ויוסף הורד, whereas Joseph was brought to Egypt against his will, Yehudah, at the same time exiled himself. During that period all the things related earlier had befallen Yehudah. During that period Joseph had been brought to Egypt by the Ishmaelites, the owners of the camels who were also agents acting on behalf of others.

ויהי ה' את יוסף, to save him from anyone who would take advantage of him.

ויהי איש מצליח, he achieved every venture that he set out to accomplish.

ויהי בבית אדוניו המצרי, he would perform tasks in his master’s private room. The meaning of the word היה here is the same as the meaning of the word עמד elsewhere, i.e. stationed, remaining in a fixed position. Examples of the word היה occurring in this sense are found in Deuteronomy 31,26 והיה שם, “it would remain there.” Compare also Deuteronomy 10,5 ויהיו שם כאשר צוני ה', “they remained there as the Lord had commanded me.”

וישרת אותו, he attended to his master’s bodily needs.

ויעזוב כל אשר לו, he left everything in Joseph’s hands without demanding an accounting from him.

ויהי יוסף יפה תואר ויפה מראה, after Potiphar had entrusted him with all these important tasks Joseph found time to make himself look handsome having no longer to perform demeaning physical labour assigned to most slaves. Psalms 81,7 extols the relief felt when one is freed from such burdensome tasks.

ותשא אשת אדוניו, on account of his good looks described before.

כי אם אותך באשר את אשתו, the only restrictions imposed upon me in this house concern the inviolable marital relations between you and my master, your husband.

הרעה הגדולה הזאת, to repay good with evil.

להיות עמה, in seclusion.

כהיום הזה, when she raised her eyes to him in lust.

ויבא הביתה, he entered a room, unaware that she was in that room at the time.

And fled. So that he would not be overcome by desire.

And he went outside. As soon as he left the room he slowed down so that no one would ask questions. She, however, assumed that he continued running and that people would soon know what happened; therefore she called to the men of the household.

ותקרא לאנשי ביתה, in order to justify her conduct. However, when she saw that Joseph had stopped running after leaving the room where she had waylaid him, and the fact that the people in her house had no reason to question Joseph who was acting perfectly normally, she told those people that Joseph had fled from her room and walked outside, something which actually corresponded to the truth as far as the facts were concerned. (verse 15) However, when relating what had supposedly occurred to her husband who had not been an eye witness to any part of the incident, she described Joseph’s behaviour as a flight not only from her room but also outside of it. (verse 18) In order to make her version of events believable she had to lie so that Joseph would be perceived as having tried to escape from the other members of the household.

לצחק בנו, to take sexual liberties with us.