- And the sons of Ishmael who had bought Joseph from the Midianites, who had bought him
from his brethren, went to Egypt with Joseph, and they came upon the borders of Egypt, and
when they came near unto Egypt, they met four men of the sons of Medan the son of
Abraham, who had gone forth from the land of Egypt on their journey.
- And the Ishmaelites said unto them, Do you desire to purchase this slave from us? and they
said, Deliver him over to us, and they delivered Joseph over to them, and they beheld him,
that he was a very comely youth and they purchased him for twenty shekels.
- And the Ishmaelites continued their journey to Egypt and the Medanim also returned that
day to Egypt, and the Medanim said to each other, Behold we have heard that Potiphar, an
officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, seeketh a good servant who shall stand before him
to attend him, and to make him overseer over his house and all belonging to him.
- Now therefore come let us sell him to him for what we may desire, if he be able to give unto
us that which we shall require for him.
- And these Medanim went and came to the house of Potiphar, and said unto him, We have
heard that thou seekest a good servant to attend thee, behold we have a servant that will
please thee, if thou canst give unto us that which we may desire, and we will sell him unto
thee.
- And Potiphar said, Bring him before me, and I will see him, and if he please me I will give
unto you that which you may require for him.
- And the Medanim went and brought Joseph and placed him before Potiphar, and he saw
him, and he pleased him exceedingly, and Potiphar said unto them, Tell me what you require
for this youth?
- And they said, Four hundred pieces of silver we desire for him, and Potiphar said, I will give
it you if you bring me the record of his sale to you, and will tell me his history, for perhaps he
may be stolen, for this youth is neither a slave, nor the son of a slave, but I observe in him the
appearance of a goodly and handsome person.
- And the Medanim went and brought unto him the Ishmaelites who had sold him to them,
and they told him, saying, He is a slave and we sold him to them.
- And Potiphar heard the words of the Ishmaelites in his giving the silver unto the Medanim,
and the Medanim took the silver and went on their journey, and the Ishmaelites also returned
home.
- And Potiphar took Joseph and brought him to his house that he might serve him, and
Joseph found favor in the sight of Potiphar, and he placed confidence in him, and made him
overseer over his house, and all that belonged to him he delivered over into his hand.
- And the Lord was with Joseph and he became a prosperous man, and the Lord blessed
the house of Potiphar for the sake of Joseph.
- And Potiphar left all that he had in the hand of Joseph, and Joseph was one that caused
things to come in and go out, and everything was regulated by his wish in the house of
Potiphar.
- And Joseph was eighteen years old, a youth with beautiful eyes and of comely
appearance, and like unto him was not in the whole land of Egypt.
- At that time whilst he was in his master's house, going in and out of the house and
attending his master, Zelicah, his master's wife, lifted up her eyes toward Joseph and she
looked at him, and behold he was a youth comely and well favored.
- And she coveted his beauty in her heart, and her soul was fixed upon Joseph, and she
enticed him day after day, and Zelicah persuaded Joseph daily, but Joseph did not lift up his
eyes to behold his master's wife.
- And Zelicah said unto him, How goodly are thy appearance and form, truly I have looked
at all the slaves, and have not seen so beautiful a slave as thou art; and Joseph said unto
her, Surely he who created me in my mother's womb created all mankind.
- And she said unto him, How beautiful are thine eyes, with which thou hast dazzled all the
inhabitants of Egypt, men and women; and he said unto her, How beautiful they are whilst we
are alive, but shouldst thou behold them in the grave, surely thou wouldst move away from
them.
- And she said unto him, How beautiful and pleasing are all thy words; take now, I pray thee,
the harp which is in the house, and play with thy hands and let us hear thy words.
- And he said unto her, How beautiful and pleasing are my words when I speak the praise of
my God and his glory; and she said unto him, How very beautiful is the hair of thy head,
behold the golden comb which is in the house, take it I pray thee, and curl the hair of thy
head.
- And he said unto her, How long wilt thou speak these words? cease to utter these words
to me, and rise and attend to thy domestic affairs.
- And she said unto him, There is no one in my house, and there is nothing to attend to but
to thy words and to thy wish; yet notwithstanding all this, she could not bring Joseph unto her,
neither did he place his eye upon her, but directed his eyes below to the ground.
- And Zelicah desired Joseph in her heart, that he should lie with her, and at the time that
Joseph was sitting in the house doing his work, Zelicah came and sat before him, and she
enticed him daily with her discourse to lie with her, or ever to look at her, but Joseph would
not hearken to her.
- And she said unto him, If thou wilt not do according to my words, I will chastise thee with
the punishment of death, and put an iron yoke upon thee.
- And Joseph said unto her, Surely God who created man looseth the fetters of prisoners,
and it is he who will deliver me from thy prison and from thy judgment.
- And when she could not prevail over him, to persuade him, and her soul being still fixed
upon him, her desire threw her into a grievous sickness.
- And all the women of Egypt came to visit her, and they said unto her, Why art thou in this
declining state? thou that lackest nothing; surely thy husband is a great and esteemed prince
in the sight of the king, shouldst thou lack anything of what thy heart desireth?
- And Zelicah answered them, saying, This day it shall be made known to you, whence this
disorder springs in which you see me, and she commanded her maid servants to prepare
food for all the women, and she made a banquet for them, and all the women ate in the
house of Zelicah.
- And she gave them knives to peel the citrons to eat them, and she commanded that they
should dress Joseph in costly garments, and that he should appear before them, and Joseph
came before their eyes and all the women looked on Joseph, and could not take their eyes
from off him, and they all cut their hands with the knives that they had in their hands, and all
the citrons that were in their hands were filled with blood.
- And they knew not what they had done but they continued to look at the beauty of Joseph,
and did not turn their eyelids from him.
- And Zelicah saw what they had done, and she said unto them, What is this work that you
have done? behold I gave you citrons to eat and you have all cut your hands.
- And all the women saw their hands, and behold they were full of blood, and their blood
flowed down upon their garments, and they said unto her, this slave in your house has
overcome us, and we could not turn our eyelids from him on account of his beauty.
- And she said unto them, Surely this happened to you in the moment that you looked at
him, and you could not contain yourselves from him; how then can I refrain when he is
constantly in my house, and I see him day after day going in and out of my house? how then
can I keep from declining or even from perishing on account of this?
- And they said unto her, the words are true, for who can see this beautiful form in the
house and refrain from him, and is he not thy slave and attendant in thy house, and why dost
thou not tell him that which is in thy heart, and sufferest thy soul to perish through this matter?
- And she said unto them, I am daily endeavoring to persuade him, and he will not consent
to my wishes, and I promised him everything that is good, and yet I could meet with no return
from him; I am therefore in a declining state as you see.
- And Zelicah became very ill on account of her desire toward Joseph, and she was
desperately lovesick on account of him, and all the people of the house of Zelicah and her
husband knew nothing of this matter, that Zelicah was ill on account of her love to Joseph.
- And all the people of her house asked her, saying, Why art thou ill and declining, and
lackest nothing? and she said unto them, I know not this thing which is daily increasing upon
me.
- And all the women and her friends came daily to see her, and they spoke with her, and
she said unto them, This can only be through the love of Joseph; and they said unto her,
Entice him and seize him secretly, perhaps he may hearken to thee, and put off this death
from thee.
- And Zelicah became worse from her love to Joseph, and she continued to decline, till she
had scarce strength to stand.
- And on a certain day Joseph was doing his master's work in the house, and Zelicah came
secretly and fell suddenly upon him, and Joseph rose up against her, and he was more
powerful than she, and he brought her down to the ground.
- And Zelicah wept on account of the desire of her heart toward him, and she supplicated
him with weeping, and her tears flowed down her cheeks, and she spoke unto him in a voice
of supplication and in bitterness of soul, saying,
- Hast thou ever heard, seen or known of so beautiful a woman as I am, or better than
myself, who speak daily unto thee, fall into a decline through love for thee, confer all this
honor upon thee, and still thou wilt not hearken to my voice?
- And if it be through fear of thy master lest he punish thee, as the king liveth no harm shall
come to thee from thy master through this thing; now, therefore pray listen to me, and consent
for the sake of the honor which I have conferred upon thee, and put off this death from me,
and why should I die for thy sake? and she ceased to speak.
- And Joseph answered her, saying, Refrain from me, and leave this matter to my master;
behold my master knoweth not what there is with me in the house, for all that belongeth to
him he has delivered into my hand, and how shall I do these things in my master's house?
- For he hath also greatly honored me in his house, and he hath also made me overseer
over his house, and he hath exalted me, and there is no one greater in this house than I am,
and my master hath refrained nothing from me, excepting thee who art his wife, how then
canst thou speak these words unto me, and how can I do this great evil and sin to God and to
thy husband?
- Now therefore refrain from me, and speak no more such words as these, for I will not
hearken to thy words. But Zelicah would not hearken to Joseph when he spoke these words
unto her, but she daily enticed him to listen to her.
- And it was after this that the brook of Egypt was filled above all its sides, and all the
inhabitants of Egypt went forth, and also the king and princes went forth with timbrels and
dances, for it was a great rejoicing in Egypt, and a holiday at the time of the inundation of the
sea Sihor, and they went there to rejoice all the day.
- And when the Egyptians went out to the river to rejoice, as was their custom, all the people
of the house of Potiphar went with them, but Zelicah would not go with them, for she said, I
am indisposed, and she remained alone in the house, and no other person was with her in
the house.
- And she rose up and ascended to her temple in the house, and dressed herself in princely
garments, and she placed upon her head precious stones of onyx stones, inlaid with silver
and gold, and she beautified her face and skin with all sorts of women's purifying liquids, and
she perfumed the temple and the house with cassia and frankincense, and she spread myrrh
and aloes, and she afterward sat in the entrance of the temple, in the passage of the house,
through which Joseph passed to do his work, and behold Joseph came from the field, and entered the
house to do his master's work.
- And he came to the place through which he had to pass, and he saw all the work of
Zelicah, and he turned back.
- And Zelicah saw Joseph turning back from her, and she called out to him, saying What
aileth thee Joseph? come to thy work, and behold I will make room for thee until thou shalt
have passed to thy seat.
- And Joseph returned and came to the house, and passed from thence to the place of his
seat, and he sat down to do his master's work as usual and behold Zelicah came to him and
stood before him in princely garments, and the scent from her clothes was spread to a
distance.
- And she hastened and caught hold of Joseph and his garments, and she said unto him,
As the king liveth if thou wilt not perform my request thou shalt die this day, and she hastened
and stretched forth her other hand and drew a sword from beneath her garments, and she
placed it upon Joseph's neck, and she said, Rise and perform my request, and if not thou
diest this day.
- And Joseph was afraid of her at her doing this thing, and he rose up to flee from her, and
she seized the front of his garments, and in the terror of his flight the garment which Zelicah
seized was torn, and Joseph left the garment in the hand of Zelicah, and he fled and got out,
for he was in fear.
- And when Zelicah saw that Joseph's garment was torn, and that he had left it in her hand,
and had fled, she was afraid of her life, lest the report should spread concerning her, and she
rose up and acted with cunning, and put off the garments in which she was dressed, and she
put on her other garments.
- And she took Joseph's garment, and she laid it beside her, and she went and seated
herself in the place where she had sat in her illness, before the people of her house had gone
out to the river, and she called a young lad who was then in the house, and she ordered him
to call the people of the house to her.
- And when she saw them she said unto them with a loud voice and lamentation, See what
a Hebrew your master has brought to me in the house, for he came this day to lie with me.
- For when you had gone out he came to the house, and seeing that there was no person in
the house, he came unto me, and caught hold of me, with intent to lie with me.
- And I seized his garments and tore them and called out against him with a loud voice, and
when I had lifted up my voice he was afraid of his life and left his garment before me, and
fled.
- And the people of her house spoke nothing, but their wrath was very much kindled against
Joseph, and they went to his master and told him the words of his wile.
- And Potiphar came home enraged, and his wife cried out to him, saying, What is this thing
that thou hast done unto me in bringing a He. brew servant into my house, for he came unto
me this day to sport with me; thus did he do unto me this day.
- And Potiphar heard the words of his wife, and he ordered Joseph to be punished with
severe stripes, and they did so to him.
- And whilst they were smiting him, Joseph called out with a loud voice, and he lifted up his
eyes to heaven, and he said, O Lord God, thou knowest that I am innocent of all these things, and why shall I die this day through
falsehood, by the hand of these uncircumcised wicked men, whom thou knowest?
- And whilst Potiphar's men were beating Joseph, he continued to cry out and weep, and
there was a child there eleven months old, and the Lord opened the mouth of the child, and
he spake these words before Potiphar's men, who were smiting Joseph, saying,
- What do you want of this man, and why do you do this evil unto him? my mother speaketh
falsely and uttereth lies; thus was the transaction.
- And the child told them accurately all that happened, and all the words of Zelicah to
Joseph day after day did he declare unto them.
- And all the men heard the words of the child and they wondered greatly at the child's
words, and the child ceased to speak and became still.
- And Potiphar was very much ashamed at the words of his son, and he commanded his
men not to beat Joseph any more, and the men ceased beating Joseph.
- And Potiphar took Joseph and ordered him to be brought to justice before the priests, who
were judges belonging to the king, in order to judge him concerning this affair.
- And Potiphar and Joseph came before the priests who were the king's judges, and he said
unto them, Decide I pray you, what judgment is due to a servant, for thus has he done.
- And the priests said unto Joseph, Why didst thou do this thing to thy master? and Joseph
answered them, saying, Not so my lords, thus was the matter; and Potiphar said unto Joseph,
Surely I entrusted in thy hands all that belonged to me, and I withheld nothing from thee but
my wife, and how couldst thou do this evil?
- And Joseph answered saying, Not so my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, my
lord, the word which thou didst hear from thy wife is untrue, for thus was the affair this day.
- A year has elapsed to me since I have been in thy house; hast thou seen any iniquity in
me, or any thing which might cause thee to demand my life?
- And the priests said unto Potiphar, Send, we pray thee, and let them bring before us
Joseph's torn garment, and let us see the tear in it, and if it shall be that the tear is in front of
the garment, then his face must have been opposite to her and she must have caught hold of
him, to come to her, and with deceit did thy wife do all that she has spoken.
- And they brought Joseph's garment before the priests who were judges, and they saw and
behold the tear was in front of Joseph, and all the judging priests knew that she had pressed
him, and they said, The judgment of death is not due to this slave for he has done nothing,
but his judgment is, that he be placed in the prison house on account of the report, which
through him has gone forth against thy wife.
- And Potiphar heard their words, and he placed him in the prison house, the place where
the king's prisoners are confined, and Joseph was in the house of confinement twelve years.
- And notwithstanding this, his master's wife did not turn from him, and she did not cease
from speaking to him day after day to hearken to her, and at the end of three months Zelicah
continued going to Joseph to the house of confinement day by day, and she enticed him to
hearken to her, and Zelicah said unto Joseph, How long wilt thou remain in this house? but hearken now to my
voice, and I will bring thee out of this house.
- And Joseph answered her, saying, It is better for me to remain in this house than to
hearken to thy words, to sin against God; and she said unto him, If thou wilt not perform my
wish, I will pluck out thine eyes, add fetters to thy feet, and will deliver thee into the hands of
them whom thou didst not know before.
- And Joseph answered her and said, Behold the God of the whole earth is able to deliver
me from all that thou canst do unto me, for he openeth the eyes of the blind, and looseth
those that are bound, and preserveth all strangers who are unacquainted with the land.
- And when Zelicah was unable to persuade Joseph to hearken to her, she left off going to
entice him; and Joseph was still confined in the house of confinement. And Jacob the father
of Joseph, and all his brethren who were in the land of Canaan still mourned and wept in
those days on account of Joseph, for Jacob refused to be comforted for his son Joseph, and
Jacob cried aloud, and wept and mourned all those days.
[Book of Jasher
Referred to in Joshua and Second Samuel.
faithfully translated (1840)
from the Original Hebrew into English.
A Reprint of Photo Lithographic Reprint of Exact Edition
Published by J.H. Parry & Co., Salt Lake City: 1887]