Gênesis 39
John Chrysostom · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Gênesis 39:2
What is the meaning of "a man of means"? Everything went well for him, grace from on high preceded him everywhere, and the grace that flourished with regard to Joseph was so obvious as to become plain even to his master, the chief steward. Recall the text says, "His master realized that the Lord was with him, and whatever he did the Lord conducted successfully in his person. Joseph found favor with his master, who set him over his household and entrusted to him all his possessions." Do you see what it means to be helped by the right hand from above? I mean, behold, a young man, a stranger, a captive slave, yet entrusted by his master with his whole household: "he entrusted everything to him," the text says. Why? Because along with power from on high Joseph also contributed his own way of doing things. Recall the text states, "He gave him satisfaction"; that is to say, he did everything to his complete satisfaction. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 62.14
Gênesis 39:2
What is the meaning of "the Lord was with Joseph"? Grace from on high stood by him, it is saying, and smoothed over all his difficulties. It arranged all his affairs; it made those traders well disposed to him and led them to sell him to the chief steward so that he should advance gradually and, by proceeding through those trials, manage to reach the throne of the kingdom. But you, dearly beloved, hearing that Joseph endured slavery at the hands of the traders and then experienced the slavery of the chief steward, consider how he was not alarmed and did not give up hope or debate within himself in these terms: "How deceitful were those dreams that foretold such prosperity for me! I mean, look, I have gone from slavery to harsh slavery and a range of masters, from one to another, forced to associate with savage races. Surely we haven't been abandoned? Surely we haven't been passed over by grace from on high?" He said nothing of the sort; he gave it not a thought; on the contrary, he bore everything meekly and nobly. "The Lord was with Joseph" after all, "and he became a man of means."
Gênesis 39:4
Then the loving God, though wanting to make Joseph feel completely secure, did not release him from slavery or set him at liberty. This, after all, is ever God's way, not to free virtuous people from dangers or preserve them from trials but, in the midst of such trials, to give evidence of his characteristic grace to such an extent that the very trials prove an occasion of festivity for them. Hence blessed David also said, "In my distress you gave me room to move"; "you did not take away the distress," he is saying, "or free me from it and make me be completely at ease, but, what is quite remarkable, you brought me peace though I was in fact still in distress." This is exactly what the loving Lord does in this case: "He blessed the house of the Egyptian in Joseph." Even the barbarian now learned that the man thought to be a slave was particularly close to God. "He turned over all his possessions into Joseph's keeping," the text says, "and had no care for anything except the food he ate." It was as if he had appointed him master of his whole household. The slave, the captive, held in his care all his master's possessions. This is what virtue is like: wherever it appears, it prevails over all things and controls them. You see, just as darkness is driven out with the rising sun, so too in this case every evil is absent with the approach of virtue. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 62.15
Gênesis 39:6
That wicked beast the devil, however, seeing the good man's standing and the fact that he emerged even more conspicuous from those very things thought to be adversities, gnashed his teeth and fell into a rage. He could not bear to see the good man becoming so much more commendable as each day passed. He dug a deep pit for him and prepared what he thought was a mighty precipice that would bring him to his ruin and a terrible storm capable of causing him shipwreck. But the devil discovered before long that he was wasting his time and only heaping coals on his own head. "Joseph cut a fine figure and was good-looking," the text says. Why does it describe to us his physical charm? For us to learn that he was striking not only for charm of soul but also for his person. After all, Joseph was in the bloom of youth, "cut a fine figure and was good-looking." Sacred Scripture tells us this about him in advance so as to teach us that the Egyptian woman was under the spell of the young man's beauty in inviting him to that illicit association. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 62.16
Gênesis 39:8
"Afterwards," it says. What is meant by "afterwards"? After Joseph had been entrusted with control of the whole household and after his being shown such esteem by his master, "his master's wife set her eye on Joseph." See the shamelessness of this wanton woman. It was not because she considered herself to be mistress of the house that she took this into her head; it was not because he was a servant. Instead, under the spell of Joseph's charm and aflame with satanic desire, she endeavored at this point to assail the young man. With this evil intent fixed in her mind, she looked for a suitable moment of privacy for putting into effect this illicit endeavor. "But he refused," the text says. He did not submit, nor did he accept the invitation. Joseph realized, you see, the great ruin it would bring him. Instead of thinking of himself, he was greatly concerned as well to deliver her from this folly and improper desire, as far as was possible. He offered her advice calculated to awaken her to a sense of shame and make her realize what was for her good. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 62.17
Gênesis 39:9
Let us therefore make this our concern too, to have the Lord with us always so that what is done by us will be concluded successfully by him. You see, the person accorded this grace, even should he happen to find himself in the midst of troubles, will think nothing of them since the Lord of all, who creates and transforms everything, makes everything prosper for him and renders all difficulties easy. But how will we succeed in having the Lord with us and enjoying his guidance in everything? If we are vigilant and alert and imitate this young man's self-control, his other virtues and noble attitude, and if we see that it is so necessary for us to perform all our duties precisely so as never to be condemned by the Lord. We perform our duties to acknowledge that it is impossible to escape the notice of that unsleeping eye and that instead the sinner cannot but become liable to his punishments. Let us not place greater weight on respect for human beings than on God's anger but rather recall in every circumstance those words of Joseph, "How could I do this wicked deed and commit sin in God's eyes?" So when some temptation disturbs us, let us turn these words over in our mind, and every unholy desire will immediately be put to flight. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 62.24
Gênesis 39:9
What a grateful man! See how Joseph counts the blessings from his master so as to demonstrate the ingratitude she shows to her partner. "After all, I the servant," he is saying, "the stranger, the captive, enjoyed such security at his hands that everything came under my control, and there is nothing that he has kept from my control except you; whereas I am personally in charge of everything, to you alone am I subordinate, and you in fact are beyond my authority." Then, to deal her an opportune blow by reminding her of her husband's favor and persuade her not to prove ungrateful to her partner, he said, "You in fact are beyond my authority 'for the reason that you are his wife.' So if you are really his wife, 'how then could I do this wicked deed and commit sin in God's eyes?' " You see, since she was looking for privacy and waiting for an opportunity in her anxiety to escape the notice of her husband and all the servants of the household, he said, "How could I manage to do this wicked thing and commit sin in God's eyes?" I mean, what are you thinking of? Even if we succeed in escaping the notice of everyone, we will not be able to escape the notice of the unsleeping eye. That is the only one you need to fear, to be concerned and tremble about so as not to commit anything unlawful under his scrutiny. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 62.18
Gênesis 39:10
For us to learn the surpassing virtue of the good man and the fact that not once or twice but many times he endured this pressure and resisted the invitation by ceaselessly counseling her, Scripture says, "Although she kept inviting him day after day, he did not yield to her." When she observed him performing his duties in the house, she fell upon the young man like a wild animal grinding its teeth and grabbed his clothing to lay hold of him. Let us not pass this passage idly by. Instead, let us consider how much pressure the good man endured. I mean, in my view at any rate, it was not so remarkable that the three children survived unharmed in the middle of the Babylonian furnace and sustained no harm from the fire as it was remarkable and unprecedented that this remarkable young man had his clothes torn from him by this frenzied and intemperate woman without yielding to her. Instead, Joseph left the clothes in her hands and fled the scene in that condition. You see, just as those three children on account of their virtue enjoyed grace from on high and were seen to prove superior to the fire, so this man too, after making whatever effort he could and giving evidence of his struggle for continence with great intensity, enjoyed abundant help from on high. He all at once prevailed, thanks to such cooperation from God's right hand, and slipped from the clutches of that lustful woman. Then one could see this remarkable man emerging, divested of his clothes but garbed in the vesture of chastity, as though escaping unharmed from some fiery furnace, not only not scorched by the flames but even more conspicuous and resplendent. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 62.19
Gênesis 39:14
But despite such a victory, despite such wonderful fortitude for which Joseph ought to have been rewarded, for which he ought to have been extolled, once more he endures countless troubles as though a guilty party. You see, the Egyptian woman did not take kindly at that stage to her shame and insult brought on herself by attempting the impossible. First she summoned those in the household and accused the young man and tried to mislead them all by claiming that the commands given by her in her frenzy had been uttered by him. This, in fact, is the way with wickedness, that it endeavors to attribute its own faults to the virtue that is under attack. That is exactly what she did in this case, portraying the young man as incontinent and giving herself the guise of chastity, saying that was the reason he had abandoned his clothes and she was left with them. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 62.20
Gênesis 39:21
You notice how even when Joseph encountered troubles he had no sense of distress; instead, the creative wisdom of God transformed all his distress. Just as a pearl reveals its peculiar beauty even if someone buries it in the mire, so too virtue, wherever you cast it, reveals its characteristic power, be it in servitude, in prison, in distress or in prosperity. So since, even when cast into prison, he won over the chief jailer and received from him control of everything there, let us see in this case as well how Joseph reveals the force of grace coming his way. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 63.2