POTIPHAR. Asked May 10 2016 This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Citing the story of the Levite who allowed his concubine to be raped and then murdered her, this passage was one of her proof texts. Vote Up Things are certainly starting to look up. And so, Pharaoh selects the daughter of the Priest of On, a man named Potiphera. She requested from Joseph to teach her the word of his God and that she and her husband would change to his God if Joseph did her wish. Potiphera. Dr. Alice C. Linsley There remain Potiphar and Potiphera. The Eastern Orthodox Church, which names Josephs first wife as Salome, holds that Joseph was a widower and betrothed to Mary, and that references to Jesus brothers were children of Joseph from a previous marriage. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. He was taken to Egypt and eventually became steward to Potiphar, one of Pharaohs officials. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Proper noun. If Potiphar and Poti-phera were the same person, then either (a) the same man was both captain of the guard for Paro and a priest, or (b) he was one and then became the other later. Our team has collected thousands of questions that people keep asking in forums, blogs and in Google questions. According to one view, Abraham remarried after the death of Sarah and had a total of three wives: Sarah, Hagar, and Keturah. I make no apology for being an Anglican Traditionalist. , VAYESHEV Moses later compiled them and substantially edited them in the form with which are familiar today. She gives birth to two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related. What happens to Joseph and Potiphar's relationship? I don't buy it. There should be no special quality attached to any name including Potiphar. Is it the same person? Zulaika is the name given to the wife of Potiphar in Jewish and Muslim scripture. 'captain of the guard'), and likewise saris, 'eunuch' of Pharaoh.. The African wife of Potiphar is very active for a woman who appears only in a chapter of the book of Genesis. There were two men in the tale with similar names Potiphar and Potiphera. Name of an Egyptian officer. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. An Egyptian court official and chief of Pharaoh's bodyguard. Sounds intriguing. There are several remarkable features to this verse, creating a veritable field day for commentators and authors willing to take up the cudgel. First is that the time of Joseph is between 1900 and 1950 BC. Joseph's marriage to his daughter seems to go against the Old Testament directive not to intermarry with pagans (Deuteronomy 7:3; Nehemiah 13:27). We are blessed to live in a country that does not demand we change who we are and what we believe in order to fit in. 40 What's vodka made from? The Ar Potiphar. The story is first related in Quran 12:21-35: An Egyptian purchases Joseph and proposes to adopt him. Should the explanation in Genesis on how God created plants before the sun affect the understanding of creation? Potiphera was a priest of Ra (the Egyptian god of the sun) who was based in On (also known as Heliopolis). How is Zygospore different from the Sporangiophore in fungi? Joseph and Potiphar's Wife. I think the latter is probably true). Technical problems? How did Jesus sit on the donkey and her offspring on one time in Matthew 21:5-8? Potiphar's wife, who was known for her infidelities, took a liking to Joseph, and attempted to seduce him. Who is this Mark in Colossians 4? McKinlay (1995) noted that Potiphars wife is treated as an object in his masters possession (Gen 39:89), and the reason Joseph refuses is not because he doesnt want to have sex with her, but because it would violate his masters trust and be a sin against the God Yahweh. This is (at the least) somewhat Biblically accurate. Lastly, Joseph seems to have chosen an Egyptian funeral for himself, as he is embalmed (50:26) at the end of the story. While there is not much in the way of biblical evidence for such a reading, such fascinating and playful interpretation helps heighten Joseph's climb to fame, even as it further lowers the status of the evil Potiphar in response to his prior sin in mistreating Joseph. 2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. Potiphera . MIKETZ appears in the Judaeo-Christian Old Testament and in the Koran. Genesis 37:36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard In the Old Testament she is described simply as Potiphar's wife, her name being given only in the Koran. an apologist for the Anglican Way of Christianity. An Egyptian court official and chief of Pharaoh's bodyguard. Josephs father Jacob (also called Israel) favored him and gave Joseph the coat as a gift; as a result, he was envied by his brothers, who saw the special coat as an indication that Joseph would assume family leadership. Pharaoh gave Asenath to Joseph for a wife. When Joseph's sister Dinah was captured and raped, only two men are named as the abductors. He was the father of Asenath, who was given to Joseph as his wife by Pharaoh, ( 41:45 . 3 His master saw that the L ord was with him and that the L . In the Book of Jubilees, she is said to be given to Joseph to marry by the Pharaoh, 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. These Genesis stories were written, not by Moses, but by the Patriarchs pre-dating Moses. Modern scholars have searched, without substantial agreement, for Egyptian words that would shed light on this name, the closest one thus far being the tongue-twisterDjed-pa-netjer-iw-f-ankh, or "The God speaks and he [the bearer of the name] lives," (see "Zaphenath-Paneah" in the Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 40 Is potiphar and potiphera the same person? This precise situation is described by the Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 13b: And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, bought him [Joseph]. That would mean that Asenath really was, according to blood, of the house of Jacob, even though the Scriptures say that she was daughter (adopted?) Now I admit that I make some assumptions. 2021 covid 19 supplemental paid sick leave law; panini blockchain code; what happened to arthur labinjo hughes mother Sela probably was not a major site i A fresco at Erebuni Fortress in Armenia (8th Century BC) "Poti-phera" is the Hebrew rendering of the Egyptian "P'-di-p'-R'" = "He whom Ra [e., the sun-god] gave." This name has not . The Second Commandment is: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain (Deuteronomy 5:11; Exodus 20:7). Required fields are marked *. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. blessed be He, emasculated [Potiphar]. Justice is achieved as the commentators name, neuter, and then neutralize Potiphar, bringing the entire sordid ordeal to an end, and ensuring that Joseph is set up for success in his career in Egyptian government. Potiphar is only mentioned in 2 chapters in Genesis. of Potiphera. So, "If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck . A good answer provides new insight and perspective. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. This is the single extra-Biblical occurance of the name. Potiphar is the captain of Pharaoh's guard who is said to have purchased Joseph as a slave and, impressed by his intelligence, makes him the master of his household. Joseph is not the only one of our ancestors to engage in an exogamous marriage; indeed, this kind of union can be a successful way to bring people into our group. Report Share "I pray, when I play pharaoh at White's, that the cards fall as they have come to my . The traditions that trace Asenath to the family of Jacob relate that she was the daughter born to Dinah following her rape by Shechem son of Hamor. He is supposed by some to have been the same "captain of the guard" who promoted Joseph in prison, Genesis 37:36; 39:23. The Gospel of Luke says Mary is a virgin betrothed to Joseph, while the Gospel of Matthew says Jesuss virginal conception happens before Mary lives with Joseph in his house, because, in a Jewish wedding, by being betrothed to a man, the woman is already his wife, yet she does not start living in his house until the . The nobles among conquered peoples had greater skills, education, connections, etc. ( Ge 37:36; 39:4) Potiphar purchased Joseph from the traveling Midianite merchants and, observing what a good servant Joseph was . Maybe Potipher purchased Asenath on one slave dealing caravan and then came back through Shechem a few years later to see if he could bargain for more, whereupon he came upon Joseph's evil brothers who were ready to make a deal? Where was Potiphar located in the Book of Abraham? The stela is certainly an interesting lead. Potiphar is the only Egyptian of status who would harbor a grudge against Joseph, given their prior history. Thank you for subscribing to emails from ReformJudaism.org! Then we have these rabbis with some fanciful explainations (midrash) about how Potiphar = Potiphera, while other rabbis teach about how they do not equate: both interpretations are indeed represented, but neither one is taught dogmatically. Potiphar (his name a derivate of Potiphera meaning that he was given by Ra) was an Egyptian official, serving the Pharaoh of the Exodus, as his captain of the guard. They include red, bl That is a question that I am often asked. Alice C. Linsley. Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army. Is Potiphar and potiphera the same person? Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. In this quotation, al-abari understands the word al-Azz as the king, which gives the same impression of a mighty person, . What is notable is the degree to which Joseph becomes an assimilated Egyptian in the process. His name means he whom Ra has given. Josephs Egyptian wife. "It seems possible that the process of translation triggers speculation about Aseneth that the original Hebrew did not" (Kraemer, When, p.314). (Founded 21 March 2007). I have an issue I'd like to resolve from chapters 19 to 21 concerning the rape and murder of the Levite's concubine. see) or an unsuccessful attempt to form an Egyptian name on the same lines. How many children did Mary and Joseph have? There are no Hebrew words that come close to it. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. Genesis: Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Pentateuch by John Goldingay. A Jewish legend makes him the same person as Potiphar, whose wife was in love with Joseph and whose false accusation got him thrown in prison. It's a site that collects all the most frequently asked questions and answers, so you don't have to spend hours on searching anywhere else. How many wives did Joseph in the Bible have? At various stages of his life, Joseph was a slave, a prisoner, and a national leader. daughter? it is clear that Potiphar was a powerful person . Potiphar (his name a derivate of Potiphera meaning that he was given by Ra) was an Egyptian official, serving the Pharaoh of the Exodus, as his captain of the guard. Potiphera was Joseph's father-in-law and a priest of the Temple in Heliopolis. . Others explain that the fact that the Torah uses two different names indicates that they are two different people. The Pharaoh is said to have given Joseph, Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. What would be some verses from the Bible to save a marriage? 22 How much is barca in debt? Josephs decision not to sleep with Potiphars wife is traditionally held up by Christian and Jewish faith communities as a model of piety. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. According to Matthew and Luke, however, Joseph was only legally his father. You are a gem, Jonathan! Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team, AskTheRabbi.org is a service ofthe Gateways Organization [year] Dr. Alice C. Linsley Taken together, the biblical data indicat Asenath or Asnat combines two ancient Egyptian words: The Kushites are the Nilo-Saharan peoples who contributed their binary worldview to the ancient Afro-Asiatic world . Rabbi Aaron D. Panken, Ph.D., serves as president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. Potiphera is pure Egyptian, meaning 'he whom Re gave,' and is essentially the same name as Potiphar. His name possibly indicates the same figure as Potiphera (Hebrew: ). The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". /p/potiphar.htm - 8k. She is the mother of Manasseh and Ephraim (Gen 41:50; 46:20). After Joseph correctly interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, one of the ways in which Pharaoh rewarded Joseph was by giving him Potiphera's daughter Asenath as his wife, as noted in Genesis 41:45. Pa-di-Para), "Whom P'Ra (sun-god) has given," and most authorities would consider Potiphar as an abbreviated form in Heb. Poti-phera (3 Occurrences). (Mark 2:15). He was the father of Asenath, who was given to Joseph as his wife by Pharaoh, (41:45) and who bore Joseph two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim. Clarify Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army. Is Potiphar and potiphera the same person? The word came to be used metonymically for the Egyptian king under the New Kingdom (starting in the 18th dynasty, 15391292 bce), and by the 22nd dynasty (c. Egypt was continually governed, at least in part, by native pharaohs for approximately 2500 years, until it was conquered by the Kingdom of Kush in the late 8th century BC, whose rulers adopted the traditional pharaonic titulature for themselves. 6[Doubleday: New York, 1992]). Wherever Joseph was, God was at work in his life in ways Joseph could not have understood at the time. Does Joseph do all of this for show, just on the outside, perhaps for political prudence? Still, our speculation is based on verifiable patterns in Genesis.Also, you are lifting up something that many Americans don't understand about slavery in the ancient world. Potiphar is Pharaoh's officer, the captain of the guard(Gen 37:36; 39:1). Poti-Pherah means he whom Ra (the sun God) gave. What would be some verses from the Bible to save a marriage? As a result of Potiphar's inappropriate male actions toward Joseph, the angel Gabriel castrated him as an act of divine justice, rendering him unable to continue such predatory activities. Asenath is mentioned in the Torah she-bi-khetav: Lit. What can we learn from the account of Potiphars wife? Genesis 39:1-23, a high Egyptian official in the story of Joseph.The name is perhaps a deformation of Potiphera (wh. H e lived in Egypt, and his daughter Asenath became Joseph's wife (Gen. 41:45). ( Gen. 37:36; 39:4) Potiphar purchased Joseph from the traveling Midianite merchants, and, observing what a good servant . Potiphar's wife attempted to seduce Joseph. On was a city in northern Egypt noted for worship of the Sun God. That said, rabbinic interpretation is not authoritative for Christians.The standard interpretation is that Potiphe-re is a corruption of Ap-Ophis-Ra. Joseph's experience in the house of Potiphar was both rewarding and disappointing. The 13 New Testament books written by Paul (the epistles) make no reference to him at all, nor does the Gospel of Mark, the first of the Gospels. It is mentioned in Isaiah 16:1 and 2 Kings 14:7. When Joseph refused her advances, and ran off, leaving his outer vestment in her hands, she retaliated by falsely accusing him of trying to rape her, and Potiphar had Joseph imprisoned. Your email address will not be published. Is Potiphar and potiphera the same person? What better way then to marry him into a family of aristocrats to ensure he stays in Egypt for the long run? captain of the guard), and likewise saris, eunuch of Pharaoh. Joseph and Asenath had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, both born during the seven years of plenty. Potiphar (/ptfr/ POT-if-r; Hebrew: .mw-parser-output .script-hebrew,.mw-parser-output .script-Hebr{font-family:"SBL Hebrew","SBL BibLit","Taamey Ashkenaz","Taamey Frank CLM","Frank Ruehl CLM","Ezra SIL","Ezra SIL SR","Keter Aram Tsova","Taamey David CLM","Keter YG","Shofar","David CLM","Hadasim CLM","Simple CLM","Nachlieli",Cardo,Alef,"Noto Serif Hebrew","Noto Sans Hebrew","David Libre",David,"Times New Roman",Gisha,Arial,FreeSerif,FreeSans}/, Modern:Pfar, Tiberian:Ppar/Ppr; from Late Egyptian: p-dj-p-r, lit. The topic is Scientists theorize that supercontinents have formed in cycles throughout GENESIS through the lens of Anthropology Analysis of the marriage and ascendancy structure of Abraham's Horite people reveals that the rulers had two wives. Community answers are sorted based on votes. . Easton's Bible Dictionary. When those around him see what has happened, they give him a mocking title with what sounds like a more feminine Hebrew ending, reflecting his newfound lack of male sexuality. Our experts have done a research to get . Believers and non-believers can see it as an illustration of the need to keep trying and persevere. His eyesight has been affected and his left To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Potiphar is the captain of Pharaoh's guard who is said to . It is later mentioned in Genesis 41:50 that before the years of famine, Joseph had two sons with Asenath. [9] . Is Potiphar and potiphera the same person? Does the devil have power to make us sick? The bible teaches that human beings are to be servants of God and of no one else. Midrashic sources identify Potiphera as none other than Potiphar, Joseph's previous master.4. Playing on the similarity between ufeir'o ("mutilated him") and the last two syllables of Potiphera, the Talmud crafts a bizarre tale that serves two narrative purposes: first, it portrays Potiphar as a sexual predator, thus recasting the entire interaction between Potiphar's wife and Joseph in Genesis 39. TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. Joseph has one wife, Asenath the daughter of Potiphar the priest of On, whom he marries in Egypt. It is difficult to tie Potiphar or Joseph accurately to a particular pharaoh or time period. If we look at Egypt in this time, there was complete disarray in th. Now, the student of Egypt can do some real homework regarding the time of this so-called pharaoh! First, we can grapple with a few potential readings of Joseph's newly bestowed Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah. According to the opinion that they are two different people the question is easily answered - the Torah says that Potiphera was the priest of . The view that the names Potiphar and Potiphera refer to men of high rank is supported by the stela of Potiphera in Cairo Museum. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Here are guidelines to help facilitate a meaningful learning experience for everyone. Which Teeth Are Normally Considered Anodontia. What is the difference between a sign and a wonder? It was mostly high-ranking people who were slaves. What happens to Joseph and Potiphars relationship? In another early text, The History of Joseph the Carpenter, which was composed in Egypt between the 6th and 7th centuries, Christ himself tells the story of his step-father, claiming Joseph was 90 years old when he married Mary and died at 111. For example, here is the verse at Genesis 39:1; 'As for Joseph, he was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, a court official of Pharao. Unfortunately, Potiphar's wife, who was known for her infidelities, took a liking to Joseph, and attempted to seduce him. How did Jesus sit on the donkey and her offspring on one time in Matthew 21:5-8? Why didnt Abraham bargain with God when it came to Isaac being offered as a burnt offering like he did when it came to Sodom and Gomorrah? The Egyptian-style embalming and mummification can be excused as a necessity for the trip back to Canaan, but the mourning rituals are so obviously Egyptian that the locals assume (50:11) an important Egyptian has died. When he was castrated in his body, and they recognized it, and they called him "Potiphera," he was ashamed about the matter and he left his ministry, and took himself to a house of idol worship, and he became a priest for idol worship, for thus was the custom of the honored ones [to be castrated]. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Heliopolis is Biblical On and was an Ainu shrine. . Rav said: He bought him for himself [that is, for his own sexual purposes], but [the angel] Gabriel came and castrated him and then Gabriel came and mutilated him (ufeir'o), for originally his name is written Potiphar but afterwards Potiphera. Is it the same person? According to the biblical story, Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret for him. Our team has collected thousands of questions that people keep asking in forums, blogs and in Google . . I was suspecting that the name Potiphera must be more of a title, like "Pharoah", than an actual name, and that there was nothing necessarily inconsistent about someone functioning at one instance as an officer of Pharoah (a eunuch? Following the custom of his Horite forefathers, Abraham had two wives. As you write, some are of the opinion that they are one and the same person. In Gen 39 the seductress is the wife of Potiphar. In this reading, Joseph is nothing but . Everything we know about Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus, comes from the Bible, and mentions of him are underwhelming.