Potiphar's Wife, "Because thou art his wife..."

       An erring woman remembered only by her wickedness - that was Potiphar's wife. When she attempted infidelity with young Joseph during her husband's absence from home, she disgraced the distinction she might have borne, that of respected wife of the chief of the Egyptian king's bodyguard.
       Egyptian sculptures and paintings on the walls of ancient tombs help us to picture her as a woman wearing a dress of exceedingly fine linen, pleated into a chevron pattern in the back. Around her high waistline she wore an ornamental girdle and on her head a gold band set with jewels. Her sensual lips were heavily painted with a' purplish pigment, and her slanting eyebrows were made darker with heavy black dye. Around her ankles were gold bands, and she wore other heavy jewelry in her ears and around her neck, and on her long tapering fingers were rings with large jewels.
       We know she was a spoiled, selfish woman, probably older than Joseph and certainly more worldly. She knew nothing of Joseph's God and the high standards upheld by those who believed in Him. Her gods were the physical pleasures, and she spent her days trying to satisfy them.
       The setting in which she moved was one of elegance and splendor. Her house, similar to Egyptian royal houses of that period of about 1700 B.C., had a block of high rooms surrounding the main room and inner garden court.
       This Egyptian house kept Joseph, the young overseer, busy, for it had stables and harness rooms, shelter for small wooden chariots, servants' quarters, granary courtyards, and conical grain bins, as well as an agricultural center. Even the trees, set in brick tubs containing Nile mud, had to be watered daily. There were slaves to direct, purchases to be made in the market, and distinguished guests who demanded personal attentions.
       As supervisor of all this, Joseph, who had been purchased from the Ishmaelites in the slave market, had risen to a place of high trust, for the young Hebrew was faithful, honest, upright, and conscientious. We can be sure, too, that he was beautiful of form and face like his mother Rachel and humble and consecrated like his father Jacob.
       It was with dignity that he moved about his master's house, wearing a skirt of fine linen tucked under a colorful belt from which hung a leather tab. On his feet were simple sandals with pointed upturned toes, and his abundant black hair probably hung to his shoulders. But one would be less likely to observe the details of his dress than his quiet demeanor and the noble qualities in his smooth- shaven face.
       He was a sturdy, stalwart youth whom evil women would delight to tempt. Potiphar's wife probably was dissatisfied with her own husband. Here in her own house was this handsome young Hebrew with whom she would like to take liberties.
       Because Potiphar was one of King Pharaoh's important officials, it is quite natural to suppose he had to be away from home a great deal, and he had entrusted to Joseph not only the safekeeping of his most valuable possessions but also the protection of his family. For a man to feel safe about his family, especially his wife, he had to leave as overseer one who had not only superior ability but also a deep sense of integrity.
       Potiphar's wife, however, had no appreciation of good character. After her husband had departed, she sought to become familiar with Joseph. And one day, when no men were about the house, she said to him, ''Lie with me'' (Gen. 39:7). But he resisted, for he had disciplined himself to do what was right.
       He must have startled this evil woman when he answered her invitation by saying, ''There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?'' (Gen. 39:9).
       Potiphar's wife had not dealt with such an honorable man before. She was angered, but she was not outdone. Day by day she invited him into her private boudoir, but he always retreated from her advances, because he knew God had great purposes for him to serve, and he must uphold that which was right and good.
       Finally, when Potiphar's wife could not entice Joseph, she caught his garment in her hand and held it; but he fled, leaving it with her. This woman who had not received what she asked for determined to hurt Joseph, in order to save face herself. She screamed loudly to other men in the household, saying, ''See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice,'' (Gen. 39:14).
       She now kept Joseph's garment and showed it to her husband on his return. When Potiphar saw it, he immediately cast Joseph into prison, for his wife had lied, saying, ''The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.'' (Gen. 39:17-18) .
       These are the last words of this despicable woman, who has become a symbol of the faithless wife. Her obscurity, except for her wickedness, is final, but the young Joseph rose to noble stature, even  within prison walls. Her own silence, in face of the youth's term in prison, is even greater admission to the bad character of Potiphar's wife, who was not only a sensualist but also a coward who could not admit her own guilt.