Kejadian 39:8-12

39:8 But he refused, saying ¹  to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought ²  to his household with me here, ³  and everything that he owns he has put into my care. ⁴  39:9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do ⁵  such a great evil and sin against God?” 39:10 Even though she continued to speak ⁶  to Joseph day after day, he did not respond ⁷  to her invitation to have sex with her. ⁸ 

39:11 One day ⁹  he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants ¹⁰  were there in the house. 39:12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran ¹¹  outside. ¹² 

[39:8]  ¹ tn Heb “and he said.”

[39:8]  ² tn Heb “know.”

[39:8]  ³ tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

[39:9]  ⁵ tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.

[39:10]  ⁶ tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator, followed by the infinitive construct with the preposition כְּ (kÿ). This clause could therefore be taken as temporal.

[39:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “listen to.”

[39:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “to lie beside her to be with her.” Here the expression “to lie beside” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “and it was about this day.”

[39:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the men of the house.”

[39:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he fled and he went out.” The construction emphasizes the point that Joseph got out of there quickly.

[39:12]  ¹² sn For discussion of this episode, see A. M. Honeyman, “The Occasion of Joseph’s Temptation,” VT 2 (1952): 85-87.