“Oh Joseph,”she said,“I am yours!”
“But where is your husband Potiphar?”asked Joseph.
“I have nothing to do with him,”she answered.“You are the only one for me. I am
yours!”
“O Zuleikha, I fear this house will be a house of sorrow and a spot of hell.”
“O Joseph, I love you with all my heart. Lift up your head and look at me in the
fullness of my beauty!”
“Your master has more right to that than I do.”
“Come close to me, Joseph!”
“But I fear lest my portion of Paradise be lost.”
“I have discreetly veiled my affair from the people, so come close to me!”
“But who will veil me from God, the Lord of the Universe?””
“If you do not do as I wish,”she screamed,“I shall kill myself this very
instant, and you will be put to death on my account!”And she put her hand
on a knife as if to kill herself (but it was just a ruse on her part to trick
Joseph). Hastening toward the knife, he snatched it from her hand and threw
it aside. Then she threw herself upon him and untied seven of the knots in
his trousers, one after the other.^20
The apogee of the seduction scene suggests high drama. The Genesis
Rabbah offers a longer version than later versions through the repetition
of the phrase“Behold my master”and extended dialogic elements between
the wife and Joseph. Although it does not comment directly on his desire,
the variety of his excuses–to become too polluted to serve as a sacrifice to
God; that he will lose his birthright; that he fears his Lord–indicate
temptation requiring resistance.
In contrast, the clear Quranic emphasis on the sexual nature of his
temptation becomes central to commentaries. Al-Thalabi says:
According to [anisnad] ibn Abbas was asked how far Joseph went in following his
desires. He said,“He loosened his waistband and sat with her as one who possesses
would sit.”
According to [anotherisnad], ibn Abbas said,“She lay on her back for him and
he sat between her legs removing his clothes.”^21
Al-Baidawi similarly emphasizes Joseph’s temptation as necessary for his
virtue.
What is meant by Joseph’s desiring her is natural propensity and the struggling of
carnal feelings, not a rationally chosen purpose. Such feelings do not fall within the
(^20) al-Kisa’i, 1997 : 174–175. (^21) at-Ta’labi, 2002 : 156.
Between Midrashic and Quranic Commentaries 229