Potiphar ( ; ; ) is a figure in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

. His name possibly indicates the same figure as Potiphera (). Potiphar is the captain of the guard for a

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

who is said to have purchased

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

as a slave and, impressed by his intelligence, makes him the master of his household. Potiphar's wife, who was known for her infidelities, took a liking to Joseph and attempted to seduce him. When Joseph refused her advances and ran off, leaving his outer vestment in her hands, she retaliated by falsely accusing him of trying to

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

her, and Potiphar had Joseph imprisoned. What happened to Potiphar after that is unclear; some sources identify him as

Potipherah According to the Hebrew Bible, Potiphera (, ) was a priest of the ancient Egyptian town of On (Ancient Egypt), On, mentioned in the and . He was the father of Asenath, who was given to Joseph (Genesis), Joseph as his wife by the Pharaohs in the B ...

, an Egyptian priest whose daughter,

Asenath Asenath (, ; Koine Greek: Ἀσενέθ, ''Asenéth'') is a minor figure in the Book of Genesis. Asenath was a high-born, aristocratic Egyptian woman. She was the wife of Joseph and the mother of his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. There are t ...

, marries Joseph. The false accusation by Potiphar's wife plays an important role in Joseph's narrative because had he not been imprisoned, he would not have met the fellow prisoner who introduced him to Pharaoh. Likewise, the fate of Potiphar's wife is unclear but some sources say she was stricken with illness. Rachel Adelman suggests that both Potiphar and his wife were sexually attracted to Joseph and tried to use him for their own purposes. But Potiphar's attempts were thwarted via castration, according to

Talmudic The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...

legend. She believes the story is a criticism of Jewish assimilation since foreigners like Potiphar and his wife would seduce Jews to sin. The medieval Sefer HaYashar, a commentary on the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

, gives Potiphar's wife's name as ''Zuleikha'', as do many Islamic traditions - thus the Persian poem called

Yusuf and Zulaikha ''Yusuf and Zulaikha'' (the English transliteration of both names varies greatly) is a title given to many tellings in the Muslim world of the story of the relationship between the prophet Yusuf and Potiphar's wife. Developed primarily from the a ...

from Jami's '' Haft Awrang'' "Seven thrones". The story became prevalent in Western art during the Renaissance and

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

periods, usually depicting the moment when Joseph tears himself away from the bed containing a more or less naked figure of Potiphar's wife.

Persian miniature A Persian miniature (Persian language, Persian: نگارگری ایرانی ''negârgari Irâni'') is a small Persian painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a ...

s often illustrate

in Jami's '' Haft Awrang'' ("Seven thrones").

Religious references

Tying Potiphar or Joseph accurately to a particular pharaoh or period is difficult. According to the

Jewish calendar The Hebrew calendar (), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance and as an official calendar of Israel. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays and other rituals, such as ''yahrzeits ...

, Joseph was purchased in the year 2216, which is 1544 BC, at the end of the

Second Intermediate Period The Second Intermediate Period dates from 1700 to 1550 BC. It marks a period when ancient Egypt was divided into smaller dynasties for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. The concept of a Secon ...

or the very beginning of the

New Kingdom New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. The

in which the story appears (see also the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

and the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

) was the earliest written of the three: c. 600 BC during the Babylonian Exile. According to the

documentary hypothesis The documentary hypothesis (DH) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Book of Genesis, Genesis, Book of Exodus, Exodus, Leviticus, Bo ...

, the story of Potiphar and his wife is credited to the

Yahwist The Jahwist, or Yahwist, often abbreviated J, is one of the most widely recognized sources of the Pentateuch (Torah), together with the Deuteronomist, the Priestly source and the Elohist. The existence of the Jahwist text is somewhat controv ...

source and stands in the same place that the stories of the butler and the baker and Pharaoh's dreams stand in the

Elohist According to the documentary hypothesis, the Elohist (or simply E) is one of four source documents underlying the Torah, together with the Jahwist (or Yahwist), the Deuteronomist and the Priestly source. The Elohist is so named because of its ...

text. A similar story is found in the Tale of Two Brothers, where the wife of Anpu tries to seduce his brother Bata.

Islam

The story is first related in Quran 12:21–35: an Egyptian purchases Joseph and proposes to adopt him. The Egyptian's wife endeavors to seduce Joseph, but he is preserved from her enticements. She accuses Joseph of an attempt to dishonor her. The rent in his garment testifies to Joseph's innocence. The Azeez believes Joseph and condemns his wife. The sin of the Azeez's wife becomes known in the city ( Q12:30). Seeing Joseph's beauty, the wives of other noblemen call him an angel. The Azeez's wife declares her purpose to imprison Joseph unless he yields to her solicitations. Joseph seeks protection from God, who hears his prayer and turns aside their snares, but Joseph is imprisoned notwithstanding his innocence.

Cultural references

*In art, the subject is most commonly shown in the Power of Women ''topos''. * There is a Persian poem called

in Jami's '' Haft Awrang'' ("Seven thrones") *In ''

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest wor ...

'',

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

sees the shade of Potiphar's wife in the eighth circle of

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

. She does not speak, but Dante is told by another spirit that, along with other perjurers, she is condemned to suffer a burning

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

for all eternity. *In the

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He is known for writing and directing the films '' The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), '' Matewan'' (1987), ...

film '' Matewan'',

Will Oldham Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Son ...

plays a young minister boy who preaches the story of Potiphar to his small town. *In

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

and

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...

's musical ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...

'', Potiphar is a tycoon of ancient Egypt who made his wealth through buying shares in pyramids ("Potiphar had made a huge pile, owned a large percentage of the Nile"). His wife is a seductive man-eater. Both feature in the song "Potiphar". *In

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...

' poem, "On Fame", Keats calls Fame "Sister-in-law to jealous Potiphar". *In the animated film '' Joseph: King of Dreams'', before having him jailed for allegedly assaulting his wife, Potiphar takes notice of Joseph's intelligence and makes him a chief slave in his household. He orders Joseph to be executed for the attempted rape of his wife; when she asks him to stop, Potiphar realizes Joseph was telling the truth of his innocence and instead has him jailed to save face, though he shows significant disgust at his wife. Potiphar later brings Joseph to Pharaoh, who is plagued by inexplicable dreams, and expresses deep regret for having Joseph put in prison, but Joseph understands and forgives Potiphar. After Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams, Pharaoh asks Potiphar if he trusts Joseph, to which he responds that he trusts Joseph "with islife." Potiphar is also present when Joseph reunites with his brothers. *In ''

Joseph and his Brothers ''Joseph and His Brothers'' (, ) is a four-part novel by Thomas Mann, written over the course of 16 years. Mann retells the familiar stories of Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph (chapters 27–50), setting it in the historical context of the ...

'',

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

suggests that Potiphar's wife is sexually frustrated partly because Potiphar is a

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

. * In Margaret Atwood's

The Testaments ''The Testaments'' is a 2019 novel by Margaret Atwood. It is the sequel to ''The Handmaid's Tale'' (1985). The novel is set 15 years after the events of ''The Handmaid's Tale''. It is narrated by Aunt Lydia, a character from the previous novel; A ...

, the sequel to ''The Handmaid's Tale,'' Potiphar's wife is referred to in Chapter 46 of the Ardua Hall Holograph storyline as narrated by Aunt Lydia. She mentions that Dr. Grove defended himself against attempted rape charges through the Potiphar vignette. * Czechoslovak author Valdemar Vinař wrote ''La skandalo pro Jozefo,'' an original work of fiction in

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

, relating the story from the viewpoints of five different witnesses.

Gallery

File:Nuremberg chronicles f 27r 2.png, from the 1493 ''

Nuremberg Chronicle The ''Nuremberg Chronicle'' is an illustrated encyclopedia consisting of world historical accounts, as well as accounts told through biblical paraphrase. Subjects include human history in relation to the Bible, illustrated mythological creatures, ...

'' File:Giuseppe e la moglie di Putifarre, Ludovico Cigoli, Roma, Galleria Borghese (1610), olio su tela.jpg, Joseph and Potiphar's Wife by Ludovico Cigoli File:Joseph and Potiphar's Wife - Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino, 1649 - NG Wash DC.jpg,

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as (il) Guercino (), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous n ...

, ''Joseph and Potiphar's Wife'', 1649 File:Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo - Joseph and Potiphar's Wife - WGA16386.jpg, Joseph and Potiphar's Wife by Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo File:Jean-Baptiste Nattier - Joseph and Potiphar's Wife - WGA16449.jpg, Joseph and Potiphar's Wife by Jean-Baptiste Nattier Image:Joseph and Potiphar's Wife.jpg,

and Potiphar's Wife, by

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

1631 File:Rembrandt - Joseph and Potiphar's wife.jpg, Joseph and Potiphar's Wife by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

, 1634

References

Bibliography