Poor Joseph. It is hard to imagine what a shock it was to him when he learned that his betrothed wife was with child. Understand that, in that society, at that time, this was a much bigger thing that it is today. The role of women in society was different, and her marriage-ability was all that stood between a young woman and starvation—or perhaps prostitution. In some societies, it led to what is called an honor killing—that is, the girl had shamed her family, and the father killed her for it. Israelite law allowed for stoning the girl for
