The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. – Genesis 40:4

Today's Scripture Reading (September 7, 2021): Genesis 40

American filmmaker Joss Whedon argues that "Very occasionally, if you pay really close attention, life doesn't suck." But first, you have to be willing to pay attention. And sometimes, everything is not the way that it seems. Life, and even the struggles of life, are sometimes just an illusion. They are not real.

There is a purpose to the story of Joseph, but there is also an illusion present in the story. We could summarize the story this way. Joseph was a spoiled child and the favorite of his father. His mother died giving birth to his younger brother, who she named, Ben-Oni, or "son of my mourning." It was Jacob who would rename his son Ben Yamin (Benjamin), which could mean either "son of the right" or "son of my days."

Because of the favoritism and Joseph's self-centered attitude, his brothers grew jealous and hated him. Finally, their hatred grew to the point that they began to plot how they could kill their young brother. The plot was interrupted by Judah, who suggested that they sell him into slavery. The brothers agreed, and Joseph was sold to a roving band of Midianites. The Midianites, also called Ishmaelites at various points of the story, sold Joseph to an Egyptian official named Potiphar. Potiphar, over time, began to trust Joseph with the running of his household.

But Potiphar had a wife who began to show interest in young Joseph. And one day, when no one was around, Potiphar's wife caught hold of Joseph and invited him to come to bed with him. But Joseph ran out of the room but did so without his cloak, which Potiphar's wife still had in her clutches. Essentially, Joseph was naked as he ran out of the room.

Potiphar found out about the exchange and appears to have assumed that Joseph was in the wrong. Joseph was arrested and placed in prison, where he would spend the next two years until Pharaoh discovered that he needed him. But even in prison, Joseph distinguished himself. By the time the cupbearer and the baker were arrested, Joseph had become a leader in the prison. And so, the captain of the guard assigned his new prisoners to the care of Joseph. It was a great honor that had been placed on the shoulders of the young son of Jacob. Everywhere he went, he seemed to rise to the top.

Does that sound about right? Ah, but one fact is missing from this story that is present in the biblical account. Often when we tell the story, the captain of the guard remains unnamed. But in the biblical narrative, the captain has a name, but we have to be paying attention to see it. The captain's name was, drumroll please, Potiphar. "Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there" (Genesis 39:1). And that changes the story just a little.

But if Potiphar was the captain of the guard, and he gave honor to Joseph in prison, then maybe everything isn't quite what it seems. Maybe, Potiphar didn't blame Joseph for the incident between his servant and his wife. Instead, Potiphar needed to get him out of the house, someplace where he could protect the boy from his wife's charges. Joseph had suffered a lot of loss, but maybe not in the house of Potiphar. There Joseph experienced something different; loyalty, even if that loyalty looked like, to those who were not paying attention, just another chapter of struggle in the life of Joseph, the son of Jacob.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 41