So Joseph, her husband and betrothed—being a righteous and just man who sought to obey God’s Law, and not willing to expose her publicly to shame and potential stoning for suspected adultery—intended to divorce her and send her away secretly and quietly, to protect her from public disgrace.
Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
NMVYosef [he will add] was a righteous man and did not wish to dwell with her nor to expose her by bringing her to shame or to bind her over to death. He instead wished to conceal her.
OJBHer shidduch, Yosef, being a tzaddik and not wanting to humiliate her publicly, planned to deal with the get (divorce) in a private arrangement.
TCENTBecause her husband Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to shame her publicly, he intended to send her away privately.
T4TJoseph, her future husband, was a man who obeyed God’s commands. One of those commands was that men must divorce women who had acted immorally. So when Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant, he assumed that she was pregnant as a result of her acting immorally. So he decided to break the engagement. But because he did not want to shame her publicly, he decided to do it privately.