Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife: Resisting Sexual Harassment and Assault
(Genesis 39)
Update: I’ve written a shorter, search-friendly version of this article here: Is It Sexual Harassment If the Victim Didn’t Fight or Run?
Recently I saw a tweet about the biblical story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39). The tweet suggested that Joseph ran from the woman’s advances, therefore he was obviously an innocent victim.
The implication was that running is the only form of resistance that counts.
But that view carries a dangerous assumption:
Sexual abuse victims must resist forcefully, regardless of how powerful the abuser is, or else they are partly culpable.
Anything less is treated as consent.
One immediately thinks of the girls and women on the U.S.A. Gymnastics team who were deceived and manipulated by team doctor Larry Nassar—convicted many years after the first women spoke out.
This is a typical stance among people trying to make sense of how victims act, but who do not understand the dynamics of predators, prey, and bystanders.
Potiphar’s Wife Was a Relentless Predator
In Genesis, Potiphar’s wife is described as aggressive and relentless. She “kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day,” and would not take no for an answer (Genesis 39:10, NLT).
This is not a flirtation story.
It is a story of sexual harassment and coercion.
Joseph Was Already Resisting
Joseph was not passive. He was constantly resisting her advances in every safer way available to him.
Joseph’s First Acts of Resistance
Joseph appealed to multiple forms of accountability:
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Her husband would feel betrayed.
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Joseph would breach his duty as a servant.
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It was morally wicked.
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God would be dishonored.
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He tried to avoid being alone with her.
Finally, one day when they were alone in the house:
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She physically grabbed him, and he fled.
“He left his garment in her hand and fled” (Genesis 39:12).
This last act—running—is the only one many critics praise.
But Joseph had been resisting all along.
We know this because Potiphar’s wife anticipated his self-protection and waited until there were no witnesses. Her behavior was deliberate and premeditated.
“Why Didn’t Joseph Quit?”
Why didn’t Joseph leave before it escalated?
Why did he keep showing up at work?
Joseph could not simply walk away. He was enslaved. The consequences of running away may have been severe, even deadly.
Perhaps Joseph hoped it would never get worse. Perhaps he believed Potiphar would protect him. Perhaps he never imagined she would dismiss the servants so there would be no witnesses.
How many vulnerable women today take their jobs seriously, hope for the best, and end up prey for a predatory boss?
Joseph was living with daily anxiety, doing his work faithfully, trying to survive.
His worst nightmare came true.
Potiphar Failed Joseph
Potiphar threw Joseph under the bus. He sided with his wife.
Just as many church leaders do today.
Joseph was stripped of rank, reputation, dignity, and safety.
Victims Resist in Hundreds of Ways
Critics often do not see abuse victims resisting—but they are.
Women groomed by predatory bosses often lack power, status, or protection. They fear losing their job, reputation, or rent money, so they respond in quieter, safer ways.
Predators choose vulnerable targets. They find weak spots: isolation, poverty, many mouths to feed, no powerful allies.
Naïve bystanders (including some church leaders) blame the wrong person.
How Do Spouses Resist?
Marital abuse victims are often the most vulnerable. There is no HR department at home.
So abused spouses protect themselves in countless ways:
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Appeasing, reasoning, offering evidence
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Walking on eggshells
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Avoiding contact when the abuser is home
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Staying at work longer
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Going to church activities for respite
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Agreeing under pressure to prevent worse harm
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Apologizing profusely to avoid punishment
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Quietly refusing demands
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Trying to prevent violence toward themselves or children
They are constantly resisting harm in every possible way that is safe.
We should honor that.
Abuse Is Deliberate
We know victims are resisting because perpetrators plan to stop that resistance.
As Honouring Resistance explains:
“The fact that perpetrators make plans to stop victims from resisting indicates that their abuse is deliberate.”
Potiphar’s wife waited until Joseph was alone. She escalated.
Joseph’s Story Is an Abuse Story
Joseph was a sexual harassment and assault victim. If God had not intervened, Joseph might have died in prison under false claims.
Instead of being remembered as a hero, he could have been another silenced victim of a predator and a hardhearted system.
Perhaps God is calling you to do a miracle for an abuse victim:
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affirm their efforts
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lend them your power
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help them escape
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help them find safety
Joseph’s story invites us to stand with the oppressed.
Framework Credit
This perspective reflects Response-Based Practice (Allan Wade et al.), which emphasizes that victims are never passive; they continually respond in self-protective ways, and perpetrators deliberately work to overcome those responses.
Free pamphlet:
Honouring Resistance: How Women Resist Abuse in Intimate Relationships
Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter
https://www.calgarywomensshelter.com/images/pdf/cwesResistancebookletfinalweb.pdf
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