8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 56 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 56 pagesAbout this book
High in her tower, Aseneth scorns every suitor—until Joseph makes her question the life she knows.
Joseph and Aseneth grows a brief mention in Genesis into an ancient romance of faith and change. Aseneth, the sheltered daughter of the Egyptian priest Pentephres, meets Joseph as he gathers grain against the coming famine. She wants him near, but he refuses to kiss a woman who worships idols.
According to the story, that refusal sends Aseneth back to her tower, where pride gives way to mourning, prayer, and repentance. A radiant visitor and a mysterious honeycomb bring mystical imagery into her search for belonging. Beyond the tower, Pharaoh’s son wants Aseneth for himself, and his designs threaten her future with Joseph.
What you’ll discover
- Pride behind tower walls Meet a sheltered young woman whose encounter with Joseph unsettles everything she values.
- Prayer at the turning point Follow Aseneth into mourning and reflection as she confronts what she must leave behind.
- The honeycomb of life Explore a heavenly visitor’s strange gift within the tale’s vision of spiritual renewal.
- Love across religious boundaries Discover how this ancient narrative joins the question of marriage to faith and belonging.
- Danger beyond the wedding Feel the tension as Pharaoh’s son seeks allies against Aseneth’s marriage to Joseph.
Who will love it
For readers who love ancient stories, early retellings that fill the gaps in Genesis, and tales of conversion and mystical imagery.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A proud girl shut in a tower
- Joseph comes, and pride meets its match
- Joseph refuses her kiss
- Seven days of ashes and repentance
- The man from heaven and the honeycomb
- A wedding, and a plot begins
- What the story is about and how it works
Who’s who
- AsenethThe eighteen year old daughter of an Egyptian priest, proud and sheltered, who scorns every suitor until she sees Joseph and must change her life.
- JosephThe Hebrew governor who gathers grain for Egypt, devoted to the one God, and who will not kiss a woman who still worships idols.
- PentephresAseneth's father, a priest of Heliopolis, wealthy and respected, who welcomes Joseph and hopes to see his daughter married.
- The man from heavenA radiant visitor who looks like Joseph, gives Aseneth a new name and robe, and feeds her honey from a comb.
- PharaohThe king of Egypt, who values Joseph, blesses the marriage with crowns and a feast, and has a son with his own designs.
- Pharaoh's sonThe king's firstborn, who wanted Aseneth for himself, was refused, and now looks for allies to take her.
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Joseph and Aseneth
In her tower, a proud Egyptian priest's daughter sees Joseph and faces a choice between her idols and a new life.
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In short
Joseph and Aseneth is an ancient tale that takes a single verse of Genesis and grows it into a short novel. Genesis says that Pharaoh gave Joseph a wife, Asenath, the daughter of an Egyptian priest of On.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A proud girl shut in a tower
The story opens in the seven years of plenty that Joseph has foretold for Egypt. Aseneth is the daughter of Pentephres, a priest of Heliopolis, the city of the sun. She is eighteen years old, tall and beautiful, and her fame has spread through the land.
Her father's house is rich and walled, and in it stands a high tower. Aseneth lives on the top floor with seven virgins who were born on the same night as she was and who serve her. One chamber holds her wardrobe and her gold, and another is full of the gods of Egypt. She prays to these idols and feeds them from her own table every day.
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What is Joseph and Aseneth about?
It tells how Aseneth, the proud daughter of an Egyptian priest, falls for Joseph, gives up her idols, receives a vision of a heavenly visitor, marries Joseph and then faces a plot by Pharaoh's son.
Is Joseph and Aseneth in the Bible?
No. Genesis names Asenath as Joseph's wife in one verse, but this story is a later ancient work. It is not part of the Hebrew scriptures or most Christian canons, though some communities have valued it.
When was Joseph and Aseneth written?
Scholars usually date it between the first century before Christ and the second century after. It was probably written in Greek, perhaps in Egypt, but the exact date and author are unknown.
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