She caught him by his garment: she refers to Potiphar’s wife and him to Joseph. Translators differ greatly as to the kind of clothing Joseph was wearing. Such terms as “tunic,” “robe,” “cloak,” “coat,” and “loincloth” are used. Ancient Egyptian art shows the dress of a worker as being bare above the waist and with the lower body covered by a cloth that tied at the waist and hung over the hips in the form of a short skirt. If Joseph was wearing such a skirt, it could easily come loose when he pulled away from the woman’s grasp. As a result Joseph would be left naked. If a satisfactory term for such a short skirt or loincloth is not available, it is probably best to use a general word for clothing. Terms like “trousers” or “shirt” would convey the wrong picture.

But he left his garment in her hand: Joseph reacts by running out of the house, and as a result the skirt is in her hand—“He ran out of the house leaving his skirt in her hand.” The naked Joseph does not run into the street, as the house would have been surrounded by a courtyard.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .