Now here is a guy that seems irresistable to women!
Bible Reading: Genesis 39
1: And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. 6: And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured. 7: And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 8: But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; 9: There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? 10: And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. 11: 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. 12: And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. 13: And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 14: That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, 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: 15: And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out. 16: And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. 17: And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: 18: And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. 19: And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. 20: And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.
John's Midrash
In my Midrash about Jacob’s Ladder, I am afraid I let it slip that I am not overly impressed with Jacob’s character. I confess that this is partially a personal thing; I am a twin and did not appreciate how Jacob treated his twin brother Esau. I also have had problems with Abram, Lot, Noah, Judah, and even God Himself, to name just a few.
But I am growing quite fond of Jacob’s son Joseph. Especially since his brothers threw him into the pit and then sold him, Joseph has developed into a really admirable guy. He is in many ways an exemplar of the Stoic philosophy. No matter what the situation, he makes the best of it. He is smart, hard working, honest, very pious and does not put his own interests above everything else. He is respectful and honorable in his dealings with other people. In this story in Genesis 39, we find Joseph as the slave of the Egyptian captain Potiphar. Potiphar has come to rely heavily on Joseph to manage his household and trusts him with almost everything he has.
Unfortunately for Joseph and Potiphar, Joseph seems to possess the animal magnetism of a young Paul Newman. Potiphar’s wife begins to sexually stalk the young Hebrew. Joseph steadfastly refuses to acquiesce in her demands to “Lie with me!”. She eventually acts with the stereotypical awfulness of the spurned woman and tells her husband that Joseph tried to rape her.
Joseph does not even try to deny the woman’s lies, but submits and is sent to prison, where again he makes the best of things and ends up befriending his jailor. Again this is very much in accordance with Stoic thought. I am 39 chapters into the Bible and in my opinion, Joseph is by far the best role model I have seen for how to lead a good and moral life.