Bible Strands
Genesis 39:13
When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Potiphar’s wife addresses her household servants immediately after Joseph abandons his cloak and flees the room. She uses the physical garment to frame her accusation before the domestic staff.
The words — עָזַב ('azav) marks a deliberate leaving behind, while חֻצָּה (chuTTah) specifies the directional exit toward the house exterior. These terms anchor the verse in concrete action rather than abstract intent.
The thread — The supplied context ties the abandoned cloak directly to Genesis 39:14, where the same garment becomes the basis for the false testimony. Genesis 39:12 establishes the sequence of the flight and the dropped garment that drives the subsequent accusation.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of how a single abandoned object can be weaponized to reverse victim and perpetrator. It requires the reader to distinguish between physical evidence and the narrative constructed around it.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,