Joseph and Asenath                      page 2
And, when Asenath heard these words from her father, a great sweat was poured out upon her over her face, and she waxed wroth with great anger, and she looked askance with her eyes at her father and said: "Wherefore, my lord father, speakest thou these words ? Wishest thou to give me over as a captive to an alien and a fugitive and one that hath been sold ? Is not this the son of the shepherd from the land of Canaan? and he himself hath been left behind by him. Is not this he who lay with his mistress, and his lord cast him into the prison of darkness, and Pharaoh brought him out from the prison inasmuch as he interpreted his dream, as the older women of the Egyptians also interpret ? Nay, but I will be married to the king's firstborn son, because he himself is king of all the land." When he heard these things Potiphera was ashamed to speak further to his daughter Asenath about Joseph, for that she answered him with boastfulness and anger.                             Joseph arrives at Potiphera's House      And lo! a young man of Potiphera's servants sprang in, and he saith to him: " Lo! Joseph standeth before the doors of our court." And when Asenath heard these words she fled from the face of her father and mother and went up into the loft, and she came into her chamber and stood at the great window looking east to see Joseph coming into her father's house. And Potiphera came out and his wife and all their kindred and their servants to meet Joseph; and, when the gates of the court that looked east were opened, Joseph came in seated in the second chariot of Pharaoh ; and there were yoked four horses white like snow with golden bits, and the chariot was fashioned all of pure gold. And Joseph was clad in a tunic white and rare, and the robe that was thrown round him was purple, made of fine linen interwoven with gold, and a golden wreath was upon his head, and round his wreath were twelve choice stones, and above the stones twelve golden rays, and in his right hand a royal staff, which had an olive branch outstretched, and there was abundance of fruit thereon. When, then, Joseph had come into the court and the doors thereof had been shut, and every strange man and woman remained outside the court, for that the guards of the gates drew to and closed the doors, Potiphera came and his wife and all their kindred except their daughter Asenath, and they made obeisance to Joseph upon their faces upon the earth; and Joseph descended from his chariot and greeted them with his hand.                      Asenath sees Joseph from the Window.      And when Asenath saw Joseph she was sore pricked in the soul and her heart was crushed, and her knees were loosed and her whole body trembled and she feared with great fear, and then she groaned and said in her heart: "Alas me miserable ! where now shall I, the wretched one, go away? or where shall I be hidden from his face? or how shall Joseph the son of God see me, for that on my part I have spoken evil things about him? Alas me miserable! whither shall I go away and be hidden, because he himself seeth every hiding-place, and knoweth all things, and no hidden thing escapeth him by reason of the great light that is in him? And now may the God of Joseph be gracious to me because in ignorance I have spoken wicked words against him. What now shall I, the wretched one, follow?" Have I not said: 'Joseph cometh, the son of the shepherd from the land of Canaan'? Now therefore he hath come to us in his chariot as the sun from heaven, and he entered our house to-day, and he shineth into it like h'ght upon the earth. But I am foolish and bold, because I scorned him and spake evil words about him and did not know that Joseph is a son of God. For who among men will ever beget such beauty, or what womb of woman will give birth to such light ? Wretched am I and foolish, because I have spoken evil words to my father. Now, therefore, Jet my father give me to Joseph for an handmaid and a bondwoman rather, and I will be in bondage to him for ever."                           Joseph sees Asenath at the Window.      And Joseph came into the house of Potiphera and sat upon a chair. And they washed his feet, and set a table before him separately, for that Joseph did not eat with the Egyptians, since this was an abomination to him. And Joseph looked up and saw Asenath peeping out, and he saith to Potiphera: "Who is that woman who is standing in the loft by the window? Let her go away from this house" For Joseph feared, saying : "Lest she herself also annoy me."  For all the wives and daughters of the princes and the satraps of all the land of Egypt used to annoy him in order that they might lie with him; but many wives and daughters of the Egyptians also, as many as beheld Joseph, were distressed on account of his beauty; and the envoys whom the women sent to him with gold and silver and precious gifts Joseph sent back with threatening and insult, saying : "I will not sin in the sight of the Lord God and the face of my father, O  Israel."   For Joseph had God always before his eyes and ever remembered the injunctions of his father; for Jacob often spake and admonished his son Joseph and all his sons: "Keep yourselves, children, securely from a strange woman so as not to have fellowship with her, for fellowship with her is ruin and destruction." Therefore Joseph said: "Let that woman depart from this house." And Potiphera said to him: "My lord, that woman whom thou hast seen standing in the loft is not a stranger, but is our daughter, one who hateth every man, and no other man hath ever seen her save thou only today; and, if thou wishest, lord, she shall come and speak to thee, for that our daughter is as thy sister." And Joseph rejoiced with exceeding great joy, for that Pentephres said : "She is a virgin hating every man."  And Joseph said to Potiphera and his wife : "If she is your daughter, and is a virgin, let her come, for that she is my sister, and I love her from to-day as my sister."                                Joseph blesses Asenath.      Then her mother went up into the loft and brought Asenath to Joseph, and Potiphera said to her: "Kiss thy brother, because he also is a virgin even as thou to-day, and hateth every strange woman even as thou hatest every strange man." And Asenath said to Joseph : "Hail, lord, blessed of God Most High."  And Joseph said to her: ''God who quickeneth all things shall bless thee, damsel."   Potiphera saith then to his daughter Asenath: "Come and kiss thy brother."    When Asenath then came up to kiss Joseph, Joseph stretched forth his right hand, and laid it on her breast between her two paps (for her paps were already standing forth like lovely apples), and Joseph said: "It is not meet for a man that worshippeth God, who blesseth with his mouth the living God, and eateth the blessed bread of life, and drinketh the blessed cup of immortality, and is anointed with the blessed unction of incorruption, to kiss a strange woman, who blesseth with her mouth dead and deaf idols and eateth from their table the bread of strangling and drinketh from their libation the cup of deceit and is anointed with the unction of destruction ; but the man that worshippeth God will kiss his mother and the sister who is born of his mother and the sister who with their mouth the living God. Likewise also it is not meet for a woman that worshippeth God to kiss a strange man, for that this is an abomination in the sight of the Lord God."  And, when Asenath heard these words from Joseph, she was sore distressed and groaned; and, as she was looking steadfastly at Joseph with her eyes open, they were filled with tears. And Joseph, when he saw her weeping, pitied her exceedingly, for that he was mild and merciful and one who feared the Lord. Then he lifted up his right hand above her head and said : " Lord God of my father Israel, the Most High and the mighty God, who quickenedst all things and calledst from the darkness to the light and from error to truth and from death to life, bless thou this virgin also, and quicken her, and renew her with thy holy spirit, and let her eat the bread of thy life and drink the cup of thy blessing, and number her with thy people whom thou chosest before all things were made, and let her enter into thy rest which thou preparedst for thine elect, and let her live in thine eternal life for ever."                      Asenath retires and Joseph prepares to depart.       And Asenath rejoiced over the blessing of Joseph with exceeding great joy. Then she hastened and came up into her loft by herself, and fell upon her bed in infirmity, for that there was in her joy and sorrow and great fear ; and a continuous sweat was poured over her when she heard these words from Joseph, and when he spake to her in the name of God Most High. Then she wept with great and bitter weeping, and she turned in penitence from her gods whom she was wont to worship, and the idols, which she spurned, and waited for evening to come. But Joseph ate and drank ;and he told his serving-men to yoke the horses to their chariots, and to go round all the land. And Potiphera said to Joseph : "Let my lord lodge here  to-day, and in the morning thou shalt go thy way."  And Joseph said: "Nay, but I will go away to-day, for that this is the day on which God began to make all His created things, and on the eighth day I also return to you and will lodge here."
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