Joseph and Aseneth
Encyclopedia
Joseph and Aseneth is an ancient apocryphal
expansion of the Book of Genesis's account of the patriarch Joseph
's marriage to Aseneth.
According to Genesis 41:45, Pharaoh
gives Aseneth, the daughter of Potipherah
(Pentephres in the Septuagint) priest of On
to Joseph as a wife. Genesis 41:50-52 narrates that Aseneth bore Joseph two sons Manasseh
and Ephraim
. No more is said of her. Like many narratives in Genesis, the biblical story is tantalizingly brief, and raises questions that were to fascinate later interpreters. Why would an upstanding descendant of Jacob (Israel) marry the daughter of a pagan priest, and how could it be justifiable? How could two of the eponymous tribes be descended from union with an outsider, otherwise prohibited by the Mosaic Law? The story of Joseph and Aseneth sets out to answer some of those questions.
The twenty-nine chapters of Joseph and Aseneth narrate the conversion of Aseneth, from idolatry
to monotheism
and the worship of Adonai. Aseneth, a virgin who has rejected numerous worthy suitors, falls in love with Joseph when he, as vizier
of Egypt, visits her father. Joseph, however, rejects her as an unworthy idol worshipper.
Aseneth then secludes herself in her tower, repents of her idolatry, confesses her sin, and embraces Joseph's God. Begging for freedom from the devil, she then receives an angelic visitor (looking like Joseph), who assures her that her prayers are answered and that she is now a new creation. There follows a strange and extended ritual, where in order to confer on her immortality, the angel shares with Aseneth a magical honeycomb, and is told of her heavenly counterpart Metanoia (Repentance).
The honeycomb, which the angel marks with a cross, causes a swarm of bee
s to surround her, and some return to heaven though others die. The meaning and significance of this episode of the bees is uncertain, and appears to have some sort of connection to initiation rites of mystery religion
s. There may also be a connection with the otherwise mysterious name of the priestess Deborah
, literally bee, from one of the oldest parts of the Book of Judges
. It is uncertain whether the involvement of a cross indicates a Christian influence or not.
Aseneth, promising to love, honour, and obey Joseph, is now seen as a potential wife by him, and the two marry and she bears him Ephraim and Manasseh. Then in the final chapters of the book, Pharaoh's son, in love with Aseneth himself, attempts to seize her, persuading Dan
and Gad to assist him and kill Joseph. However, Benjamin, Joseph's loyal brother, foils the attempt, and Pharaoh's son receives fatal wounds. Aseneth forgives Dan and Gad, and Joseph and she go on to rule over Egypt. Enmity between Joseph and Dan and Gad is not recounted elsewhere, and nor is any between the tribes of which they are eponym
s, so it is uncertain why they are mentioned in this manner by the author, unless it was due to a personal grudge.
The earliest version is in Syriac and dates from the sixth century AD. Most modern scholarship treats it as a Jewish work dating some time from first century BC to the second AD. Batiffol (who produced the first critical edition) and, more recently, Kraemer have argued that it was originally a Christian work, dating from the fourth or fifth centuries. Kraemer suggests connections with works like Acts of Thomas.
Early versions exist today in Syriac
, Slavonic
, Armenian
and Latin
– but there is general consensus that it was originally composed in Greek
. In the manuscripts, the work is variously titled: The History of Joseph the Just and Aseneth his Wife; The Confession and Prayer of Aseneth, the daughter of Pentephres, the Priest; and The Wholesome Narrative Concerning the Corn-Giving of Joseph, the All-Fair, and Concerning Aseneth, and How God United Them. The extant manuscripts give us two versions of the work, a short recension
and a long recension. There has been much scholarly debate as to which is earlier.
Apocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
expansion of the Book of Genesis's account of the patriarch Joseph
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....
's marriage to Aseneth.
According to Genesis 41:45, Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
gives Aseneth, the daughter of Potipherah
Potiphar
Potiphar or Potifar is a person in the Book of Genesis's account of Joseph. Potiphar is said to be the captain of the palace guard and is referred to without name in the Quran. Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers, is taken to Egypt where he is sold to Potiphar as a household slave...
(Pentephres in the Septuagint) priest of On
Heliopolis (ancient)
Heliopolis was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, the capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian nome that was located five miles east of the Nile to the north of the apex of the Nile Delta...
to Joseph as a wife. Genesis 41:50-52 narrates that Aseneth bore Joseph two sons Manasseh
Manasseh (tribal patriarch)
Manasseh or Menashe was, according to the Book of Genesis, the first son of Joseph and Asenath. Asenath was an Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughter of Potipherah, a priest of On. Manasseh was born in Egypt before the arrival of the children of Israel from Canaan...
and Ephraim
Ephraim
Ephraim ; was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph and Asenath. Asenath was an Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughter of Potipherah, a priest of On. Ephraim was born in Egypt before the arrival of the children of Israel from Canaan...
. No more is said of her. Like many narratives in Genesis, the biblical story is tantalizingly brief, and raises questions that were to fascinate later interpreters. Why would an upstanding descendant of Jacob (Israel) marry the daughter of a pagan priest, and how could it be justifiable? How could two of the eponymous tribes be descended from union with an outsider, otherwise prohibited by the Mosaic Law? The story of Joseph and Aseneth sets out to answer some of those questions.
The twenty-nine chapters of Joseph and Aseneth narrate the conversion of Aseneth, from idolatry
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
to monotheism
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
and the worship of Adonai. Aseneth, a virgin who has rejected numerous worthy suitors, falls in love with Joseph when he, as vizier
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
of Egypt, visits her father. Joseph, however, rejects her as an unworthy idol worshipper.
Aseneth then secludes herself in her tower, repents of her idolatry, confesses her sin, and embraces Joseph's God. Begging for freedom from the devil, she then receives an angelic visitor (looking like Joseph), who assures her that her prayers are answered and that she is now a new creation. There follows a strange and extended ritual, where in order to confer on her immortality, the angel shares with Aseneth a magical honeycomb, and is told of her heavenly counterpart Metanoia (Repentance).
The honeycomb, which the angel marks with a cross, causes a swarm of bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s to surround her, and some return to heaven though others die. The meaning and significance of this episode of the bees is uncertain, and appears to have some sort of connection to initiation rites of mystery religion
Mystery religion
Mystery religions, sacred Mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious cults of the Greco-Roman world, participation in which was reserved to initiates....
s. There may also be a connection with the otherwise mysterious name of the priestess Deborah
Deborah
Deborah was a prophetess of Yahweh the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, counselor, warrior, and the wife of Lapidoth according to the Book of Judges chapters 4 and 5....
, literally bee, from one of the oldest parts of the Book of Judges
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
. It is uncertain whether the involvement of a cross indicates a Christian influence or not.
Aseneth, promising to love, honour, and obey Joseph, is now seen as a potential wife by him, and the two marry and she bears him Ephraim and Manasseh. Then in the final chapters of the book, Pharaoh's son, in love with Aseneth himself, attempts to seize her, persuading Dan
Dan (Biblical figure)
According to the Book of Genesis, Dan was the fifth son of Jacob with Bilhah. He was Bilhah's first son. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Dan. In the biblical account, Dan's mother is described as Rachel's handmaid, who becomes one of Jacob's wives...
and Gad to assist him and kill Joseph. However, Benjamin, Joseph's loyal brother, foils the attempt, and Pharaoh's son receives fatal wounds. Aseneth forgives Dan and Gad, and Joseph and she go on to rule over Egypt. Enmity between Joseph and Dan and Gad is not recounted elsewhere, and nor is any between the tribes of which they are eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
s, so it is uncertain why they are mentioned in this manner by the author, unless it was due to a personal grudge.
Provenance and manuscripts
The work is anonymous and its author unknown. The dating is contentious, and it is not even clear whether this is a Jewish or a Christian work (or neither).The earliest version is in Syriac and dates from the sixth century AD. Most modern scholarship treats it as a Jewish work dating some time from first century BC to the second AD. Batiffol (who produced the first critical edition) and, more recently, Kraemer have argued that it was originally a Christian work, dating from the fourth or fifth centuries. Kraemer suggests connections with works like Acts of Thomas.
Early versions exist today in Syriac
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
, Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...
, Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
– but there is general consensus that it was originally composed in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
. In the manuscripts, the work is variously titled: The History of Joseph the Just and Aseneth his Wife; The Confession and Prayer of Aseneth, the daughter of Pentephres, the Priest; and The Wholesome Narrative Concerning the Corn-Giving of Joseph, the All-Fair, and Concerning Aseneth, and How God United Them. The extant manuscripts give us two versions of the work, a short recension
Recension
Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author...
and a long recension. There has been much scholarly debate as to which is earlier.