bookslover
Puritan Board Doctor
In a letter to his brother (February 25, 1940), C. S. Lewis raises this question:
"Reflection on the story raised, in my mind, a problem I never happen to have thought of before: why was Joseph imprisoned and not killed by Potiphar? Surely, it seems extraordinarily mild treatment for attempted rape of a great lady by a slave? Or must one assume that Potiphar, though ignorant of the lady's intention to make him a cuckold, was aware, in general. . .that her stories about the servants were to be taken with a grain of salt - that his real view was 'I don't suppose, for a moment, that Joseph did anything of the sort, but I foresee there'll be no peace till I get him out of the house'? One is tempted to begin to imagine the whole life of the Potiphar family: e.g., how often had he heard similar stories from her before?"
I think this is plausible. Remember that Joseph, though a slave, had a position of great responsibility in Potiphar's household and that, due to God's blessing, Joseph was very good at his job (Genesis 39.1-6). Doubtless, Potiphar and Joseph had many discussions and interactions regarding Joseph's work over time (how much time before the incident we are not told) so that Potiphar would have had a definite opinion regarding the quality of Joseph's work and his trustworthiness in carrying out his responsibilities.
So, regarding his wife's accusations, I think Lewis's speculation is plausible. Potiphar may have heard his wife's story with a skeptical ear, based on his own day-to-day experiences working with Joseph. So (and all of this is under God's sovereign direction, of course), Potiphar had Joseph imprisoned instead of having him executed. And, he had him imprisoned, at least in part, due to mindfulness of his position as an important leader in Egypt's governing organization under Pharoah, along with the routine master/slave relationship of ancient times. Taking into consideration these relationships, Potiphar had to do something regarding Joseph - so, although skeptical of his wife's story but mindful of his own position in Egyptian society, Potiphar had Joseph put in prison instead of having him executed.
And, as Lewis speculates, perhaps Potiphar's wife had a history of this kind of behavior. This may not have been the first time that his wife had attempted to cheat on her husband.
The Bible does not go into any of this, of course (the story, like many in Scripture, is quite compressed in order to bring out the most important point about God's dealings with his creatures). But Lewis's question is interesting.
I'd be willing to bet that no commentaries on Genesis take up this question. I'd be happy to be wrong about this.
"Reflection on the story raised, in my mind, a problem I never happen to have thought of before: why was Joseph imprisoned and not killed by Potiphar? Surely, it seems extraordinarily mild treatment for attempted rape of a great lady by a slave? Or must one assume that Potiphar, though ignorant of the lady's intention to make him a cuckold, was aware, in general. . .that her stories about the servants were to be taken with a grain of salt - that his real view was 'I don't suppose, for a moment, that Joseph did anything of the sort, but I foresee there'll be no peace till I get him out of the house'? One is tempted to begin to imagine the whole life of the Potiphar family: e.g., how often had he heard similar stories from her before?"
I think this is plausible. Remember that Joseph, though a slave, had a position of great responsibility in Potiphar's household and that, due to God's blessing, Joseph was very good at his job (Genesis 39.1-6). Doubtless, Potiphar and Joseph had many discussions and interactions regarding Joseph's work over time (how much time before the incident we are not told) so that Potiphar would have had a definite opinion regarding the quality of Joseph's work and his trustworthiness in carrying out his responsibilities.
So, regarding his wife's accusations, I think Lewis's speculation is plausible. Potiphar may have heard his wife's story with a skeptical ear, based on his own day-to-day experiences working with Joseph. So (and all of this is under God's sovereign direction, of course), Potiphar had Joseph imprisoned instead of having him executed. And, he had him imprisoned, at least in part, due to mindfulness of his position as an important leader in Egypt's governing organization under Pharoah, along with the routine master/slave relationship of ancient times. Taking into consideration these relationships, Potiphar had to do something regarding Joseph - so, although skeptical of his wife's story but mindful of his own position in Egyptian society, Potiphar had Joseph put in prison instead of having him executed.
And, as Lewis speculates, perhaps Potiphar's wife had a history of this kind of behavior. This may not have been the first time that his wife had attempted to cheat on her husband.
The Bible does not go into any of this, of course (the story, like many in Scripture, is quite compressed in order to bring out the most important point about God's dealings with his creatures). But Lewis's question is interesting.
I'd be willing to bet that no commentaries on Genesis take up this question. I'd be happy to be wrong about this.