Genesis 39:2

2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving^[a] in the household of his Egyptian master.

Genesis 39:2 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 39:2

And the Lord was with Joseph
Blessing him with his gracious presence, with discoveries of his love, and communion with himself, though destitute of the means of grace and ordinances of worship he enjoyed in his father's house; favouring him with bodily health, and protecting him from all evils and enemies: and he was a prosperous man;
in worldly things, and which was owing to the presence of God with him, and his blessing on him: and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian;
he continued there, and did not attempt to make his escape; or his employment lay chiefly, if not altogether, in the house, and herein he was prosperous, and continued to be so as long as he was in it; the Jews ^F14 say, he remained here twelve months. Near the pyramids built in the neighbourhood of Memphis, as is affirmed unanimously by the ancients, to this day is shown a hill, on which they say the house of Potiphar was built, whose servant the patriarch Joseph was, and some of the rubbish of the bricks are yet to be seen ^F15.

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 2. p. 5.
F15 Jablonski de Terra Goshen, Dissert. 6. sect. 6.

Genesis 39:2 In-Context

1 Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt. An Egyptian [named] Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.

2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.

3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful,

4 Joseph found favor in his master's sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority.

5 From the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house because of Joseph. The Lord's blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit and he was