The Wisdom of Asenath
Betty 00:00
Hello Queens. Welcome to She Speaks Love Women of the Bible series. We're so excited to share these incredible women of the Bible and highlight their personal story and their legacy. These podcasts will encourage, inspire, and share wisdom from God's word as it relates to women in our unique circumstances.
let's get into their phenomenal story and the power of their voice. Today's woman of the Bible is Asenath presented by Queen Asenath
Asenath 00:42
The scripture of Asenath is in Genesis 41:45. Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zappa Fa Pene, and gave him Asenath daughter of Potipherah priest of On to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt and Genesis 41 and 50.
Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by an Asenath daughter of Potipherah, Priest of On, and Genesis 46 and 20 in Egypt, Manassa, and Ephraim. Were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potipherah priest of On and back history. Joseph, you know, he was the co the son of Jacob who had the code of many colors, whose brothers.
He told about his dream that his family would bow down to him, his brother's jealousy, you know, they wanted to kill him but were, he was beaten and thrown in a pit and then sold into slavery. And so he ended up in Egypt. Asenath is first mentioned to be the wife given to Joseph and Potipherah in Egypt.
Their high priests were called Potipherah. And if we know this recount the story of Joseph. He also worked, his master was Potipherah. So there are several potters, you know, in Egypt and under Pharaoh, but he's not the Potipherah who was his Master. But another Potipherah Asenath was a high-born Aristocrat Egyptian woman as the wife of Joseph the mother, and two sons.
There are two rabbinic approaches to Asenath. One holds that she was an ethnic Egyptian woman that converted to Mary Joseph. This view of her accepting the Lord before marriage and then raising her two sons is the tenets of Judaism. This presents her as an, as a positive example of conversion. And places places her among the devout women, The other approach argues that she was not Egyptian by descent, but was from the family of Jacob.
Traditions that trace her to the family of Jacob relate that she was born as the daughter of Dinah we know that Dinah was rapped by, Shechem came and gave birth. It's one theory to Asenath and once he gave birth there, it said that Jacob left Asenath on the wall of Egypt where she was later found by Potipherah, and she was then raised by Potipherah's wife and eventually married Joseph.
You know, it's a mixed bag of, Okay, who, which. You know, school of thought, do you really go with, and I have never seen this, another article that I saw that talked about who was an Asenath and, cause it's just a few scriptures in the Bible. And so when you go to try to do some research, you don't really find much.
You say she's a minor character, but there was an article and story was who was Asenath and why did she give hope to Christian Singles ?, and I only found this a couple of days ago, and we know last week when we talked with Dominique and how about the wait for marriage and a man and who, and I was like, Well, how befitting that find this now?
But in that article, it brings up that there were multiple reasons why we can learn from this high-ranking woman and why she gives hope to other women for the Josephs in our life, the ones who wait. Because Joseph was 30 years to find a wife. He spent 13 years, you know, in prison. So he was 30 by the time he was married.
So it says the article dies into who Asenath is and Jewish folklore and why we should know her story. The article also talks about her being high ranking, obviously high ranking. For Pharaoh to consider giving her to Joseph as a spouse. Some have speculated that she was the daughter of Potipherah, which would make her full circle with Joseph's story depending on which version and things you go with.
Potipherah, you know, Potipherah, for his master, you know, his wife accused him of rape, but there's no evidence to suggest that this is the part of the first daughter from the master. Like I. Is more believed that she is from Potipherah her priest of on who worshiped the son God, son God raw. So by marrying an Israelite Asenath escapes the pagan practices of the Egypt Egyptians.
Because Joseph is such a strong man of God, we have reason to believe he had a strong influence on leading her to learn more about Yahweh. She does give birth to two sons who end up becoming heads of the tribes of I. Let's take a look at the meaning of her son's names. Ephraim is one son for God, has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction and Manasseh.
God has made me forget all of my trouble in all of my father's household. Perhaps Joseph named them, or perhaps they name them together, but it seems that both of them were born out of some kind of affliction, or at least endure. We have no idea if she went into this marriage willingly or for the usual bride price that happened in her day.
Pharaoh gives Joseph a name that means seer or interpreter, and he gives a Asenath as a prize for Joseph's properly interpreting Pharaoh's dream about the oncoming fam. Apart from this, we have no other biblical details about asce. We can surmise that perhaps Pharaoh could have married her off to someone else or placed her in a Harem in Egypt, which was custom at that time.
So her marriage to Joseph would've been more optimal than the other options for her. What does legend say about asce? As mentioned before, there are two schools of thought. First, she hails from the land of Egypt. She is fully Egyptian and has spent her whole life learning the ways of Egyptian and religion.
She converts to Joseph's Religion and follows him in the ways of Yahweh after she marries him, showing that God has a plan for the Gentiles. We see this in other figures such as Zipporah, Ruth, and Rehab, All Who play an important role in the overarching narrative of the Old Testament that bleeds into the New Testament, the second rabbinic school of thought that she was born out of rape..
That happens in Genesis 24 would certainly have a literary element. When we think about Joseph's interaction with pop Potter's wife, who his master was and her false accusations that both Joseph and Asenath have been born out of or endured hardship before they came together. And there is even a Greek narrative story titled Joseph and Asenath.
And so it seems to indicate that the couple didn't like each other at first sight, but through divine intervention, they fall in love with each other. Wow. It's avoiding a plot to kill Joseph. Like many texts that appeared during that period, they really can't take this story at face value, but it is there.
We do know that Joseph married at 30 years old. He's spent 13 years in captivity. He's been falsely accused of rape, thrown into prison, and forgotten. Most of us have the desire to marry, and we think, and we have to think, Joseph was not an exception to the rule. So God not only grants him his freedom in a high position after so many years in the lowest position in Egypt, but he also marries a beautiful, intelligent woman who gives him two sons and together.
they follow God no matter what hardship they face before Asenath. Even if she had no matter which story we believe before it points out that even if she had married someone she loved, she would not have learned about God and his love for her. This is, this would've been a tragic life indeed, especially for such an intelligent woman.
So we learned from her story that God can rescue us out of difficult situations. Or families, we can corroborate this with the the way that she, their name, their sons fruitful in the time of suffering. And God has made me forget my troubles. And if we recall the story that Dominique talked about last week in the names of the children being born with Rachel and Jacob and Leah and their names, and meaning this is it almost, I felt like, you know, like the.
Curses of generation of curses are starting to be broken with Jacob, not with Jacob, with Joseph and Asenath family. We should also know about Asenath because she would've been considered foreign to Israelite. This means that God had a plan for Gentiles from the very beginning, even though he caused the ears or lights his people.
In the Old Testament, he doesn't hold the Gentiles and Lurch forever. He has them play a part in his plan. Even before Jesus steps onto the scene. And finally, we have to imagine that Joseph was praising the Lord when the sin is came into his life. He'd reached the age of 30 and and marriage didn't look like it was going to happen for him.
Instead, he spent most, almost half of his life en slave riding in jail. So we can imagine his joy when he receives Asenath as a wife, a beautiful woman who received a strong education. This and this article shows that how it can give many single Christians hope in the dating world. So I thought that was fascinating how, you know, there was an article to relate that was the Asenath.
This does not guarantee that we haven't a seen at in store for us, but it does remind us that God moves behind the scenes and that we would not endure these fiery trials forever and that out of hardship and difficulty. We can see fruit. And so I just thought that article was interesting to share other points about the time.
We know that Joseph, you know, he interpreted that there, they would be years of plenty and then famine. And so we think about what's going on today in our world, you know, with inflation and wars and it's, you know, and farming and things like that. We're living in some of those times. That we need to be storing up cuz things are going to get harder and more difficult down the road.
You know, the cost of things are going up, The issues and troubles that we see now, they're going, these are lasting. It's not going to, we think the prices are high now. So, you know, I follow some news and market things, you know, fertilized the ga the cost is up fertilizing of crop. Or going up. And so that's a harvest that's going in ground now that when they pick it years, you know, in months from now, six to nine months, we still have to pay that cost.
So this is gonna last well until next year. So we are in a season of where we should be thinking about seeking God on what to store up and saving for times of famine. And when it gets hard I would think a scene if had to. My mom would always. When she named me Asenath, my dad, there was a woman named Asenath who assisted my father.
My father just, it was something about her characteristic and he wanted his daughter to have that name. And my mom, you know, she thought that names have meaning and she wasn't gonna name me a sin , but, During my birth, while she was in label in the hospital to have me, she was reading the Bible and read those few scriptures, the Asenath, which is why I have that name.
And so I recall over the years hearing her say, You know, she was a good help mate and a good wife to her husband and family and things like that. And I think, you know, as I read or think what it would've been like at that time, I do have some of those characteristics. Try to be a good help mate, you know, raising my children and the Lord.
The things in storing up or saver for. Or future times when things are scarce. And so I've certainly had some of those times and moments in life and even, you know, restoring the restoration of fam, family, family, which Joseph had to do cuz his brothers, his family ended up having to come to him and by them to eat for their survival and things like that.
So Asenath had to welcome in extra people into her home and place and you know, we, I can certainly see how my husband and I, we do that. Today amongst our family in the way that we show up to assist the thread. I could see how the name is fitting. I'm sure my mom has made it on. She'll comment in and give more commentary about why she named me a scene it, but you know, a scene at this more than just a daughter.
Asenath, a wife and a mother. So her name gives meaning and there were several names for Asenath and I said, Well, I'm gonna be biased and I just want the name. I go with the description that says, Asenath is a female with Origin, and the name beneath means belonging to her father. So there was some that say, described it as misfortune, and I was like, I got the liberty to choose
What the mean? It's going to be so to mean belonging to her Father
Betty 14:17
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