Editing Asenath (section)

== Portrayal ==
Asenath is mentioned in three verses of the Bible, all in the [[Book of Genesis]]. First appearing in Genesis 41:45, Asenath is said to have been given by the [[Pharaoh]] to Joseph as a wife.<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor=43301987|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/43301987.pdf|last1=Aptowitzer|first1=V.|title=Asenath, the Wife of Joseph: A Haggadic Literary-Historical Study|journal=Hebrew Union College Annual|year=1924|volume=1|pages=239–306}}</ref> Here, she is referred to as the daughter of [[Potipherah]], priest of On (Gk. [[Heliopolis (ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]]).<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last1=Brooks |first1=Ernest Walter |year=1918 |title=Joseph and Asenath - Translations of Early Documents |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VYDYAAAAMAAJ&dq=asenath+potipherah&pg=PR6}}</ref> Genesis 41:50 says that before the years of famine, [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]] had two sons with Asenath. The firstborn was named [[Manasseh (tribal patriarch)|Manasseh]] and the second [[Ephraim]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=FAMILY BENEDICTION: THE ROLE OF ASENATH IN REMBRANDT"S JACOB BLESSING|url=https://repository.library.fresnostate.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.3/191670/FamilyBenediction.pdf?sequence=1}}</ref> Later, in Genesis 46:20, [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]] and Asenath are mentioned in the family of [[Jacob]]; the verse says that in Egypt, [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]] had two sons named [[Manasseh (tribal patriarch)|Manasseh]] and [[Ephraim]], whom Asenath, daughter of [[Potipherah|Potiphera]], the priest of [[On (Ancient Egypt)|On]], bore to [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]].

In the [[Book of Jubilees]], generally considered to be [[Apocrypha|apocryphal]], Asenath is said to be given to Joseph to marry by the [[Pharaohs in the Bible|Pharaoh]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3092832/1/EBR%20online_%20Marriage%2C%20Ancient%20Egypt.pdf|title=Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 17 (pages 991 to 994)|accessdate=July 15, 2024}}</ref> a daughter of [[Potiphar]], a high priest of Heliopolis, with no clarification as to whether or not this Potiphar is the same Potiphar whose wife falsely accused Joseph of attempting to rape her. While in the [[Midrash]] and [[Targum Pseudo-Jonathan]], she is said to be the daughter of Dinah, Joseph's sister, and Shechem, born of an illicit union, described as either premarital sex or rape, depending on the narrative.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/asenath-midrash-and-aggadah|title=Asenath: Midrash and Aggadah &#124; Jewish Women's Archive|website=jwa.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pseudepigrapha.com/jubilees/40.htm|title=Jubilees 40|website=www.pseudepigrapha.com|access-date=2019-09-05}}</ref><ref>''[[Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer]]'', chapter 38.</ref> A later-date [[apocrypha]]l publication written in Greek, believed to be a Christian document, called ''[[Joseph and Aseneth]]'', supposedly details their relationship and their 48-year long reign over Egypt; in it, Asenath weds Joseph, whose brothers [[Dan (son of Jacob)|Dan]] and [[Gad (son of Jacob)|Gad]] plot to kill him for the sake of Pharaoh's son, who wants Asenath to be his wife, only for their efforts to be thwarted by Joseph's younger brother [[Benjamin]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ahearne-Kroll |first=Patricia |title=Biblical Profile: Aseneth of Egypt |journal=Biblical Archaeology Review |date=Summer 2022 |volume=48 |issue=2 |page=27 |url=https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/department/biblical-profile-aseneth-of-egypt/}}</ref>