And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
Parallel translations
- WEB She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” He left his garment in her hand, and ran outside.
- BSB She grabbed Joseph by his cloak and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his cloak in her hand, he escaped and ran outside.
- NKJV that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.
- NASB So she grabbed him by his garment, saying, “Sleep with me!” But he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.
- NLT She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When she seizes his garment demanding he lie with her, Joseph flees, leaving the garment behind.
Overview
Joseph chooses flight over compromise, refusing the sin even at the cost of his cloak and his reputation. His decisive escape echoes the biblical counsel to flee temptation (1 Corinthians 6:18; 2 Timothy 2:22). He would rather suffer loss than sin against God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 2 Tim 2:22Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
- Prov 7:13–27So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
- 1 Pet 2:11Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
- Prov 6:5Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
- Prov 5:8Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
- Eccl 7:26And 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.
- 1 Cor 15:33Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
- Gen 39:8But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
- Mark 14:51–52And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:
- Gen 39:10And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
- Ezek 16:30–31How weak is thine heart, saith the LORD GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;
- Prov 1:15My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
- 1 Sam 15:27And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 39:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.