entreat concerning this damsel? for I received her a virgin from the temple of the Lord, and have not kept her. Who hath circumvented me? Who hath done this evil in my house, and defiled the virgin? Is not the history of Adam repeated in me? for just as Adam was at the hour of his thanksgiving, and the Serpent came and found Eve alone, and deceived her, so also hath it befallen me. And Joseph arose from his sackcloth, and called Mary, and said to her, Thou that hast been cared for of God, why hast thou done this, and hast forgotten the Lord thy God? why hast thou humbled thy soul, thou that wast brought up in the holy of holies, and didst receive food at the hand of an angel? And she wept bitterly, saying, I am pure and know no man. And Joseph said to her, Whence then is it that thou art pregnant? and she said. As the Lord my God liveth, I know not whence it is come to me.
CHAPTER XIV.
And Joseph was greatly afraid, and separated from her, and reasoned what he should do with her. And Joseph said, If I hide her fault, I find myself fighting with the law of the Lord; and if I expose her to the children of Israel, I fear lest that which is in her is angelic,[1] and I shall be found betraying innocent blood to the sentence of death. What,
- ↑ For 'angelic' another reading is 'holy.'
