So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.
Joseph has been sold into Egypt as a slave and set to work in the house of one of Pharaoh's officers. Here the slave rises to run the whole estate, and commentators trace that rise not to his charm but to God.
Favour That God Arranges
The verse says Joseph found favour in his master's sight. One commentator points out that the Egyptian's good opinion did not begin in the Egyptian.
Hamilton SmithThe Lord was not only with Joseph, but He was for Joseph, disposing the heart of the master in favour of His servant.
The Quality of His Service
The verse also says Joseph attended his master. One writer describes where that service came from.
William KellyIn the Egyptian's house he saw a new field of duty. He looked to Jehovah, so that by serving Him he might best serve his master… Potiphar had never had such a slave, and neither had anyone else. Joseph never sought himself, and he never worked only to be seen. He put not just his heart into his work, but his faith. That gave his work a new character and power, and a shrewd master who had met plenty of human dishonesty and incompetence valued it all the more.
A Word That Keeps Returning
One repeated word ties verses 3 and 4 together. A commentator traces where it leads.
F. B. HoleVerses 3 and 4 lead us to notice the striking way the story mentions Joseph's "hand." Because the Lord was with him, He "made all that he did to prosper in his hand." So Joseph found favour with his master, and "all that he had he put into his hand." No wonder. Potiphar did not know the reason for it, but he found he had made a first-rate bargain when he bought the young Semitic boy. Joseph showed real skill along with God-fearing honesty and integrity.
(The older translation quoted here reads "put into his hand"; the ESV renders it "put him in charge of all that he had.")
The same writer follows that word to the end of Joseph's story, in the blessing his father Jacob spoke over him:
F. B. HoleThe wording of that blessing is striking, given the way Joseph's hands keep appearing in his story. Here the secret source of Joseph's skill comes to light. Upon the hands of Joseph rested the hands of the mighty God.
A Witness His Master Could See
Joseph's witness here was his life, not his talk. That is where the lesson lands for anyone working for a boss who does not share their faith.
Hamilton SmithIf Joseph had spent his time complaining about his hard lot, or talking up his great future, he would have been no witness for the Lord in Potiphar's house. The Egyptian cared nothing about Joseph's past. Even if someone had set his future before him, he would have understood none of it. But Potiphar could see and value Joseph's daily life of wholehearted attention to his duties. It is no different today… A Christian servant who lives a quiet, steady, uncomplaining life and does his daily duties faithfully is a true witness for the Lord, and his master can value that even without sharing his faith.
Joseph as a Picture of Christ
One writer reads Joseph's rise in this house as a picture of a greater one. The pattern is simple: wherever Joseph gets the top place, blessing follows.
Hamilton SmithPotiphar gives Joseph the highest place in his household, and at once Potiphar is blessed. A little later the jailer makes Joseph supreme in the prison, and blessing follows. So in the day of his universal rule, all submit to him and all are blessed… As far as we yield ourselves, our lives and our all to the supremacy of Christ, we too shall be blessed.
Favour That Can Be Lost — and Favour That Cannot
Joseph's promotion did not last. One writer sets that loss beside a favour that cannot be lost.
The Bible TreasuryTo know that you stand in the unclouded favour of God is a privilege beyond words. Next to it, the favour of rulers on earth is weak and changeable, though men of the world fight hard for it. Joseph "found grace" in Potiphar's sight, and he soon lost it through no fault of his own (Gen. 39:4).
Summary
- Presence. The Lord was with Joseph, and that presence is the explanation behind every other detail in the verse.
- Favour. God was not only with Joseph but for him, turning the master's heart. The promotion came from above before it came from Potiphar.
- Hand. What God prospered in Joseph's hand, Potiphar placed in Joseph's hand. The hands of the mighty God rested on the hands of the slave.
- Witness. Potiphar read Joseph's work, not his speeches. Quiet, uncomplaining, faithful work is a witness an unbelieving employer can read.
- Warning. A master's favour can vanish through no fault of your own. The favour God gives a believer is of a different order.