Asenath (, ;

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

: Ἀσενέθ, ''Asenéth'') is a minor figure in the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...

. Asenath was a high-born, aristocratic Egyptian woman. She was the wife of

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

and the mother of his sons, Manasseh and

Ephraim Ephraim (; he, ''ʾEp̄rayīm'', in pausa: ''ʾEp̄rāyīm'') was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph ben Jacob and Asenath. Asenath was an Ancient Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughte ...

. There are two Rabbinic approaches to Asenath: One holds that she was an ethnic Egyptian woman that converted to marry Joseph. This view has her accepting the Lord before marriage and then raising her two sons in the tenets of Judaism. This presents her as a positive example of conversion, and places her among the devout women converts. The other approach argues she was not Egyptian by descent, but was from the family of

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

. Traditions that trace her to the family of Jacob relate that she was born as the daughter of

Dinah In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only daughter of Leah and Jacob, and one of the matriarchs of the Israelites. The episode of her violation by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent vengean ...

. Dinah was raped by

Shechem Shechem ( ), also spelled Sichem ( ; he, שְׁכֶם, ''Šəḵem''; ; grc, Συχέμ, Sykhém; Samaritan Hebrew: , ), was a Canaanite and Israelite city mentioned in the Amarna Letters, later appearing in the Hebrew Bible as the first cap ...

and gave birth to Asenath, whom Jacob left on the wall of Egypt, where she was later found by

Potiphar Potiphar ( ; Egyptian origin: ''pꜣ-dj-pꜣ-rꜥ'' "he whom Ra gave") is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Potiphar is possibly the same name as Potiphera () from Late Egyptian ''pꜣ-dj-pꜣ-rꜥ'' "he whom Ra has given." Potiphar ...

. She was then raised by Potiphar's wife and eventually married Joseph. Asenath's importance is related to the birth of her two sons, who later become forefathers of two of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Name

Her name is believed to derive from the Ancient Egyptian '' js .w-

(n) A thumb signal, usually described as a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, is a common hand gesture achieved by a closed fist (hand), fist held with the thumb extended upward or downward in approval or disapproval, respectively. These gestures have becom ...

- n(j)t'', meaning "belonging/she belongs to Neith". Neith was an Egyptian goddess. It is also believed that the name means "she belongs to her father". "Asenath" or "Osnat" is a commonly used female first name in present-day

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Portrayal

First mentioned in Genesis 41:45, Asenath is said to be the wife of

and the mother of his sons, Manasseh and

. In the

, she is referred to as the daughter of

Potipherah According to the Hebrew Bible, Potipherah (, he, ''Pōṭī feraʿ'') was a priest of the ancient Egyptian town of On, mentioned in the and . He was the father of Asenath, who was given to Joseph as his wife by Pharaoh, () and who bore Josep ...

priest of On (Gk. Heliopolis). In the Book of Jubilees, she is said to be given to Joseph to marry by the

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...

, a daughter of

, 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 ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, she is said to be the daughter of

, Joseph's sister, and

, born of an illicit union, described as either premarital sex or rape, depending on the narrative. A later-date

apocryphal Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

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 Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

and 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 Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...

Depictions

File:The Repentance of Aseneth.png, This painted image, which is part of a 1475 painted Flemish manuscript of unknown origin, shows Aseneth repenting. This image is likely inspired by an apocryphal text that describes Aseneth rejecting her pagan religion and repenting so that she may marry Joseph. File:Aseneth Offering Bread, Wine, and Honey to an Angel.png, This painted image, which is part of a 1475 Flemish manuscript, shows Aseneth offering honey, wine, and bread to an angel. This image was likely inspired by an apocryphal text that describes Aseneth being visited by an angel after she rejects paganism and offering the angel bread and wine. In turn, the angel gives Aseneth a honeycomb. File:Aseneth Requesting the Angel's Blessing of Seven Young Women.png, This image from a 1475 Flemish manuscript shows Aseneth asking for an angel's blessing for seven young women. The image is likely inspired by an apocryphal text in which Aseneth, while being visited by an angel after converting from paganism, asks the angel to bless her seven slaves. File:Rembrandt - Jacob Blessing the Children of Joseph - WGA19117.jpg, This Rembrandt work shows Aseneth standing with her husband, Joseph, and her sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, as her father-in-law, Jacob, blesses her sons. File:Jacob's Blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh.jpg, This image from an illuminated manuscript dating back to the 6th century shows Jacob blessing Joseph and Aseneth's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, while Joseph and Aseneth look on. File:The Birth of Ephraim.jpg, This mosaic in the Venetian Basilica di San Marco shows a midwife presenting the newborn Ephraim to Joseph. Aseneth and Manasseh are also present.

Joseph and Asenath

and Asenath's relationship is mentioned in three verses in the bible. Their relationship is first mentioned in Genesis 41:45. The

is said to have given

, Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. It is later mentioned in Genesis 41:50 that before the years of famine,

had two sons with Asenath. Those two sons were named Manasseh, who was the first born and the other son was named

, who was the second born. Later in Genesis 46:20

and Asenath are mentioned in the family of

which mentions that in Egypt,

had two sons named Manasseh and

, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On, bore to

Veneration

Asenath is venerated in Catholic Church as a saint. Her feast day is 13 December.

References

External links

Text of Joseph and Asenath
{{Authority control Ancient Egyptian women Biblical matriarchs Converts to Judaism from paganism Joseph (Genesis) Book of Genesis people Book of Jubilees Women in the Hebrew Bible Christian saints in unknown century Roman Catholic royal saints Christian royal saints Saints Christian saints from the Old Testament Old Testament people