(A). One not to be seduced from his continency by the severest temptation. The reference is to Joseph in Potiphar's house. (Gen. xxxix.) (See Bellerophon.)
“At length, Mrs. Buby herself made her appearance; her venerable
person, endued with what was then called a joseph, an ample garment,
which had once been green, but now, betwixt stains and patches, had
become like the vesture of the patriarch whose name it bore—a
garment of divers colours.” —
(St.). Patron saint of carpenters, because he was of the same craft. This is Joseph, husband of Mary, and the reputed father of Jesus.
In Christian art Joseph is represented as an aged man with a budding staff in his hand.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894