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Joseph and Aseneth

About this book
Chapter 1

1 In the first year of plenty, in the second month, on the fifth day of the month, Pharaoh sent Joseph to go around all the land of Egypt; 2 and in the fourth month of the first year, on the eighteenth day of the month, Joseph came to the district of Heliopolis, 3 and he was gathering the grain of that country like the sand of the sea. 4 And there was a man in that city named Pentephres, who was a priest of Heliopolis⁠ and a satrap of Pharaoh, and chief over all Pharaoh's satraps and princes; 5 and this man was very rich and very wise and gentle, and he was also a counselor of Pharaoh, because he was more discerning than all Pharaoh's princes. 6 And he had a virgin daughter, named Asenath, eighteen years old, tall and graceful, and more beautiful to look at than any virgin on the earth.⁠ 7 Now Asenath herself did not resemble the Egyptian virgins, but was in every way like the daughters of the Hebrews, 8 being as tall as Sarah and as graceful as Rebekah and as beautiful as Rachel; 9 and news of her beauty spread throughout all that land and to the ends of the world, so that all the sons of the princes and the satraps wanted to court her, and even the sons of kings, all of them young and powerful men, 10 and there was fierce rivalry among them because of her, and they tried to fight against one another. 11 And Pharaoh's firstborn son also heard about her, and he kept begging his father to give her to him in marriage, saying: 12 "Father, give me Asenath, the daughter of Pentephres, the leading man of Heliopolis, as my wife." And his father Pharaoh said to him: 13 "Why are you asking for a wife of lower rank than yourself when you are king of all this land? 14 No! Look, the daughter of Joachim the King of Moab is promised to you in marriage, and she herself is a queen and extremely beautiful. Marry her."

Texts in conversation

Compare Jubilees 40:10 and Joseph and Aseneth 1:4

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions

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Summary

In Jubilees, Joseph marries the daughter of his old master Potiphar, who is also the priest of Heliopolis. Joseph and Aseneth similarly expands on the details in Genesis, but the priest is a separate man named Pentephres, not Potiphar.

Passages

Jubilees 40:10

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
9 And the land of Egypt was at peace before Pharaoh because of Joseph, for the Lord was with him, and gave him favor and mercy for all his generations before all those who knew him and those who heard concerning him, and Pharaoh's kingdom was well ordered, and there was no Satan and no evil person (in it). 10 And the king called Joseph's name Sephantiphans, and gave Joseph as wife the daughter of Potiphar, the daughter of the priest of Heliopolis, the chief cook. 11 And on the day that Joseph stood before Pharaoh he was thirty years old [when he stood before Pharaoh].
170–125 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jubilees

Joseph and Aseneth 1:4

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
4 And there was a man in that city named Pentephres, who was a priest of Heliopolis and a satrap of Pharaoh, and chief over all Pharaoh's satraps and princes; 5 and this man was very rich and very wise and gentle, and he was also a counselor of Pharaoh, because he was more discerning than all Pharaoh's princes. 6 And he had a virgin daughter, named Asenath, eighteen years old, tall and graceful, and more beautiful to look at than any virgin on the earth.
100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Joseph and Aseneth

References

... Jubilees 40.10 explicitly equates Joseph’s master, Potiphar (Hebrew: Potiphar), with Aseneth’s father (Hebrew: Potiphera) so that Aseneth becomes Potiphar’s daughter: ‘And [Pharaoh] gave the daughter of Potiphar, the daughter of the priest of Heliopolis, the chief of the guard, to Joseph (as) a wife.’ This claim is, in fact, in direct opposition to our Aseneth stories, which assume that her father, Pentephres, and Joseph’s former master are two different people. ...
Ross Shepard Kraemer, When Aseneth Met Joseph: A Late Antique Tale of the Biblical Patriarch and His Egyptian Wife, Reconsidered (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 229.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Jubilees 40:10 and Joseph and Aseneth 1:4

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