According to the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian town of On, mentioned in the and . He was the father of

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 ...

, who was given to

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 his wife by the

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 ( ...

, () and who bore Joseph two sons:

Manasseh Manasseh () is both a given name and a surname. Its variants include Manasses and Manasse. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh (died 1944), Singaporean rice and opium merchant and hotelier * Jacob Manasseh ( ...

and

Ephraim Ephraim (; , in pausa: ''ʾEp̄rāyīm'') was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph ben Jacob and Asenath, as well as the adopted son of his biological grandfather Jacob, making him the progenitor of the Tribe of Ephrai ...

. His name means "he whom Ra has given".

Biblical source

Theories

It has been noted that Potipherah served as a priest in Ra's most important cult center. A Jewish legend makes him the same person as

Potiphar Potiphar ( ; ; ) is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. His name possibly indicates the same figure as Potiphera (). Potiphar is the captain of the guard for a pharaoh who is said to have purchased Joseph as a slave and, impressed by hi ...

, whose

wife A wife (: wives) is a woman in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until their marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgment; or until death, depending on the kind of marriage. On t ...

Legends of Old Testament characters from the Talmud and other sources by Sabine Baring-Gould was in love with Joseph and whose false accusation got him thrown in prison.

References

{{authority control Ancient Egyptian priests Book of Genesis people Joseph (Genesis) Asenath