Subject and genre

The Bible says that Joseph, after Pharaoh had made him viceroy of Egypt, married Aseneth (so the LXX), the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On-Heliopolis (Gen. 41:45). Gradually this noble match came to look like a mésalliance. No later certainly than the Maccabaean revolt in the second century bc, Jewish exegetes began to ask themselves what might have happened to allow the Patriarch to wed an idolatrous foreign girl. One of the answers was that Aseneth had turned to the God of Israel beforehand. How this came about is related in the first part, chapters 1–21, of the anonymous romance that we now call ‘Joseph and Aseneth’ (the original title is not known for certain). Aseneth's conversion is touched off by an unexpected meeting with Joseph, confirmed by an angel from heaven, and followed by a happy wedding. A second part ensues, chapters 22–9. Some years later, after Jacob had settled in Egypt with all of his kin (Gen. 46–7), Pharaoh's first-born son attempted to abduct Aseneth but failed, because some of Joseph's brothers, principally Benjamin and Levi, repelled him.

All this is told at a leisurely pace with a good deal of repetition. There is less action in the story than there might have been. Colourful events inviting narration, such as the marriage feast and the military entanglements of the second part, are stated rather than described. Instead much space is given to dialogues, meditations about what to do, and prayers.