Kejadian 39:9-12

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 ¹  such a great evil and sin against God?” 39:10 Even though she continued to speak ²  to Joseph day after day, he did not respond ³  to her invitation to have sex with her. ⁴ 

39:11 One day ⁵  he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants ⁶  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 ⁷  outside. ⁸ 

[39:9]  ¹ tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.

[39:10]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “listen to.”

[39:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “to lie beside her to be with her.” Here the expression “to lie beside” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “and it was about this day.”

[39:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “the men of the house.”

[39:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “he fled and he went out.” The construction emphasizes the point that Joseph got out of there quickly.

[39:12]  ⁸ sn For discussion of this episode, see A. M. Honeyman, “The Occasion of Joseph’s Temptation,” VT 2 (1952): 85-87.