Bereschit 40:1 Midrasch: Midrash Tanchuma & Bereshit Rabbah

And it came to pass after these things (Gen. 40:1). May our master teach us which men are counted among the most faithful. Thus did our master teach us: There are three men who are considered most faithful. The householder who sets aside the proper amount for his tithe and is never suspected of neglecting to pay either the terumah or the tithe. No one is more faithful than he. The poor man who is entrusted with a deposit and is not suspected of withholding the deposit. No one is more faithful than he. And the bachelor who lives in a red-light district and does not sin. No one is more faithful than he. You find that no one was more faithful than Joseph, who, though only a lad of seventeen years, lived among Egyptians, concerning whom it is written: Whose flesh is as the flesh of asses (Ezek. 23:20). He was never suspected of immorality. What is more, the mistress of the house in which he lived endeavored every day to entice him by her comments and by changing her clothes three times a day. The clothes she put on in the morning, she would not wear in the afternoon, and those she wore in the afternoon she would not wear in the evening. Why did she do this? So that he should notice her.

And it came to pass after these things (Gen. 40:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands; whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her (Eccles. 7:26). R. Judah the son of Shalum said: Nothing is more troublesome to a man than a woman. A proof of this is the incident of the golden calf. It is written concerning that event: When the golden calf was erected, there fell of the people that day about three thousand men (Exod. 32:28), while because of a single woman twenty-four thousand perished at Shittim.⁸Twenty-four thousand of the tribe of Simeon died at Shittim because Zimri had sexual relations with Cozbi, the daughter of the Moabite king, Balak. See Num. 25:1–9, 14–15) Therefore Scripture says: I find more bitter than death the woman (Eccles. 7:26). What is meant by her hands as bands? If it had not been written about woman that her hands as bands, she would grasp men in the marketplace.

“It was after these matters; the butler of the king of Egypt and the baker sinned against their master, against the king of Egypt” (Genesis 40:1).
“It was after these matters…sinned.” “Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not disgrace me among the scoundrels” (Psalms 39:9) – Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina said: The nations of the world were not fit to have anguished and despised individuals in their midst.¹Since they are rewarded for their good deeds in this world and punished in the next world, it would have been fitting for them to not have individuals who suffer in this world (Yefeh To’ar). Why, then, do they have anguished and despised individuals in their midst? It is so they will not taunt Israel and say to them: ‘You are a nation of anguished and despised people.’ This is in accordance with [the verse]: “Do not disgrace me among the scoundrels.” Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: The nations of the world were not fit to have those who develop scabs in their midst. Why, then, do they have those who develop scabs in their midst? It is so they will not taunt Israel and say to them: ‘Are you not a nation of lepers?’ This is in accordance with [the verse]: “Do not disgrace me among the scoundrels.”
Another matter, “deliver me from all my transgressions…” – this is Joseph. Because it is written in his regard: “She called to the people of her household…” (Genesis 39:14) – she placed him in the mouths of all of them,²The wife of Potiphar caused everyone to talk about how improper it was that Joseph had received so much from his master and had reciprocated by attempting to seduce his wife. the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘It is preferable that they turn against one another and not turn against this righteous one.’ That is what is written: “It was after these matters…sinned….” (Genesis 40:1).³God arranged for people to be distracted by the next sensation, the incarceration of the butler and baker.