of me, thou wouldst have me be a murderer, besides?"
And he spoke furthermore, saying, "I fear the Lord my
God!"

Zuleika: "Nonsense! He is not here to see thee!

Joseph: "Great is the Lord and highly to be praised, and
His greatness is unsearchable."

Thereupon she took Joseph into her chamber, where an
idol hung above the bed. This she covered, that it might not
be a witness of what she was about to do. Joseph said:
"Though thou coverest up the eyes of the idol, remember,
the eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole earth.
Yes," continued Joseph, "I have many reasons not to do this
thing for the sake of God. Adam was banished from Paradise
on account of violating a light command; how much
more should I have to fear the punishment of God, were I to
commit so grave a sin as adultery! The Lord is in the habit
of choosing a favorite member of our family as a sacrifice
unto Himself. Perhaps He desireth to make choice of me,
but if I do thy will, I make myself unfit to be a sacrifice unto
God. Also the Lord is in the habit of appearing suddenly,
in visions of the night, unto those that love Him. Thus did
He appear unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I fear that
He may appear unto me at the very moment while I am defiling
myself with thee. And as I fear God, so I fear my
father, who withdrew the birthright from his first-born son
Reuben, on account of an immoral act, and gave it to me.
Were I to fulfil thy desire, I would share the fate of my