The story of the Hebrew patriarch Joseph in Egypt is a fascinating and consequential one. The Bible shows Joseph being sold into slavery, becoming vizier, and saving his family during the seven years of famine, but it says almost nothing about his Egyptian wife, Aseneth. Recognized already in antiquity, this desideratum gave rise to legends, including the Jewish novel Joseph and Aseneth, which expands on what little is said in the Bible (Genesis 41; Genesis 46; Genesis 48) about Joseph and Aseneth, the idol-worshiping daughter of an Egyptian priest. For centuries, scholars have been fascinated by this extra-canonical literary […]
