Three Who Fled Temptation and God Joined His Name to Theirs

"And she covered him with a blanket [semikhah]" (Judges 4:18). Three there were who escaped from transgression, and the Holy One, blessed be He, joined His name to theirs, and these are they: Jael, Joseph, and Palti. Joseph, from where? "He appointed it in Joseph [bihosef] for a testimony" (Psalms 81:6). What is "bihosef"? The letter yod [the divine name] testifies that he did not touch the wife of Potiphar. Jael, from where? "And she covered him with a semikhah." What is "semikhah"? The rabbis here say: a cloth. And the rabbis there say: a coverlet. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: we went over the whole of Scripture and found no object named "semikhah." What then is "semikhah"? "My name is here" [shemi koh] — My name testifies concerning her that this wicked man did not touch her. Palti, from where? One verse says, "And Saul gave his daughter to Palti son of Laish" (1 Samuel 25:44), and another verse says "to Paltiel" (2 Samuel 3:15). Who married her, Palti, and who gave her away, Paltiel? Rather, the name of God [El] testifies concerning him that he did not touch Michal.