well versed with God’s laws, statutes, and ordinances that were known up to this time. This law against adultery was revealed by God, to the patriarchs as “SIN,” at this point in time since creation, but not all of God’s laws as we know of them today, and during the time of the Exodus, had been revealed to the patriarchs. I say this because anyone who reads this, may be asking themselves about the law of incest, between the marriages of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Who all married there cousins, or stepsister in Abraham’s case), and also had more than one wife (which were called concubines at the time), meaning Hagar, Abraham’s concubine, Bilhah, and Zilpah (Jacobs concubines), and let’s not forget the marriage of Jacob between the two sisters Rachel and Leah (Jacobs cousins). Since the scriptures cannot conflict with one another, it only stands to reason that these laws (although still “sin” since the time of creation in God’s eyes), were not yet given to the patriarchs. And this being the case, God would not hold Abraham, Isaac and Jacob accountable for breaking these laws of God. The patriarchs do not know what God defines as sin until these laws were  revealed to them by the Almighty God ( Rom 7:7-10, Jas 4:17). Verse nine is another example of the laws of God, in this case, one of the “Ten Commandments” were given well before the time of the Exodus, before their was even an Israeli people (for those who say that the laws on mount Sinai were meant strictly for the Israeli nation. The laws of God were meant for all men, not just the Jewish people, just as the Sabbath was made for all men, and not just for the Jewish people.                                                        

9  “There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”  Ps. 51:4; Prov. 6:28                               

Joseph states plainly to Potipher’s wife in verse nine that he cannot do this great wickedness of adultery and sin against God. Make no bones about it, it is Adultery Joseph is speaking of when he refers to this “Great wickedness” as a sin against God. As it is written in 1 Cor 6:18, and referenced in verse twelve: We are to flee fornication for when we commit this sin we are indeed sinning against our own body, which was bought with a price: that being the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 6:20), We as baptized members of the church receive the Holy Spirit at the time of baptism ( Acts 2:38), We are then joined with Christ, God the father, and the Holy Spirit and become one with them (John 14:16-17, 15:1-5),  They now abide in us, and our body is no longer ours but God’s. therefore our Body becomes a temple of the Holy Ghost ( 1 Cor 6: 13-19, Rom 12:5), so when we defile our body ( As in fornication), we are in essence defiling God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what Joseph is speaking of when he asks, “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” As it is written, “The two (Man and woman), shall become one flesh (Gen 2:24), so to, we the church are married to God the Father, and also become one. So when a man lies with a harlot we in essence remove ourselves (Our body), from the Lord, in turn for the harlot and become one with the harlot and no longer the Lords. And in this sin we commit adultery against God.

10  So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.                                                                                                  11  But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside,                                            12  that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.  1 Cor. 6:18                                13  And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside,                                                                                                                                    14  that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought into us a Hebrew to mock us. He came into me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.                                                                                        15  “And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”                                     

  This wasn’t just a one time temptation Joseph was going thru. It appears that the wife of Potipher was very persistent in her intentions to lie with Joseph, which, in my opinion makes it even more difficult to flee from on a day to day basis, especially when it comes to the lust of the flesh. God intended for man and woman to marry and have many offspring, because of this He made the woman to be very attractive to men, in all ways He created them as something that men just couldn’t resist, so that they wouldn’t shy away from having a relationships with them. Joseph had to be struggling with this temptation continuously, yet he never gave into it. I Imagine that when Joseph was alone at nights in his room that he prayed often, never ceasing, asking for God to give him strength to overcome. It is times like this that we must go to God for strength, for our carnal mind, and fleshly body cannot do this alone, it takes God’s Spirit to help us thru these difficult times. As Paul said, and i’m paraphrasing, That, that I will to do, I do not do, but that, that I will not to do, that I do, (Rom 7:14-25), I think it would be safe to say that all men, at one time or another in their life, have had their Joseph moment, And I think it would also be safe to say that most men have probably caved into the temptation of this lust of the flesh: Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom 7:24),  It is in our nature, designed by our Creator, to be sexually drawn to women so as to pro-create. But only according to the laws of God we are to have relations with a woman, and this law can be described, in a sense, back in Gen 2:24, “therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and they shall be one flesh” The Hebrew definition for cleave is the Strong’s concordance number (H1952), meaning to cling to, adhere to, be joined to one another , stick to. Notice that God says “Cleave to his wife” not just to any woman but his wife.                                                                                       Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, This proverb written in a play: The Mourning Bride, back in the late 1600’s.  This proverb was just as true then, today, and yes even in the time of Joseph. Potipher’s wife wanted Joseph something awful, and when he literally ran from her, it must have felt like a slap in the face to her. she has been rejected in love, and by a slave no doubt, “a Hebrew ! of all people, to toy with me in such a manner’ “Who does he think he is? I’ll show him!” she must have been thinking to herself. The evil that Potipher’s wife intends upon Joseph, God will use it for good, to carry out His plan for the salvation of His people the Hebrew nation.

16  So she kept his garment with her until his master came home.                      17  Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came into me to mock me;                                  18  “so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”                                                                                    19  So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused.  Prov. 6:34, 35                                                                                                                20  Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in prison.                            vv. 2,5                                                                                                                                 

The Lord is truly with Joseph during this trying time in his life. In my opinion this accusation of rape against Joseph, by Potipher’s wife, would be a death sentence to any slave in Egypt, especially against such an high official as that of Potipher. Yes, Potipher’s anger was kindled, but not enough so as to put to Joseph to death. It was by the grace of God that Joseph survives this ordeal. How else can one explain why Joseph wasn’t put to death? One of God’s commandment’s is to not bear false witness (Exo 20:16), It is also written in God’s laws that by two witnesses may a man be put to death, but by one witness alone both parties must stand before the Lord, Priest’s and judges of the day. If the witness is proven to have falsely accused his brother, then his punishment would be that which the accuser thought should have been done to his brother (Deut 17:6, 19: 15-19), This law was meant to put fear in men who would falsely accuse one another, and put an end to what God considers an “Evil act” (Deut 19: 19, 20). I’m not saying that this law was on the books in Egypt at the time, as a way of explaining why Joseph wasn’t put to death. But what I am saying is that one day we must all stand before the Lord and make an account for the things we have done in this life. Vengeance is mine saith the lord (Rom 12:19), Just as Joseph will one day be ruler over all of Egypt, and he will forgive his brothers for what they did to him, we never read where Joseph  sought revenge against Potipher’s wife once he had the power to do so. But I imagine she trembled at the thought of what would happen to her when he had this authority. Again, Joseph being a type of Jesus in his time,  found it in his heart to forgive her of this “evil act.”

21  But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.   vv. 2, 4                                                22  And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.                    vv. 4, 5                                                                                                                            23  The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.       vv. 2-5

Once again Joseph’s life is turned upside down, but also once again the Lord is with him, and shows him mercy. Joseph is put in charge of all the prisoners by the overseer of the prison. And as it was in Potipher’s house, the keeper of the prison did not take heed to how Joseph handled the prisoners and left all matters of the prisoners in Joseph’s hands. The Lord was with Joseph all this time, and again everything Joseph did prospered during his stay there, Because the Lord was with him.