Genesis 39:11
in Genesis 39One day, however, Joseph went into the house to attend to his work, and not a single household servant was inside.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass about this time, that he went into the house to do his work; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
KJV
And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
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This verse in Genesis 39
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd it came to pass about this time,.... About a week, or a month, or rather a year, as Aben Ezra thinks, after she first began her solicitations to him.
This site's exposition
spoke to Joseph day after day
on Genesis 39:10-12
The pressure runs day after day, and the verse says so. Joseph refuses her and keeps out of her way, and he does it every day she asks. One day the house is empty of servants, and she takes hold of his cloak. He leaves the cloak in her hand, escapes, and runs outside.
This site's exposition
went into the house to attend to his work
Joseph enters the house on the business entrusted to him at verse 4. An empty house left no witness to what followed. The charge that comes next rests on her word alone.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
His resistance of the temptation was very brave, and the victory truly honourable. The almighty grace of God enabled him to overcome this assault of the enemy, (1.) By strength of reason; and wherever right reason may be heard, religion no doubt will carry the day.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the same day that she had first asked him to lay with her.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
TO LIE ‘ETZLA’ (BY HER). The meaning of this expression is as Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra interpreted it: “even to lie near her, each in their garment, or to be with her for general conversation.
Out of respect for his mistress he did not wish to take the garment from her hand with his superior strength, and he removed it from upon himself, as it was a garment which one wears as a robe and headdress.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִי֙ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּהַיּ֣וֹם | kehaiyom | when the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֥א | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַבַּ֖יְתָה | habaytah | the house towards | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מְלַאכְתּ֑וֹ | melakhto | work his | H4399 → | 167 times |
| וְאֵ֨ין | veein | and not | H369 → | 789 times |
| אִ֜ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מֵאַנְשֵׁ֥י | meanshei | from [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| הַבַּ֛יִת | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| שָׁ֖ם | sham | [was] there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| בַּבָּֽיִת׃ | babayit | in the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
וַיְהִי֙and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כְּהַיּ֣וֹםwhen the day
kehaiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וַיָּבֹ֥אand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
הַבַּ֖יְתָהthe house towards
habaytahH1004 →2046 times
לַעֲשׂ֣וֹתto do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
מְלַאכְתּ֑וֹwork his
melakhtoH4399 →167 times
וְאֵ֨יןand not
veeinH369 →789 times
אִ֜ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מֵאַנְשֵׁ֥יfrom [the] men of
meansheiH582 →566 times
הַבַּ֛יִתthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
שָׁ֖ם[was] there
shamH8033 →834 times
בַּבָּֽיִת׃in the house
babayitH1004 →2046 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ephesians 5:3But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed.
it leads to
- Colossians 3:5
Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
- Ephesians 5:5
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
- Galatians 5:19–21
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
- Colossians 3:5
Through
Jeremiah 23:24“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
- Psalms 139:7
Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
- Psalms 90:8
You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
- Proverbs 15:3
Through
Malachi 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud…
it leads to
- James 5:8–9
You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.
- Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- James 5:8–9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.