attendant.'—The phrase is a variant from E (cf. 404).—4b. In J, Joseph's position is far higher, that, namely, of mer-per (mer-pa, mer en peri-t, etc.), or superintendent of the household, frequently mentioned in the inscriptions (Ebers, Aeg. 303 ff.; Erman, LAE, 187 f.).—6a. knew not with him] (i.e. with Joseph [v.8]): 'held no reckoning with him';—a hyperbolical expression for absolute confidence.—6b is introductory to 7ff..
7-20. Joseph tempted by his master's wife.—7-10.
The first temptation. The solicitation of a young man by
a married woman is a frequent theme of warning in Pr.
1-9.—9a. (
Hebrew characters) does not mean 'there is none' (which would
require (Hebrew characters)), but 'he is not.'—9b. sin against God] The
name Yahwe is naturally avoided in conversation with a
foreigner. All the more striking is the consciousness of
the divine presence which to the exiled Israelite is the
ultimate sanction of morality.—11, 12. The final temptation.—On
the freedom of social intercourse between the
sexes, see Ebers, 306 f. But the difficulties raised about
Joseph's access to the harem do not really arise, when we
remember that J is depicting the life of a simple Egyptian
family, and not that of a high palace official (see Tu.).—13-20.
The woman's revenge.—14. A covert appeal to the
jealousy of the men-servants against the hated Hebrew, and
to the fears of the women, whom she represents as unsafe
from insult (to mock us). An additional touch of venom
lurks in the contemptuous reference to her husband as 'he.'—Hebrew
may be here a general designation of the Asiatic
Gu.; but (Hebrew characters) pleads strongly for J.—8. (Hebrew characters)] [E] (Hebrew characters) (v.23).—(Hebrew characters)]
[E]GSV (Hebrew characters).—10. (Hebrew characters) and (Hebrew characters) look like variants; but one
swallow does not make a summer, and it would be rash to infer an
Elohistic recension.—11. (Hebrew characters)] A very obscure expression, see BDB,
400 b. Of the other occurrences (Dt. 624, Jer. 4422, Ezr. 97. 15, Neh. 910† ) all
except the last are perfectly transparent: 'as [it is] this day,'—a sense
quite unsuitable here. One must suspect that the phrase, like the kindred
(Hebrew characters) and (Hebrew characters) (cf. esp. 1 Sa. 228. 13), had acquired some elusive idiomatic
meaning which we cannot recover. Neither 'on a certain day' (G-K.
§ 126 s) nor 'on this particular day' (BDB) can be easily justified.—13.
(Hebrew characters)] MSS [E]G + (Hebrew characters) (12. 15).—14. (Hebrew characters)] see on 268.—15. (Hebrew characters)] [E]SV
(pallium quod tenebam) read (Hebrew characters),—wrongly, since to have said this
