“Pharaoh then gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him for a wife Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On… Before the years of famine came, Joseph became the father of two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, bore to him.” Genesis 41:45, 50 (cf. 46:20).

The wife of Joseph, Asenath (Hebrew Asnat) is mentioned only in passing in Genesis. Her names means “she belongs to Nut [also known as Neith],” an Egyptian god of death and rebirth. Continue reading Asenath: The Seventh Matriarch →