~ Joseph's Beginning Service in Egypt ~

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt.
Potiphar, an Eygptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials,
the captain of the guard,
bought him from the Ishmaelites
who had taken him there.

The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered,
and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
When his master saw that the Lord was with him
and that the Lord gave him success
in everything he did,
Joseph found favor in his eyes
and became his attendant.
Potiphar put him in charge of his household,
and he entrusted to his care
everything he owned.
. . . with Joseph in charge,he did not concern himself with anything
except the food he ate.

. . . When his master heard the story his wife told him,
saying, "This is how your slave treated me,"
he burned with anger.
Joseph's master took him and put him in prison,
the place where the king's prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison,
the Lord was with him;
He showed him kindness and granted him favor
in the eyes of the prison warden.
So the warden put Joseph in charge
of all those held in the prison,
and he was made responsible
for all that was done there.
The warden paid no attention to anything
under Joseph's care,
because the Lord was with Joseph
and gave him success in whatever he did.

(Genesis 39:1-4,6.5; 19-23)