Potiphar’s wife is one of 42 nameless women in the Bible, according to Lindsay Hardin Freeman in her book Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter. In his classic work All the Women of the Bible, Herbert Lockyer lists twice that many nameless women (many of them are groups of women, such as Solomon’s 300 wives). Potiphar’s wife stands out, however, as perhaps the evilest nameless woman in the Bible. She is the wealthy seductress of young, rising star Joseph. Potiphar’s wife appears to cut quite a figure in her important husband’s life and the life of his steward, the Jewish people’s leader Joseph.
In a fascinating novel on Potiphar’s wife by Mesu Andrews based on Genesis 39, the author depicts Potiphar’s wife as the daughter of a king and the wife of a prince. As a young woman, Potiphar’s wife rules the isle of Crete, the largest Greek island, with her mother while her father is out at sea. Though the young woman’s royal father wants his daughter to marry the Egyptian pharaoh, she is given in marriage to the captain of the pharaoh’s bodyguard, chief executioner Potiphar. No doubt a no-nonsense type of man, Potiphar is also twice his wife’s age. Andrews speculates that Potiphar would “rather have a new horse than a Minoan wife.” Minoa was an ancient culture of Greece (and in the novel, Potiphar’s wife’s original home, to which she longs to return).
While Andrew’s novel is a work of fiction, Potiphar’s wife was very likely a neglected, lonely, and unhappy trophy wife.
What Was Potiphar’s Wife Named?
She goes by the moniker “Potiphar’s wife,” but she does not act like a godly wife, whose virtues are praised in Proverbs 31. Remaining nameless might be something this devious woman desired! Two credible sources, the Quran and Louis Ginzberg’s study Legends of the Jews, name Potiphar’s wife Zuleika, which sounds like a wily woman. In a story found in the Quran and Ginzberg’s book, Zuleika invites her aristocratic friends over to the palace to see her handsome Hebrew slave. In Legends of the Jews, the Egyptian housewives are so captivated by watching Joseph that they accidentally cut themselves while peeling oranges! According to Liz Higgins Curtis in Bad Girls of the Bible, the name Zuleika means “fair, brilliant, and lovely” in Arabic. Potiphar’s wife may have been attractive, but her interactions with Joseph were not lovely.
Where Does the Bible Mention Potiphar’s Wife?
In Genesis 39, we read the Hallmark Channel-worthy story of Potiphar’s wife making an attempt to seduce Joseph. Joseph, we remember, is the future leader and current visionary of the Jewish people in bondage in Egypt. He is still a slave and servant, though the highest-ranking slave in Potiphar’s household, entrusted with carrying for all of Potiphar’s possessions and business. Potiphar’s wife makes a go of seducing this handsome young servant but is unsuccessful in leading Joseph astray. Joseph flees from her advances, losing his cloak as he escapes her grip on him.
Potiphar’s wife frames Joseph, saying he made improper advances toward her. Potiphar believes his high-pedigree wife and throws Joseph in prison. God’s plan for Joseph continues during Joseph’s prison stay. He oversees other prisoners and interprets their dreams and the prophetic dream of the king of Egypt. These gifts of Joseph lead to his becoming “governor of the land” (Genesis 42:6) in Egypt and God’s leader of the Jewish people (Genesis 45:7-8). He didn’t stand a chance in defending himself against Potiphar’s wife, however.
What Can We Learn from Potiphar’s Wife?
1. A person cannot stop God from fulfilling His plans. No matter where Joseph ends up, he flourishes personally and carries out God’s plan. God blesses all of Joseph’s situations—from an empty well in Canaan to Potiphar’s lavish home with his bored, lustful wife to a dark prison cell.
What God does not bless is Potiphar’s wife’s pursuit of Joseph, even though she is much higher in social status than Joseph. He does not have any thoughts of committing adultery with her. To give in to Potiphar’s wife would have ruined his relationships with Potiphar and God. Joseph says in Genesis 39:9:
“No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
Joseph already has a strong character before Potiphar’s wife watches him working outside the palace through the gauze curtains of her jasmine-scented chambers.
2. Knowing right from wrong may not stop us from acting sinfully. Potiphar’s wife knows the ancient Egyptian punishment for a woman committing adultery was to have her nose cut off. Her lust overrules any fear of punishment or social stigma she might endure due to seducing Joseph.
When Joseph rejects Potiphar’s wife, she lies and accuses him of attempting to assault her sexually. Her husband believes her. If Potiphar and the status quo look upon his wife as a piece of good-looking livestock, the people in Egypt may not be dismayed at Joseph’s actions. Potiphar may also be protecting his ego by not admitting his wife strayed from him. And again, Joseph is an important servant, but he is a slave without much clout. The Bible does not state that Joseph even tried to defend himself by telling the truth.
3. Men and women can overcome the temptation to be unfaithful to their partner and God. 1 Corinthians 10:13, written for early Christians centuries after the account of Potiphar’s wife and Joseph, states that we are not tempted beyond what God decides we can handle. The Holy Spirit guides us and gives us the power to make the right moral decisions and honor God. Joseph was faithful to God and resisted temptation. Potiphar’s wife was not faithful to her husband or perhaps her pagan gods.
Potiphar’s wife’s frustration with seducing Joseph lights up her anger. She lies to her husband, and when he throws Joseph in prison, she probably imagines it will be the end of Joseph’s life. She may have lied in other areas to protect her high position. She may have gloated over Joseph’s arrest and limitless prison sentence. Yet Potiphar’s wife cannot ruin Joseph’s life because God is with him.
This narrative of Potiphar’s wife, her husband, and Joseph is more evidence that God can carry out His plan for us in any situation. Even while in prison, Joseph continues to rise to prominence. Overseeing other prisoners and interpreting dreams leads to his further success as a leader of the Israelites.
On the other hand, the future for Potiphar’s wife does not look promising. We can only guess what happened to her in the future. I imagine bags forming under her flashing eyes from sleep-challenged nights thinking over her actions with Joseph. I imagine she rolled away from her husband’s side, estranged from him by her deception. I don’t see a happy, older woman.
What God does with people and how people react is unpredictable, though. Potiphar’s wife could have learned a lesson from her encounter with Joseph and gained a name and a new character in her future. The Bible does not report this. Perhaps Mesu Andrews’ novel, Potiphar’s Wife, gives her a brighter future than I have predicted. Thank God, He sees people differently from how we see people.
“Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.” (Isaiah 56:5)
Photo Credit: Getty Images/BibleArtLibrary
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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