And Pharaoh called Joseph 's name Zaphnath-paaneah; and
he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of
Potimherah
priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
Genesis 41:45
And unto Joseph were born two sons before the
years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah
priest of On bare unto him. Genesis 41:50
And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born
Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah
priest of On bare unto him. Genesis 46:20
The Life of Joseph is recorded in Genesis
37:1-50:26. The king of Egypt changed his name to Zaphnath-paaneah,
because of his ability to reveal secrets
Chapter One
1. It came to pass in the first year of the seven years of
plenty, in the second month, that Pharaoh sent out Joseph to go round
the whole land of Egypt.
2. And Joseph came, in the fourth month of the
first year, on the eighteenth day of the month, into the district of
Heliopolis.
3. And he was collecting all the corn of that
land, as the sand of the sea.
4. Now there was in that city a man, a satrap
of Pharaoh; and this man was the chief of all Pharaoh's satraps and lords.
5. And he was very rich, and wise, and
generous, and he was Pharaoh's counsellor, and his name was
Pentephres; and he was the priest of Heliopolis (of On)
6. And Pentephres had a virgin daughter of
about eighteen years of age, tall and beautiful and graceful, more
beautiful than any other virgin in the land.
7. And she was quite unlike the daughters of
the Egyptians, but in every respect like the daughters of the
Hebrews.
8. And she was as tall as Sarah, and as
beautiful as Rebecca, and as fair as Rachel; and this virgin's name was Aseneth.
9. And the fame of her beauty spread through
all that land, even to its remotest corners; and all the sons of the
lords and of the satraps and of the kings sought her hand in
marriage, young men all of
them.
10. And there was great rivalry between them
because of her, and they began to fight among themselves because of
Aseneth.
11. And Pharaoh's eldest son heard about her,
and he begged his father to give her to him as his wife.
12. And he said to him, "Give me Aseneth the
daughter of Pentephres the priest of Heliopolis as my wife." And his father
Pharaoh said to him, "Why should you want a wife of lower station than
yourself?
13. Are you not king of all the earth?
14. No! See now, the daughter of King Joakim is
betrothed to you, and she is a queen and very beautiful indeed: take
her as your wife."
Chapter Two
1. Now Aseneth
despised all men and regarded them with
contempt; yet no man had ever seen her, for Pentephres had a tower in
his house, and it was large and very high.
2. And the top storey had ten rooms in it.
3. The first room was large and pleasant; and
it was paved with purple stones, and its walls were faced with
precious stones of different kinds.
4. And the ceiling of that room was of gold;
and within it were ranged the innumerable gods of the Egyptians, in
gold and silver.
5. And Aseneth worshipped all these; and she feared
them and offered sacrifices to them.
6. The second room contained all
the finery for Aseneth's adornment and treasure chests.
7. And there was much gold in it, and silver,
and garments woven with gold, and precious stones of great price, and
fine linens.
8. And all her girlish ornaments were there.
9. The third room contained all the good things
of the earth; and it was Aseneth's store-house.
10. And seven virgins had the remaining seven
rooms, one each.
11. And they used to wait on Aseneth, and were
of the same age as she was, for they were all born on the same night
as Aseneth; and they were very beautiful, like the stars of heaven,
and no man or boy had ever had anything to do with them.
12. And Aseneth's large room, where she spent
her time, had three windows.
13. One window looked out over the courtyard to
the east: the second looked to the north, onto the street; and the
third to the south.
14. And a golden bed stood in the room, facing
the east.
15. And the bed had a coverlet of purple woven
with gold, embroidered with blue, and fine linen.
16. In this bed Aseneth used to sleep alone,
and no man or woman ever sat upon it, except Aseneth only.
17. And there was a great court all round the
house, and a wall round the court, very high and built of great
rectangular stones.
18. And there were four gates to the court,
overlaid with iron; and eighteen strong young men-at-arms used to
guard each one of them.
19. And along the wall inside the court every
kind of beautiful tree that produces fruit had been planted; and the
fruit on every one of them was ripe, for it was harvest time.
20. And on the right of the court there was an
ever-bubbling spring of water, and beneath the spring a great cistern
that received the water from the spring and out of which a river
flowed through the middle of the court and watered all the trees in
it.
Chapter Three
1. And it came to pass in the fourth month, on
the eighteenth day of the month, that Joseph came into the district
of Heliopolis.
2. And as he approached the city, Joseph sent
twelve men in front of him to Pentephres, the priest of Heliopolis,
saying, May I be your guest to-day, for it is near noon and time for
a mid-day meal?
3. The sun's heat is overpowering, and I would
enjoy some refreshment under your roof.
4. When Pentephres heard this, he was overjoyed
and said,
5. "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Joseph."
And Pentephres called his steward and said to him,
6. "Make haste and get my house into order, and
prepare a great feast, because Joseph, the mighty man of God, is
coming to us to-day.
7. And Aseneth heard that her father and mother
had come back from their family estate in the country.
8. And she rejoiced and said, I will go and see
my father and my mother for they have come back from their family
estate in the country.
9. And Aseneth hurried and put on a fine linen
robe of blue woven with gold and a golden girdle round her waist, and
she put bracelets round her hands and feet, and she put on golden
trousers and a necklace round her neck.
10. And there were precious stones all about her, with
the names of Egyptian gods inscribed on them everywhere, on the bracelets and
on the stones; and the names of the idols were stamped on the
stones.
11. And she put a tiara on her head and bound a
diadem round her temples and covered her head with a veil.
Chapter Four
1. And she hurried and came down by the
staircase from her storey at the top; and she came to her father and
mother and greeted them.
2. And it gave Pentephres and his wife great
joy to see their daughter Aseneth adorned as the bride of God. And
they took out all the good things they had brought from their estate
in the country, and they gave them to their daughter.
4. And Aseneth rejoiced at the good things, and
at the fruit, the grapes and the dates, and at the doves and at the
pomegranates and the figs, for they were all delightful.
5. And Pentephres said to his daughter Aseneth,
"My
child": she said, "Lo, here I am, my lord."
6. And he said to her, "Sit down, please,
between us: I want to talk to you." And Aseneth sat down between her
father and her mother.
7. And her father Pentephres took her right
hand n his right hand and said to her, "My child"; and Aseneth
said, "What is it, father?"
8. And Pentephres said to her, "See, Joseph,
the mighty man of God, is coming to us to-day, and he is ruler of all
the land of Egypt, for Pharaoh has appointed him ruler of all our
land; and he is the distributor of corn throughout the country and is
to save it from the famine that is come upon it.
9. And Joseph is a man that worships God:
he is
discriminating, and a virgin (as you are to-day), and a man of great
wisdom and knowledge, and the spirit of God is upon him, and the
grace of the Lord is with him.
10. So come, my child, and I will give you to
him as his
wife: you shall be his bride, and he shall be your bridegroom for
ever."
11. And when Aseneth heard what her father
said, a great red sweat came over her, and she was furious and looked
sideways at her father.
12. And she said, "Why should my lord and my
father speak like this and talk as if he would hand me over like a
prisoner to a man of
another race, a man who was a fugitive and
was sold as a slave?
13. Is this not the shepherd's son from the
land of Canaan, and he was abandoned by him?
14. Is not this the man who had intercourse
with his mistress, and his master threw him into prison where he lay
in darkness, and Pharaoh brought him out of prison, because he
interpreted his dream?
15. No! I will marry the eldest son of the
king, for he is king of all the earth."
16. On hearing this, Pentephres thought it
wiser to say no more to his daughter about Joseph, for she had
answered him arrogantly and in anger.
Chapter Five
1. And behold, one of the young men from
Pentephres's retinue burst in and said,
2. "Lo. Joseph is at the gates of our court."
And Aseneth quickly left her father and her mother and ran upstairs
and went into her room and stood at the big window that looked
towards the east, so as to see Joseph as he came into her
father's house.
3. And Pentephres and his wife and all his
relations went out to meet Joseph.
4. And the gates of the court that looked east
were opened, and Joseph came in, sitting in Pharaoh's viceroy's
chariot.
5. And there were four horses yoked
together,
white as snow, with golden reins; and the chariot was covered over
with gold.
6. And Joseph was wearing a marvellous white
tunic, and the robe wrapped around him was purple, made of linen
woven with gold: there
was a golden crown on his head, and all
round the crown were twelve precious stones, and above the stones
twelve golden rays; and a royal sceptre was in his right hand.
7. And he held an olive branch stretched out,
and there was much fruit on it.
8. And Joseph came into the court, and the
gates were shut.
9. And strangers, whether men or women,
remained outside, because the gate-keepers had shut the doors.
10. And Pentephres came, and his wife, and all
his relatives, except their daughter Aseneth; and they made obeisance
to Joseph with their faces to the ground.
11. And Joseph got down from his chariot and
extended his right hand to them.
Chapter Six
1. And Aseneth saw Joseph and she was cut to
the quick, her stomach turned over, her knees became limp, and her
whole body trembled.
2. And she was much afraid and cried out and
said, "Where shall I go, and where can I hide myself from him? And
how will Joseph, the son of God, regard me, for I have spoken evil of
him?
3. Where can I flee and hide myself, for he
sees everything, and no secret is safe with him, because of the great
light that is in him?
4. And now may Joseph's God be propitious to me
because I spoke evil in ignorance.
5. What can I hope for, wretch that I am? Have
I not spoken, saying, Joseph is coming, the shepherd's son from the
land of Canaan? And now, behold the sun is come to us from heaven in
his chariot and has come into our house to-day.
6. But I was foolish and reckless to despise
him, and I spoke evil of him and did not know that Joseph is the son
of God.
7. For who among men will ever father such
beauty, and what mother will ever bear such a light?
Wretch that I am and foolish, for I spoke evil of him to my father.
8. Now let my father give me to Joseph as a
maidservant and a slave, and I will serve him for ever."
Chapter Seven
1. And Joseph came into Pentephres's house and
sat down on a seat; and he washed his feet, and he placed a table in
front of him separately, because he would not eat with the Egyptians,
for this was an abomination to him.
2. And Joseph spoke to Pentephres and all his
relations, saying, "Who is that woman standing in the solar by the window? Tell
her to go away."
3. (This
was because Joseph was afraid she too
might solicit him; for
all the wives and daughters of the
lords and satraps of all the land of Egypt use to solicit him to lie
with him.
4. And many of the wives and daughters of the
Egyptians suffered much, after seeing Joseph, because he was so
handsome; and they would send emissaries to him with gold and silver
and valuable gifts.
5. And Joseph would reject them out of hand,
saying, I will not sin before the God of Israel.
6. And Joseph kept his father Jacob's face
before his eyes continually, and he remembered his father's
commandments; for Jacob used to say to Joseph and his brothers, "Be
on your guard, my children, against the strange woman, and have
nothing to do with her, for she is ruin and destruction.
7. That is why Joseph said, "Tell that woman to
go away."
8. And Pentephres said to him, "My lord, the woman you
have seen in the storey at the top is no stranger: she is our
daughter, a virgin, who detests men; and no other man has ever seen
her, apart from you today.
9. And if you wish it, she shall come and speak
with you; for our daughter is your sister.
10. And Joseph was overjoyed because Pentephres
said, "She is a virgin who detests men." 1
11. And Joseph answered Pentephres and his wife
and said, "If she is your daughter, then let her come, for she is my
sister, and I will regard her as my sister from to-day."
Chapter Eight
1. And Aseneth's
mother went up to the top storey and
brought Aseneth down to Joseph; and Pentephres said to his
daughter Aseneth, "Greet your brother, for he too is a virgin as you
are to-day, and he detests all strange women just as you
detest
strange men."
2. And Aseneth said to Joseph, "May you have
joy, my
lord, blessed as you are of God Most High"; and Joseph said to her, "May God,
who has given all things life, bless you."
3. And Pentephres said to Aseneth, "Come near
and kiss your brother."
4. And when she came near to kiss Joseph,
Joseph stretched his right hand out, and laid it against her breast,
and said,
5. "It is not right for a man who worships God,
who with his mouth blesses the living God, and eats the blessed bread
of life, and drinks the blessed cup of immortality, and is anointed
with the blessed unction of incorruption, to kiss a strange woman,
who with her mouth blesses dead and dumb idols, and eats of their
table the bread of anguish, and drinks of their libations the cup of
treachery, and is anointed with the unction of destruction.
6. A man who worships God will kiss his mother
and his sister that is of his own tribe and kin, and the
wife that shares his couch, who with their mouths bless the living
God.
7. So too it is not right for a woman who
worships God to kiss a strange man, because this is an abomination in
God's eyes."
8. And when Aseneth heard what Joseph said, she
was most distressed and cried out aloud; and she fixed her gaze on
Joseph, and her eyes were filled with tears.
9. And Joseph saw her and his heart went out to
her -- for Joseph was tender-hearted and compassionate and feared the
Lord.
10. And he lifted up his right hand above her
head and said,
"O Lord, the God of my father
Israel, the Most High, the Mighty One,
Who didst quicken all things, and
didst call them from darkness into light.
And from error into truth, and from death into
life;
Do thou, O Lord, thyself quicken
and bless this virgin,
11. And renew her by thy spirit, and remould
her by thy secret hand,
And quicken her with thy
life.
And may she eat the bread of thy life,
And may she drink the cup of thy
blessing,
She whom thou didst choose before she was
begotten,
And may she enter into thy rest,
which thou has prepared for thine elect."
Chapter Nine
1. And Aseneth was filled with joy at Joseph's
blessing, and she went up in haste to her storey at the top and fell
on her couch exhausted, because she felt not only happy,
but also
disturbed and very frightened; and she had been bathed in
perspiration from the moment she heard Joseph speaking to her in the
name of God Most High.
2. And she wept bitterly, and she repented of
her gods she used to worship; and she waited for evening to come.
3. And Joseph ate and drank; and he said to his
servants, "Yoke the horses to the chariot" (for he said, "I must
depart and go round the whole city and the district").
4. And Pentephres said to Joseph, "Stay the
night here, my lord and to-morrow go your way."
5. And Joseph said, "No! I must be going
now, for
this is the day when God began his works: in eight days time I will
come back again and stay the night here with you."
Chapter Ten
1. Then Pentephres and his relations went away
to their estate.
2. And Aseneth was left alone with the virgins,
and she was listless and wept until sunset: she ate no bread and
drank no water; and while all slept she alone was awake.
3. And she opened the door and went down to
the gate; and she found the portress asleep with her children.
4. And Aseneth quickly took down the leather
curtain from the door, and she filled it with ashes and carried it up
to the top storey and laid it on the floor.
5. And she secured the door and fastened it
with the iron bar from the side; and she groaned aloud and wept.
6. And the virgin that Aseneth loved most of
all the virgins heard her mistress groaning, and she roused the other
virgins and came and found the door shut.
7. And she listened to Aseneth groaning and
weeping and said, "Why are you so sorrowful my lady? What is it that
its troubling you?
8. Open the
door for us, so that we can see you."
And Aseneth said to them from inside (shut in as she was, "I have a
violent headache and am resting on my bed; and I have no strength
left to open to you now, for I am utterly exhausted; but go each of
you to her room."
9. And Aseneth got up and opened her door
quietly, and went into her second room, where her treasure-chests
and the finery for her adornment were, and she opened her wardrobe and
took out a black and sombre tunic.
10. (And this was her mourning tunic, which she
had worn for mourning when her eldest brother died). And Aseneth took
off her royal robe and put on the black one, and she untied her
golden girdle and tied a rope around her waist instead, and she took her
tiara off her head and the diadem, and the bracelets from her hands.
12. And she took her best robe, just as it was,
and threw it out of the window, for the poor.
13. And she took all her innumerable gold and
silver gods and broke them up into little pieces, and threw them
out of the window for the poor and needy.
14. And Aseneth took her royal dinner, even the
fatted beasts and the fish and the meat, and all the sacrifices of
her gods, and the wine-vessels for their libations; and she threw
them all out of the window as food for the dogs.
15. And after this she took the ashes and
poured them out on the floor.
16. And she took sackcloth and wrapped it round
her waist, and she removed the fillet from her hair and sprinkled
herself with ashes; and she fell down upon the ashes.
17. And she beat her breast repeatedly with her
two hands and wept bitterly and groaned all night until the morning.
18. And in the morning Aseneth got up and
looked and lo, the ashes underneath her were like mud because of her
tears.
19. And again, Aseneth fell down on her face
upon the ashes until sunset.
20. And so Aseneth did for seven days; and she
tasted neither food nor drink.
Chapter Eleven
1. And it came to pass on the eighth day that
Aseneth looked up from the floor where she was lying (for she was
losing the use of her limbs as a result of her great
affliction).
Chapter Twelve
1. And she stretched her hands out towards the
east, and her eyes looked up to heaven, and she said,
2. "O Lord, God of the ages, that didst give to
all the breath of life,
That didst bring into the light the things unseen,
That hast made all things and made visible what was invisible,
3. That hast raised up the heaven and founded
the earth upon the waters,
That hast fixed the great stones upon the abyss of water
Which shall not be submerged,
But to the end they do thy will.
4. O Lord, my God, to thee will I cry: hear my
supplication;
And unto thee will I make confession of my sins,
And unto thee will I reveal my transgressions of thy law.
5. I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned:
I have transgressed thy law and acted impiously,
And I have spoken things evil before thee.
My mouth, O Lord, has been defiled by things offered to idols,
And by the table of the gods of the Egyptians.
6. I have sinned, O Lord, before thee; I have
sinned and acted impiously,
Worshiping idols deaf and dumb,
And I am not worthy to open my mouth unto thee, wretch that I
am.
7. I have sinned, O Lord, before thee,
I, the daughter of Pentephres the priest,
the haughty and arrogant Aseneth.
To thee, O Lord, I present my supplication, and unto thee will I
cry:
Deliver me from my persecutors, for unto thee have I fled,
Like a child to his father and his mother.
8. And do thou, O Lord, stretch forth thy hands
over me,
As a father that loves his children and is tenderly affectionate,
And snatch me from the hand of my enemy.
9. For lo, the wild primeval Lion pursues
me;
And his children are the gods of the Egyptians that I have abandoned
and destroyed; And their father the Devil is trying to devour
me
10. But do thou, O Lord deliver me from his
hands,
And rescue me from his mouth,
Lest he snatch me like a wolf and tear me,
And cast me into the abyss of fire, and into the tempest of the
sea;
And let not the great Sea-monster swallow me.
11. Save me, O Lord, deserted as I am,
For my father and mother denied me,
Because I destroyed and shattered their gods;
And I have no other hope save in thee, O Lord;
For thou art the father of the orphans, and the champion of the
persecuted,
And the help of them that are oppressed.
12. For, lo, all the gods of my father
Pentephres are but for a season and uncertain; but the inhabitants of
thine inheritance, O Lord, are incorruptible and eternal.
Chapter Thirteen
1. Look upon my ophanhood, O Lord, for unto
thee did I flee, O Lord.
2. Lo, I took off my royal robe interwoven with
gold and put on a black tunic instead.
3. Lo, I loosed my golden girdle and girt
myself with a rope and sackcloth.
4. Lo, I threw off my diadem from my head and
sprinkled myself with ashes.
5. Lo, the floor of my room once scattered with stones
of different colors and of purple, and besprinkled with myrrh, is now
sprinkled with my tears and scattered with ashes.
6. Lo, Lord, from the ashes and from my tears
there is as much mud inside my room as there is on a public highway.
7. Lo, Lord, my royal dinner and my fatted
beasts have I given to the dogs.
8. And lo, for seven days and seven nights I
have neither eaten bread nor drunk water; and my mouth is dry like a
drum and my tongue like horn, and my lips like a potsherd, and my
face is shrunken, and my eyes are failing as a result of my incessant
tears.
9. But do thou, O Lord, pardon me, for in
ignorance did I sin against thee and uttered calumnies against my
lord Joseph.
10. And I did not know, wretch that I am, that
he is thy son, O Lord; for they told me that Joseph was a shepherd's
son from the land of Canaan, and I believed them; but I was wrong,
and I despised Joseph, thine elect one, and I spoke evil of him, not
knowing that he is thy son.
11. For what man ever was so handsome and who
else is as wise and strong as Joseph? But to thee, my Lord, do I
entrust him; for I love him more than mine own soul.
12. Preserve him in the wisdom of thy grace,
and give me to him as a servant, so that I may wash his feet and
serve him and be his slave for all the seasons of my life.
Chapter Fourteen
1. And as Aseneth finished her confession to
the Lord, lo, the morning star rose in the eastern sky.
2. And Aseneth saw it and rejoiced and said,
"The Lord God has indeed heard me, for this star is a messenger and
herald of the light of the great day.
3. And lo, the heaven was torn open near the
morning star and an indescribable light appeared.
4. And Aseneth fell on her face upon the ashes;
and there came to her a man from heaven and stood at her head; and he
called to her, "Aseneth".
5. And she said, "Who called me? For the door
of my room is shut and the tower is high: how then did anyone get
into my room?"
6. And the man called her a second time and
said, "Aseneth, Aseneth;" and she said, "Here am I, my lord, tell me
who you are."
7. And the man said, "I am the commander of the
Lord's house and chief captain of all the host of the Most High:
stand up, and I will speak to you."
8. And she looked up and saw a man like Joseph
in every respect, with a robe and a crown and a royal staff.
9. But his face was like lightning, and his
eyes were like the light of the sun, and the hairs of his head like
flames of fire, and his hands and feet like iron from the fire.
10. And Aseneth looked at him, and she fell on
her face at his feet in great fear and trembling. 11. And the man
said to her, "Take heart, Aseneth, and do not be afraid; but stand
up, and I will speak to you."
12. And Aseneth got up, and the man said to
her, "Take off the black tunic you are wearing and the sackcloth
round your waist, and shake the ashes off your head, and wash your
face with water.
13. And put on a new robe that you have never
worn before, and tie your bright girdle round your waist -- the
double girdle of your virginity.
14. And then come back to me, and
I will tell you what I have been sent to you to say."
15. And Aseneth went into the room where
her treasure-chests and the finery
for her adornment were; and she opened
her wardrobe and took out a new, fine robe, and
she took off her black robe and put on the new and brilliant
one.
16. And she untied the rope and the sackcloth
round her waist; and she put on the brilliant double girdle of her
virginity -- one girdle round her waist and the other round her
breast.
17. And she shook the ashes off her head, and
washed her face with pure water, and covered her head with a fine and
lovely veil.
Chapter Fifteen
1. And she came back to the man; and when
the man saw her he said to her, "Take now the veil off your head, for
to-day you are a pure virgin and your head is like a young man's."
2. So she took it off her head; and the man
said to her, "Take heart, Aseneth, for lo, the Lord has heard the
words of your confession.
3. Take heart, Aseneth, your name is written in
the book of life, and it will never be blotted out.
4. From to-day you will be made new, and
refashioned, and given new life; and you shall eat the bread of life
and drink the cup of immortality, and be anointed with the unction of
incorruption.
5. Take heart, Aseneth: lo, the Lord has given
you to Joseph to be his bride, and he shall be your bridegroom.
6. And you shall no more be called Aseneth, but
'City of Refuge' shall be your name; for many nations shall take
refuge in you, and under your wings shall many peoples find shelter,
and within your walls those who give their allegiance to God in
penitence will find security.
7. For Penitence is the Most High's daughter
and she entreats the Most High on your behalf every hour, and on
behalf of all who repent; for he is the father of Penitence and she
the mother of virgins, and every hour she petitions him for those who
repent; for she has prepared a heavenly bridal chamber for those who
love her, and she will look after them for ever.
8. And Penitence is herself a virgin, very
beautiful and pure and chaste and gentle; and God Most High loves
her, and all his angels do her reverence.
9. And lo, I am on my way to Joseph, and I will
talk to him about you, and he will come to you to-day and see you and
rejoice over you; and he shall be your bridegroom.
10. So listen to me, Aseneth, and put on your
wedding robe, the ancient robe, the first that was stored away in
your room, and deck yourself in all your finest jewelry, and adorn
yourself as a bride, and be ready to meet him.
11. For lo, he is coming to you to-day; and he
will see you and rejoice."
12. And when the man had finished speaking
Aseneth was overjoyed.
13. And she fell at his feet and said to him,
"Blessed be the Lord God that sent you out to deliver me from
darkness and bring me into light; and blessed be his name for ever.
14. Let me speak now, my lord, if I have found
favor with you: sit down a little on the bed, and I will get a table
ready and food for you to eat; and I will bring you good wine, of the
finest flavor, for your to drink; and then you shall go your
way."
Chapter Sixteen
1. And the man said to her, "Bring me, please,
a honeycomb too."
2. And Aseneth said, "Let me send someone
my lord,
to my family estate in the country and I will get you a honeycomb."
3. And the man said to her, "Go into your
inner room
and you will find a honeycomb there."
4. And Aseneth went into her inner room and found a
honeycomb lying on the table; and the comb was as white as snow and
full of honey, and its smell was like the breath of life.
5. And Aseneth took the comb and brought
it to him;
and the man said to her, "Why did you say, 'There is no honeycomb in
my house?' And lo, you have brought me this."
6. And Aseneth said, My lord, I had no
honeycomb in my house, but it happened just as you said:
did it perchance come out of your
mouth, for it smells like myrrh?"
7. And the man stretched his hand out and
placed it on her head and said, "You are blessed, Aseneth, for the
indescribable things of God have been revealed to you; and blessed
too are
those who give their allegiance to the Lord God in penitence, for
they shall eat of this comb.
8. The bees of the
Paradise of Delight have made this honey, and the angels of God eat
of it, and no one who eats of it
shall ever die.
9. And the man stretched his right hand out and
broke off a piece of the comb and ate it; and he put a piece of it unto
Aseneth's mouth.
10. And the man stretched his hand out and put
his finger on the edge of the comb that faced eastwards; and the path
of his finger became like blood.
11. And he stretched out his hand a second time
and put his finger on the edge of the comb that faced northwards, and
the path of his finger became like blood.
12. And Aseneth was standing on the left and
watching everything the man was doing.
13. And bees came up from the cells of the
comb, and they were white as snow, and their wings were
iridescent
-- purple and blue and gold; and they had golden diadems on their
heads and sharp-pointed strings.
14. And all the bees flew in circles round
Aseneth, from her feet right up to her head; and yet more bees, as
big as queens, settled on Aseneth's lips.
15. And the man said to the bees, "Go, please,
to your places."
16. And they all left Aseneth and fell to the
ground, every one of
them, and died.
17. And the man said, "Get up now, and go to
your place;" and they got up and went, every one of them, to the court
round Aseneth's tower.
Chapter Seventeen
1. And the man said to Aseneth, "Have you
observed this?" and she said, "Yes, my lord, I have observed
it all."
2. And the man said, "So shall be the words I
have spoken to you."
3. And the man touched the comb, and fire went
up from the table and burnt up the comb; and, as it burned, the comb
gave out a refreshing fragrance that filled the room.
4. And Aseneth said to the man, "There are,
my lord,
seven virgins with me, who have been brought up with me, and who wait
upon me: they were born in the same night as I was and I love them:
let me call them, so that you can bless them as you have blessed me.
5. And the man said, "Call them;" and Aseneth called
them, and the man blessed them and said, "God, the Most High, will
bless you for ever."
6. And the man said to Aseneth, "Take this
table away;" and Aseneth turned to move the table, and the man
vanished out of her sight, and Aseneth saw what looked like a chariot
of fire being taken up into heaven towards the east.
7. And Aseneth said, "Be merciful, O Lord, to
thy maidservant, because it was in ignorance that I spoke evil before
thee."
Chapter Eighteen
1. And while this was happening, behold, a
young man, one of Joseph's servants, came and said, "Lo, Joseph, the
mighty man of God is coming to you to-day."
2. And Aseneth called her steward and said,
"Get ready a special dinner for me, because Joseph the mighty man of
God, is coming to us."
3. And Aseneth went into her room and opened
her wardrobe, and she took out her finest robe that shone like
lightning, and she put it on.
4. And she tied a resplendent royal girdle
round her waist -- and this girdle was of precious stones.
5. And she put golden bracelets round her
hands, and golden boots on her feet, and a costly necklace about her
neck; and she put a golden crown upon her head, and in the crown, in
front, were the costliest of stones.
6. And she covered her head with a veil.
7. And she said to her maidservant, "Bring me
pure water from the spring. And Aseneth bent down to the water in the
basin [on the cockle-shell]; and her face was like the sun, and her
eyes like the rising morning star.
Chapter Nineteen
And a little slave came and said to Aseneth,
"Lo, Joseph is at the gates of our court;" and Aseneth went down with
the seven virgins to meet him.
2. And when Joseph saw her, he said to her,
"Come to me, pure virgin, for I have had good news about you from
heaven, explaining everything about you."
3. And Joseph stretched his hands out and
embraced Aseneth, and Aseneth embraced Joseph, and they
greeted each other for a long time and received new life in their
spirit.
Chapter Twenty
1. And Aseneth said to him, "Come,
my lord,
come into my house;" and she took his right hand and brought him
inside her house.
2. And Joseph sat down on her father
Pentephres's seat, and she brought water to wash his feet; and Joseph
said to her, "Let one of your virgins come, and let
her wash my feet."
3. And Aseneth said to him, "No,
my lord,
for my hands are your hands, and your feet my feet, and no one else
shall wash your feet;" and so she had her way and washed his feet.
4. And Joseph took her by the right hand and
kissed it, and Aseneth kissed his head.
5. And Aseneth's parents came back from their
country estate, and they saw Aseneth sitting with Joseph and wearing
a wedding robe; and they rejoiced and glorified God, and they ate and
drank.
6. And Pentephres said to Joseph, "To-morrow I
will invite the lords and satraps of Egypt, and I will celebrate your
wedding, and you shall take Aseneth as your wife."
7. And Joseph said, "First I must tell Pharaoh
about Aseneth, because he is my father; and he will give me Aseneth
as my wife
himself."
8. And Joseph stayed that day with Pentephres;
and he did not sleep with Aseneth, for he said, "It is not right for
a man who worships God to have intercourse with his wife before their
marriage."
Chapter Twenty-One
1. And Joseph got up early in the morning, and
he sent away to Pharaoh and told him about Aseneth.
2. And Pharaoh sent and called Pentephres and
Aseneth.
3. And Pharaoh was astonished at her beauty and
said, "The Lord will bless you, even the God of Joseph,
who has chosen you to be his bride, for he is the first-born son of
God, and you will be called daughter of the Most High, and Joseph
shall be your bridegroom for ever.
4. And Pharaoh took golden crowns and put them
on their heads and said,
5. "God Most High will bless you and prosper
your family for ever."
6. And Pharaoh turned them towards each other,
and they kissed each other. And Pharaoh celebrated their wedding with
a banquet and much merry-making for seven days; and he invited all
the chief men in the land of Egypt.
7. And he issued a proclamation, saying, "Any
man who does any work during the seven days of Joseph and Aseneth's
wedding shall die."
8. And when the wedding was over and the
banquet ended, Joseph had intercourse with Aseneth; and Aseneth
conceived by Joseph and bore Manasseh and his brother Ephraim in
Joseph's house.
Chapter Twenty-Two
1. And after this the seven years of plenty
came to an end, and the seven years of famine began.
2. And when Jacob heard about his son Joseph,
he came into Egypt with his family, in the second month, on the
twenty-first day of the month; and he settled in the land of Goshen.
3. And Aseneth said to Joseph, "I will go and
see your father, because your father Israel is my father; and Joseph
said to her, "Let us go together."
4. And Joseph and Aseneth came into the land of
Goshen, and Joseph's brothers met them and made obeisance to them
upon the ground.
5. And they came to Jacob and he blessed them
and kissed them; and Aseneth hung upon his father Jacob's neck and
kissed him.
6. And after this they ate and drank.
7. And Joseph and Aseneth went to their house,
and Simeon and Levi escorted them, to protect them: Levi was on
Aseneth's right hand and Simeon on the left.
8. And Aseneth took Levi's hand because she
loved him as a man who
was a prophet and a worshiper of God
and a man who feared the Lord. And he used to see letters written in
the heavens, and he would read them and interpret them to Aseneth
privately; and Levi saw the place of her rest in the highest
heaven.
Chapter Twenty-Three
1. And as Joseph and Aseneth were passing by,
Pharaoh's eldest son saw them from the wall.
2. And when he saw Aseneth he was driven to
distraction by her because she was so beautiful; and Pharaoh's son
sent messengers and summoned Simeon and Levi to him, and they came to
him and stood before him.
3. And Pharaoh's son said to them, "I have
heard that you are better soldiers than any others there are on
earth, and that with your own right hands you
destroyed the city of Schechem and with your own two swords you cut to
pieces thirty thousand fighting men.
4. I need your help: let us get together
without delay; and I will give you gold and silver in abundance, and
menservants and maidservants, and houses and great estates. Make a
compact with me, and shew kindness to me; for I was greatly wronged
by your brother Joseph, because he married Aseneth although she was
originally pledged to me.
5. And now come with me, and I will take up
arms against Joseph and kill him with my sword, and I will marry
Aseneth; and you shall be my brothers and my friends for ever,
6. But if you will not listen to me, I will
kill you with my sword" (and as he said this he bared his sword and
showed it them).
7. Now Simeon was a brave but impetuous man,
and he drew his sword from its scabbard and made a rush at Pharaoh's
son, as if to strike him.
8. And Levi was aware of what Simeon was about
to do, for Levi was a prophet and foresaw everything that was to
happen; and Levi trod hard on Simon's right foot as a sign to him to
curb his wrath.
9. And Levi said to him, "Why so angry with
him? For we are the children of a man who worships God, and it is not
right for a man who worships God to repay his neighbor evil for
evil."
10. And Levi said to his neighbor, Pharaoh's
son, respectfully and in good humor, "My lord, why do you speak
to us like this? For we are men who worship God, and our father is
the servant of God Most High, and our brother Joseph is loved by God:
how could we do anything so wicked in God's eyes?
11. And now, listen to us, and be careful you
never repeat what you have just said about our brother Joseph.
12. If, however, you persist in this wicked
plan, see, our swords are drawn against you."
13. And they drew their swords from their
scabbards and said, "Do you see these swords? It was with them that
the Lord God avenged the outrage on the sons of Israel, which the men
of Schechem committed in the affair of our sister Dinah, whom
Schechem, Hamor's son, defiled."
14. And Pharaoh's son saw their drawn swords,
and he was afraid and trembled and fell on his face to the ground at
their feet.
15. And Levi stretched his hand out and lifted
him up, saying, "Do not be afraid: only be careful you say nothing
against our brother."
16. And they went out from him, leaving him
trembling and afraid.
Chapter Twenty-Four
1. And Pharaoh's son was in much affliction and
torment because of Aseneth, and he was greatly distressed.
2. And his servants whispered in his ear, "Lo,
the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the maidservants of Leah and Rachel,
Jacob's wives, hate Joseph and Aseneth and are jealous of them, and
they will do what you want."
3. And Pharaoh's son sent messengers and
summoned them, and they came to him by night; and Pharaoh's son said
to them, "I have heard that your are good soldiers."
4. And Gad and Dan, the elder brothers, said to
Pharaoh's son, "Let our lord tell his servants what it is he wants,
and he will do it."
5.And Pharaoh's son was overjoyed, and he said
to his servants, "Go away and leave us alone, for I have something to
say to these men privately."
6. And all the servants went out; and Pharaoh's
son told them lies, saying, "I offer you a choice between prosperity
and death: so choose prosperity and not death.
7. I know that you are good soldiers, and
that you
will not die as women die; but act like men and
take vengeance on your enemies.
8. I heard" (he continued "your brother Joseph
say to my father Pharaoh, 'Dan and Gad are the children of
maidservants and are not my brothers.
9. And I am only waiting for my father to die
to take action against them and all their progeny, so that they will
not share the inheritance with us, for they are the children of
maidservants, and it was they who sold me to the Ishmaelites.
1
0. When my father is dead I will repay them for
the wrong they did me.'
11. And my father Pharaoh commended Joseph and
said to him, 'What you have said is quite right, my son; and now take some
of my soldiers and proceed against them as they did against you, and
I will help you.'"
12. And when the men heard what Pharaoh's son
told them they were much troubled and distressed, and they said to
him, "We appeal to you, our lord, to help us; and
whatever you tell your servants to do, we will do it."
13. And Pharaoh's son said to them, "To-night I
will kill my father, for my father Pharaoh is like a father to
Joseph; and do you also kill Joseph, and I will marry Aseneth."
14. And Dan and Gad said to him, "We will do
everything you have told us to. We overheard Joseph say to Aseneth,
'Go to-morrow to our country estate, for it is vintage-time; and he
has arranged for six hundred armed soldiers to go with her and fifty
outrunners."
15. And when Pharaoh's son heard this, he gave
the four men five hundred men each and appointed them their officers
and commanders.
16. And Dan and Gad said to him, "We will go by
night and lie in wait at the brook and hide in the woods on the
banks.
17. And as for you, take fifty men with you,
archers on horseback, and go on ahead, some distance in front; and
Aseneth will come and fall into our hands,and we will cut down the
men who are with her.
18. And Aseneth will flee in her chariot and
fall into your hands and you will be
able to deal with her as you wish.
19. And afterwards we will kill Joseph while he
is fretting about Aseneth; and we will kill his children before his
eyes."
20. And Pharaoh's son was delighted when he
heard this, and he sent two thousand soldiers after them.
21. And they came to the brook and hid in the
woods on the banks, and five hundred men took up their position in
front; and in between them was a highway.
Chapter Twenty-Five
1. And Pharaoh's son went to his father's room
to kill him; but his father's guards would not allow him to go in to
him.
2. And Pharaoh's son said to them, "I want to
see my father because I am going off to gather the grapes from my
newly planted vine
3. And the guards said to him, "Your father is
in pain, and he has been awake all night; but he is resting
now; and
he said to us, "Do not let anyone in to me, not even my eldest son."
4. And he went away in anger; and he took fifty
mounted archers, and he went in front of them as Dan and Gad had told
him to.
5. And Naphtali and Asher said to Dan and Gad,
"Why must you plot again against our father Israel and against our
brother Joseph? For God looks after him as if he were the apple of
his eye.
6. Did you not once sell Joseph as a slave, and
to-day he is king of the whole earth, and its saviour, and gives us
corn?
7. And now, if you make plots against him
again, he will call upon the God of Israel, and he will send fire
from heaven, and it will burn you up, and the angels of God will
fight against you."
8. And their elder brothers Dan and Gad were
angry with them, saying, "Are we then to die like women? God forbid!"
And they went out to encounter Joseph and Aseneth.
Chapter Twenty-Six
1. And Aseneth got up early in the morning and said to
Joseph, "I am going to our estate in the country; but I am frightened
because you are not coming with me."
2. And Joseph said to her, "Take heart and do
not be afraid, but go; for the Lord is with you and he will keep you
from all evil as the apple of an eye.
3. And I will go and distribute my corn, and
give corn to all the men in the city, so that no one dies of famine
in the land of Egypt."
4. And Aseneth departed on her journey and
Joseph to the distribution of the corn.
5. And Aseneth came to where the brook was with
her six
hundred men; and suddenly the men that were with Pharaoh's son leaped
out from their ambush and joined battle with Aseneth's soldiers, and
they cut them down with their swords and killed all Aseneth's
outrunners.
6. And Aseneth fled in her chariot.
7. And Levi, the son of Leah, was informed
about all this (for he was a prophet), and he told his brothers about
Aseneth's danger; and they took, each one of them, his sword on his
thigh, and their shields on their arms, and their spears in their
right hands, and they went after Aseneth with what speed they could.
8. And Aseneth fled, and lo, Pharaoh's son met
her, and fifty men with him; and Aseneth saw him, and she was afraid
and trembled.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
1. And Benjamin was sitting with her in the
chariot.
2. And Benjamin was a sturdy lad, about
eighteen years old, indescribably handsome, and as strong as a young
lion; and he feared God.
3. And Benjamin jumped down from the chariot,
and he took a round stone from the brook and hurled it with all his
might at Pharaoh's son and hit him on his left temple and wounded him
severely, and he fell from his horse half-dead.
4. And Benjamin clambered up on a rock and said
to the driver of Aseneth's chariot, "Give me fifty stones from the
brook;" and he gave him fifty stones.
5. And Benjamin hurled the stones and killed
the fifty men that were with Pharaoh's son; and the stones sank into
the temples of each one of them.
6. Then the sons of Leah, Reuben and Simeon,
Levi and Judah, Issachar and Zebulon, went after the men who had lain
in ambush; and they fell upon them suddenly, and cut down the two
thousand men, and the six of them killed them.
7. And their brothers, the sons of Bilhah and
Zilpah, fled; and they said, "We have been ruined through our
brothers; and Pharaoh's son is dead, killed by Benjamin, and all
those with him have perished at his hand: come now, let us kill
Aseneth [and Benjamin], and let us make for the woods."
8. And they came, with their swords drawn,
covered in blood; and Aseneth saw them, and she said, "O Lord my God,
that didst quicken me from death, that didst say to me, 'Thy soul
shall live for ever, deliver me from these men.'" And the Lord God
heard her voice, and immediately their swords fell from t heir hands
to the ground and were reduced to dust.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
1. And the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah saw the
miracle that had happened and they were afraid and said, "The Lord is
fighting for Aseneth against us."
2. And they fell on their faces to the ground
and made obeisance to Aseneth, saying, "Have mercy on us, your
servants, for you are our mistress and queen, and we have done you a
great wrong and our brother Joseph.
3. And now God has brought retribution on us:
we pray you, therefore, have mercy on us, and deliver us from our
brothers' hands, for they will avenge the outrage done to you and their
swords will be against us."
4. And Aseneth said to them, "Take heart and do
not be afraid, for your brothers are men who worship God, and do not
repay evil for evil to any man.
5. But retire to the woods until I can secure
your pardon and mollify their wrath; for what you have been trying to
do to them is indeed no trifling matter.
6. Take heart, though, and do not be
afraid, for the Lord will see justice done between us."
7. And Dan and Gad fled to the woods.
8. And behold, the sons of Leah came, running
like deers in pursuit of them; and Aseneth got down from her chariot,
and she greeted them with tears.
9. And they made obeisance to her on the ground
and wept aloud; and they asked about their brothers, the
maidservants' sons, intending to kill them.
10. And Aseneth said to them, "Spare you
brothers and do them no harm, for the Lord has shielded me and
reduced the swords in their hands to dust, and they melted away like
wax before the fire.
11. Surely this is enough for us that the Lord
is fighting for us: so spare your brothers."
12. And Simeon said to Aseneth, "Why should our
mistress plead for her enemies?
13 No! We will cut them down with our swords,
because they have plotted evil against our father Israel and against
our brother Joseph now on two occasions, and they have plotted against
you to-day."
14. And Aseneth said to him , "No brother, you
must not repay evil for evil to your neighbor, for the Lord will
avenge this outrage."
15. And after this Simeon bowed to Aseneth; and
Levi came to her, and he kissed her right hand and blessed her.
16. Thus Aseneth saved the men from their
brothers' wrath, so that they did not kill them.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
1. And Pharaoh's son lifted himself up from the
ground and sat up; and he spat blood from his mouth, because his
blood was running from his temple into his mouth.
2. And Benjamin advanced upon him and took hold
of his sword and drew it from its scabbard (for Benjamin had no sword
of his own with him).
3. And as he was about to strike Pharaoh's son,
Levi rushed up and seized him by the hand and said, "No brother, you
must not do this, for we are men who worship God, and it is not right
for a man who worships God to repay evil for evil, or to trample upon
a man who has already fallen, or to harry his enemy to death.
4. But come: let us bind up his wound; and if
he lives, he will be our friend, and his father Pharaoh will be our
father."
5. And Levi raised Pharaoh's son up and washed
the blood off his face and bound a bandage round his wound; and he
set him on his horse and took him to his father.
6. And Levi told him everything that had
happened.
7. And Pharaoh got up from his throne and made
obeisance to Levi upon the ground.
8. And on the third day Pharaoh's son died from
the wound of Benjamin's stone.
9. And Pharaoh mourned for his eldest son, and
he was worn out with grief.
10. And Pharaoh died at the age of one hundred
and nine; and he left his crown to Joseph.
11. And Joseph was king of Egypt for
forty-eight years.
12. And after this Joseph gave the crown to
Pharaoh's grandson; and Joseph was like a father to him in
Egypt.
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Text from Joseph and Aseneth H. F. D. Sparks
(ed.), The
Apocryphal Old Testament and is
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