batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l20308-l20401
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l20308-l20401
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XI. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XII. / IN THE
NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 20308-20401
start: '20308'
end: '20401'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an)
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: O LORD, a prison is more eligible unto me than the crime to which they invite
me
summary: Joseph is granted wisdom and knowledge. The woman in whose house he lives
attempts to seduce him; he refuses, flees, and his torn garment is used as evidence
of his innocence. Women of the city gossip about the affair; at a banquet they
are overwhelmed by Joseph's appearance and cut their hands. Joseph prays to avoid
their snares, is imprisoned despite signs of innocence, and in prison hears the
dreams of two royal servants. He attributes his interpretive knowledge to God
and teaches that judgment and worship belong to God alone.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Joseph is said to receive wisdom and knowledge when he reaches his age of
strength.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The woman in whose house Joseph lives shuts the doors and asks him to come
to her; Joseph refuses and invokes God.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The text says Joseph would have resolved to enjoy her if he had not seen an
evident demonstration of his Lord.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Joseph and the woman run toward the door, and she tears his inner garment
from behind.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: A witness from the woman's family states that the direction of the tear in
Joseph's garment will indicate whether Joseph or the woman speaks truthfully.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The husband sees the garment torn behind and tells Joseph to take no further
notice, while telling the woman to ask pardon for her crime.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Women in the city publicly say that the nobleman's wife asked her servant
to lie with her and that she is in manifest error.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The woman prepares a banquet, gives each invited woman a knife, and has Joseph
come before them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: When the women see Joseph, they praise him, cut their own hands, and say he
is not mortal but an angel.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The mistress says Joseph refused her command and threatens that he will be
imprisoned if he does not obey.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Joseph prays that prison is preferable to the crime, and the text says his
Lord turns aside their snare from him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Joseph is imprisoned for a time even after signs of innocence have been seen.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: Two of the king's servants enter prison with Joseph and report dreams, one
involving pressed wine from grapes and the other bread on the head eaten by birds.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:14
text: Joseph says his knowledge comes from what his Lord has taught him and speaks
against worship of named lords besides God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Joseph
description: Recipient of wisdom and knowledge; servant in the nobleman's household;
accused, vindicated by the garment sign, imprisoned, and asked to interpret dreams.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Woman in whose house Joseph was / nobleman's wife / mistress
description: Woman who desires Joseph, shuts the doors, tears his garment, accuses
him, later summons women to a banquet and threatens him with prison.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Her lord / husband
description: Person met at the door who hears the accusation and observes the torn
garment.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Witness of her family
description: Family witness who says the position of the tear in Joseph's garment
will distinguish truth from falsehood.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Certain women in the city
description: Women who gossip about the nobleman's wife and later attend the banquet,
cut their hands, and praise Joseph's appearance.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: God / Joseph's Lord
description: Divine figure who gives wisdom, shows Joseph a demonstration, turns
away evil and snares, hears Joseph, and is named as the only true and mighty God.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Two king's servants / fellow-prisoners
description: Two prisoners who enter prison with Joseph and ask for dream interpretation.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Dreamer of pressed wine
description: One of the king's servants who dreams that he presses wine out of grapes.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Dreamer of bread and birds
description: One of the king's servants who dreams that he carries bread on his
head and birds eat from it.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: recipient of wisdom and knowledge
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage states that wisdom and knowledge are bestowed on Joseph when
he reaches his age of strength.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: tempted servant who refuses
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Joseph refuses the woman's invitation and later says prison is preferable
to the crime.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: desiring accuser
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The woman seeks Joseph, tears his garment during the pursuit, and accuses
him before her husband.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: public blamers and inviters
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:5
basis: The city women blame the nobleman's wife; she then summons them, provides
knives, and shows them Joseph.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: household adjudicators
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The witness proposes the garment test, and the husband responds after seeing
the garment torn behind.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: divine protector and source of knowledge
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: God gives Joseph wisdom, turns evil and snares away from him, hears him,
and is named as the source of Joseph's knowledge.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:7
label: dream interpreter and monotheistic teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Joseph promises to declare interpretation and explains that his knowledge
is taught by his Lord, then teaches against worship of other named lords.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: dream petitioners
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
basis: The two king's servants report dreams and ask Joseph to interpret them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: torn garment
literal_form: Joseph's inner garment torn behind
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: doors
literal_form: shut doors and the door toward which Joseph and the woman run
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: knives and cut hands
literal_form: Knives given at the banquet; the women cut their own hands when they
see Joseph
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: prison
literal_form: Prison chosen by Joseph as preferable and later imposed for a time
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: dream of wine from grapes
literal_form: A dream in which one prisoner presses wine out of grapes
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: dream of bread and birds
literal_form: A dream in which one prisoner carries bread on his head and birds
eat from it
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: divine knowledge
literal_form: Wisdom, knowledge, and dream interpretation taught by Joseph's Lord
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Joseph's wisdom and refusal
summary: Joseph receives wisdom and knowledge, is invited by the woman behind shut
doors, refuses, and is protected after seeing a demonstration of his Lord.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Pursuit and garment testimony
summary: Joseph and the woman run toward the door; his garment is torn from behind;
the woman accuses him, but a witness uses the tear as a test and the husband accepts
Joseph's innocence.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Gossip, banquet, and self-wounding
summary: Women in the city speak against the nobleman's wife; she invites them to
a banquet, gives them knives, and has Joseph appear, after which they cut their
hands and call him angelic.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Prayer and imprisonment
summary: Joseph asks God to prefer prison over the invited crime; God turns aside
the snares, but Joseph is nevertheless imprisoned for a time.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Prison dreams and teaching
summary: Two royal servants enter prison with Joseph and report dreams; Joseph says
his interpretive knowledge comes from God and teaches that worship and judgment
belong to God alone.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: divinely aided resistance to seduction
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Joseph refuses the woman's sexual invitation, sees a demonstration of his
Lord, and later prays for prison rather than the crime; the Lord turns away the
snare.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The motif label summarizes the passage without assuming details outside
this excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: material sign reveals truth in an accusation
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The witness proposes that the location of the tear in Joseph's garment will
determine truth or falsehood, and the husband judges after seeing the tear behind.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents a household evidentiary test; the taxonomy link to
divine judgment is indirect because the immediate test is proposed by a human
witness.
- id: motif:3
label: beauty causing involuntary self-wounding
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: At the banquet, women who see Joseph praise him greatly, cut their own hands,
and describe him as more than mortal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No broader taxonomy reference is supplied for this visual-reaction pattern.
- id: motif:4
label: prison as refuge from sin and site of trial
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Joseph states that prison is preferable to the crime proposed by the women,
and he is later imprisoned despite signs of innocence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not state that imprisonment is redemptive; the label
is limited to refuge and trial.
- id: motif:5
label: dream interpretation through divine wisdom
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Prisoners ask Joseph to interpret dreams, and Joseph attributes his knowledge
to what his Lord has taught him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The excerpt includes the request and Joseph's claim of divine knowledge
but not the actual interpretations.
- id: motif:6
label: monotheistic instruction during captivity
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: While in prison, Joseph teaches his fellow-prisoners that named lords have
no authority and that judgment belongs to God alone.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is framed from Joseph's speech in this excerpt only.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The translator's note explicitly relates the episode of Joseph and his mistress
to Jewish and biblical material, including a reference to Genesis 39:11 and the
Babylonian Talmud.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Joseph and the master's wife in Genesis 39 and related Jewish commentary
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This comparison rests on the passage's editorial note rather than on
an independent analysis of the external texts; the note is polemical in tone and
should be reviewed.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 20308-20310
quote_or_summary: Joseph attains his age of strength, and God bestows on him wisdom
and knowledge.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 20311-20319
quote_or_summary: The woman in whose house Joseph lives shuts the doors and calls
him; Joseph refuses, and the text says God turns away evil after Joseph sees a
demonstration of his Lord.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 20320-20334
quote_or_summary: Joseph and the woman run to the door; she tears his garment behind,
accuses him, and a family witness says the garment's tear will reveal who tells
the truth; the husband sees it torn behind.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 20335-20339
quote_or_summary: Certain women in the city publicly say that the nobleman's wife
asked her servant to lie with her and is in manifest error.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 20367-20376
quote_or_summary: The mistress invites the women, prepares a banquet, gives each
a knife, and has Joseph appear; they cut their hands and call him not mortal but
an angel; she threatens him with prison if he refuses.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 20377-20383
quote_or_summary: Joseph says, “a prison is more eligible unto me than the crime”;
his Lord turns aside their snare, yet they imprison him for a time.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 20384-20391
quote_or_summary: Two king's servants enter prison with Joseph; one dreams of pressing
wine from grapes, and the other of carrying bread on his head while birds eat
from it; they ask Joseph for interpretation.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 20392-20401
quote_or_summary: Joseph says his knowledge is taught by his Lord, follows the religion
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, rejects associating anything with God, and says
judgment belongs to God alone.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: note
locator: notes m, o, p and citations within lines 20340-20366
quote_or_summary: The translator's notes discuss interpretive traditions about the
divine demonstration, identify a child witness in a cradle, describe the women
at the banquet, and cite Talmudic and Genesis material in relation to Joseph's
temptation.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized editorial notes.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Core narrative extraction is direct from the supplied passage. Taxonomy links
are conservative and limited to available references; comparison claim depends
on the translator's note and requires human review.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
No external sources were used beyond the supplied passage text and metadata.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l20308-l20401
passage_sha256=1ce1ee2961a6104f3197dec2b6492b0447f787b8c907c26eefadf3c34b1e37d6