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| And, while they were yet speaking these things, a boy came saying to Asenath :
"Lo! Joseph
standeth before the doors of our court." Then Asenath hasted and went down the stairs from her
loft with the seven virgins to meet Joseph and stood in the porch of her house. And, Joseph
having come into the court, the gates were shut and all strangers remained outside. And
Asenath came out from the porch to meet Joseph, and when he saw her he marvelled at her
beauty, and said to her: "Who art thou, damsel? Quickly tell me." And she saith to
him : "I, lord, am thine handmaid Asenath; all the idols I have cast away from me and
they perished. And a man came to me to-day from heaven and hath given me bread of life and
I ate, and I drank a blessedcup, and he said to me: 'I have given thee for a bride to
Joseph, and he himself shall be thy bride-groom for ever ; and thy name shall not be called
Asenath, but it shall be called City of Refuge, and the Lord God shall reign over many
nations, and through thee shall they seek refuge with God Most High.' And the man said : 'I
will go also to Joseph that I may speak into his ears these words concerning thee.' And now
thou knowest, lord, if that man hath come to thee and if he hath spoken to thee concerning me." Then Joseph saith to Asenath : ''Blessed art thou, woman, of God Most High, and blessed is
name for ever, for that the Lord God hath laid the foundations of thy walls, and the sons of the
living God shall dwell in thy city of refuge, and the Lord God shall reign over them for ever.
For that man came from heaven to me to-day and said these words to me concerning thee. And
now come hither to me, thou virgin and pure, and wherefore standest thou afar off?" Then Joseph stretched out his hands and embraced Asenath, and Asenath Joseph, and they kissed
one another for a long time, and both lived again in their spirit. And Joseph kissed Asenath
and gave her the spirit of life, then the second time he gave her the spirit of wisdom, and the
third time he kissed her tenderly and gave her the spirit of truth.
Potiphera returns to betroth Asenath to Joseph And, when they had clasped one another round for a long time and intertwined the chains of their hands, Asenath said to Joseph : "Come hither, lord, and enter our house, for that on my part I have prepared our house and a great dinner." And she took hold of his right hand and led him into her house and seated him on the chair of Potiphera her father; and she brought water to wash his feet. And Joseph said : "Let one of the virgins come and wash my feet." And Asenath said to him "Nay, lord, for that hence-forth thou art my lord and I am thine handmaid. And wherefore seekest thou this, that another virgin should wash thy feet? for that thy feet are my feet, and thine hands mine hands, and thy soul my soul, and another shall not wash thy feet." A nd she constrained him and washed his fect. Then Joseph took hold of her right hand and kissed her tenderly and Asenath kissed his head tenderly, and thereupon he seated her at his right hand. Her father and mother and all her kindred then came from the possession of their inheritance, and they saw her sitting with Joseph and clad in a wedding-garment. And they marvelled at her beauty and rejoiced and glorified God who quickeneth the dead. And after these things they ate and drank ; and, all having made cheer, Potiphera said to Joseph : " To-morrow I will call all the princes and satraps of all the land of Egypt, and will make a wedding for you, and thou shalt take my daughter Asenath to wife." But Joseph said : "I go to-morrow to Pharaoh the king, for that he himself is my father and appointed me ruler over all this land, and I will speak to him concerning Asenath, and he will give her to me to wife." And Potiphera said to hini : " Go in peace." And Joseph stayed that day with Potiphera, and he went not in to Asenath, for that he was wont to say : " It is not meet for a man who worshippeth God to sleep with his wife before his marriage." And Joseph rose early and departed to Pharaoh and said to him : " Give me Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, to wife." And Pharaoh rejoiced with great joy, and he saith to Joseph: "Lo! hath not this one been betrothed unto thee to wife from eternity? Accordingly let her be thy wife henceforth and unto time eternal." Then Pharaoh sent and called Potiphera, and Potiphera brought Asenath and set her before Pharaoh; and Pharaoh when he saw her marvelled at her beauty and said : "The Lord God of Joseph shall bless thee, child, and this thy beauty shall remain to eternity, for that the Lord God of Joseph chose thee as bride for him: for Joseph is as the son of the Most High, and thou shalt be called his bride henceforth and for ever." And after these things Pharaoh took Joseph and Asenath and set golden wreaths upon their heads, which were in his house from of old and from ancient times, and Pharaoh set Asenath at Joseph's right hand. And Pharaoh put his hands upon their heads and said : "The Lord God Most High shall bless you and shall multiply and magnify and glorify you unto time eternal." Then Pharaoh turned them round to face one another and brought them mouth to mouth, and they kissed one another. And Pharaoh made a wedding for Joseph and a great dinner and much drinking during seven days, and he called together all the rulers of Egypt and all the kings of the nations, having made proclamation in the land of Egypt, saying : "Every man who shall do work during the seven days of the wedding of Joseph and Asenath shall surely die." And, while the wedding was going on, and when the dinner was ended, Joseph went in to Asenath, and Asenath conceived by Joseph and bare Manasses and Ephraim his brother in Joseph's house. |
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