Asenath אָֽסְנַת
Egyptian wife of Joseph; mother of Manasseh and Ephraim
Biography
Asenath was an Egyptian woman who became the wife of Joseph, the son of Israel (or 'Jacob'), during his rise to power in Egypt. She was the daughter of Potiphera, a priest of On (Heliopolis), and was given to Joseph by Pharaoh as a wife when he was appointed as the second-in-command over Egypt. Asenath bore Joseph two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, who would later become the patriarchs of two of the twelve tribes of Israel. As the wife of Joseph and the mother of two important tribal leaders, Asenath played a significant role in the history of Israel, despite her Egyptian background.
Family
Parents
In Scripture
1 biblical book ; 1 with study contentGenesis 3 verses
- Genesis 41:45
"Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-Paneah. He gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On as a wife. Joseph went out over the land of Egypt."
Study Genesis → - Genesis 41:50
"To Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him."
Study Genesis → - Genesis 46:20
"To Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him."
Study Genesis →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | אָֽסְנַת | H0621 |
Asenath
:20). She was evidently an Egyptian woman and bore an Egyptian name. '-c-n-t, pointed by the Massoretes as 'acenath, appears in the Septuagint as aseneth or asenneth. The last two consonants appear to represent the name of the Egyptian goddess Neith. The first part of the name will then represent either ns = "belonging to" (so Brugsch and generally), or 'ws-n (note the doubled "n" in the Septuagint transcription) = "she belongs to" (so Spiegelberg). It is possible that these four letters represent the Egyptian name Sn-t (so Lieblein and others), though the 'aleph (') must then be explained as 'aleph prostheticum and the taw (t) would be less regular than a he (h) to stand for the Egyptian feminine t.
J. Oscar Boyd
a'-ser (Aser): the King James Version: Greek form of Asher (thus the Revised Version (British and American)) (Lu 2:36; Re 7:6).
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