ABSTRACT
T hus Josephus sets the scene lo r Joseph to tell Pentephres’ wife that it would not be pious (ootov) for som eone in such a position o f pros perity (xooauxrjg f|^iu)x6xog xipfjg) to harm his master. Rather, it is in iquity (d&ixia) and outrage (Dppiq) (Ant. 2:42). In this way Josephus plays on the expectation o f his Greek readers: in most cases, koros leads to hubris; in this case, however, it does not. T hus, Jo sep h ’s character becomes m ore positive. His excellence protects him from tem ptation.
