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Joseph and Asenath is an embellished account of Joseph’s relationship with Asenath, the daughter of the Egyptian priest of Heliopolis. Joseph’s marriage to Asenath, given only a brief mention in Genesis 41:45–50 and 46:20, is herein turned into a sweeping narrative describing Asenath’s conversion to faith in Jehovah, her subsequent marriage to Joseph, the birth of Ephraim and Manasseh, and a fanciful plot by Pharaoh’s son, along with Dan and Gad, to kill Joseph. The story is thought to have been written sometime between 200 BC and 200 AD, either as a Jewish midrash with later Christian interpolations, or as a Judeo-Christian work from the onset.
In the first year of plenty, in the second month, on the fifth of the month, Pharaoh sent Joseph to go around all the land of Egypt; and in the fourth month of the first year, on the eighteenth of the month, Joseph came to the borders of Heliopolis, and he was gathering the corn of that country as the sand of the sea. And there was a certain man in that city, Pentephres by name, who was a priest of Heliopolis and a satrap of Pharaoh, and chief of all Pharaoh’s satraps and princes; and this man was exceedingly rich and very sage and gentle, and he was also a counselor of Pharaoh, because he was prudent beyond all Pharaoh’s princes. And he had a virgin daughter, by name Asenath, of eighteen years, tall and lovely, and exceedingly beautiful to behold—beyond every virgin on the earth. Now Asenath herself bore no likeness to the daughters of the Egyptians, but was in all things like the daughters of the Hebrews, being tall as Sarah, and lovely as Rebecca, and beautiful as Rachel; and the fame of her beauty spread abroad into all that land and to the ends of the world, so that by reason of this all the sons of the princes and the satraps desired to woo her, moreover, and the sons of the kings also—all young men and mighty—and there was great strife among them because of her, and they strove to fight against one another. And Pharaoh’s firstborn son also heard about her, and he continued entreating his father to give her to him to be [his] wife and saying to him: “Give me, father, Asenath, the daughter of Pentephres, the first man of Heliopolis, to be [my] wife.” And his father Pharaoh said to him, “Therefore, do you on your part seek a wife lower than yourself when you are king of all this land? But rather, behold, the daughter of Joacim, the king of Moab, is betrothed to you, and she herself is a queen and exceedingly beautiful to behold. Take this one then to yourself to be [your] wife.”
But Asenath set at nothing and scorned every man, being boastful and haughty, and a man had never seen her, inasmuch as Pentephres had in his house an adjoining tower, great and exceedingly high, and above the tower was a loft containing ten chambers. And the first chamber was great, and very lovely, and paved with purple stones, and the walls thereof were faced with precious and multicolored stones, and also the roof of that chamber was of gold. And within that chamber gods of the Egyptians, whereof was no number, gold and silver, were fixed, and Asenath worshiped all of those, and she feared them, and she performed sacrifices to them every day. And the second chamber also contained all of Asenath’s adornments and chests, and there was gold in it, and much silver and limitless gold-woven raiment, and choice stones of great price, and fine garments of linen, and all the adornment of her virginity was there. And the third chamber was Asenath’s storehouse, containing all the good things of the earth. And the remaining seven chambers the seven virgins who ministered to Asenath occupied, each one having one chamber, for they were of the same age, born on the same night with Asenath, and she loved them much; and they were also exceedingly beautiful as the stars of heaven, and a man or male child never conversed with them. Now Asenath’s great chamber where her virginity was fostered had three windows; and the first window was very large, looking over the court to the east; and the second looked toward the south, and the third looked over the street. And a golden bedstead stood in the chamber looking toward the east; and the bed was laid with purple stuff interwoven with gold, the bed being woven of scarlet and crimson stuff and fine linen. On this bed Asenath slept alone, and never had man or other woman sat thereon. And there was also a great court adjoining the house all round, and an exceedingly high wall around the court built of great rectangular stones; and there were also four gates in the court overlaid with iron, and these were each kept by eighteen strong young men, armed; and there were also planted along the wall fair trees of all kinds and all bearing fruit, their fruit being ripe, for it was the season of harvest; and there was also a rich fountain of water springing from the right of the same court; and beneath the fountain was a great cistern receiving the water of that fountain, from where there went, as it were, a stream through the midst of the court and it watered all the trees of that court.
And it came to pass in the first year of the seven years of plenty, in the fourth month, on the twenty-eighth of the month, that Joseph came to the borders of Heliopolis collecting the corn of that district. And when Joseph drew near to that city, he sent twelve men before him to Pentephres, the priest of Heliopolis, saying, “I will come in to you today, because it is the time of noon and of the midday meal, and there is great heat of the sun, and that I may cool myself under the roof of your house.” And Pentephres, when he heard these things, rejoiced with exceedingly great joy, and said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Joseph, because my lord Joseph has thought me worthy.” And Pentephres called the overseer of his house and said to him, “Hurry and make my house ready, and prepare a great dinner, because Joseph, the mighty one of God, comes to us today.” And when Asenath heard that her father and mother had come from the possession of their inheritance, she rejoiced greatly and said, “I will go and see my father and mother, because they have come from the possession of our inheritance.” (For it was the season of harvest). And Asenath hastened into her chamber where her robes lay, and put on a fine linen robe made of crimson stuff and interwoven with gold, and girded herself with a golden girdle, and [placed] bracelets around her hands; and around her feet she put golden buskins, and around her neck she cast an ornament of great price and precious stones, which were embellished on all sides, also having the names of the gods of the Egyptians everywhere engraved on them, both on the bracelets and the stones; and she also put a tiara on her head, and bound a diadem around her temples, and covered her head with a mantle.
And thereon she hurried and went down the stairs from her loft, and came to her father and mother, and kissed them. And Pentephres and his wife rejoiced over their daughter Asenath with exceedingly great joy, for they beheld her adorned and embellished as the bride of God; and they brought forth all the good things which they had brought from the possession of their inheritance and gave them to their daughter; and Asenath rejoiced over all the good things, over the late summer fruit, and the grapes, and the dates, and over the doves, and over the mulberries and the figs, because they were all fair and pleasant to taste. And Pentephres said to his daughter Asenath, “Child.” And she said, “Here I am, my lord.” And he said to her, “Sit down between us, and I will speak my words to you.” She sat down between her father and her mother, and her father Pentephres took hold of her right hand with his right hand, and kissed it tenderly, and said, “Dearest child.” And she said to him, “Here I am, my lord father.” And Pentephres said to her, “Behold, Joseph, the mighty one of God, comes to us today, and this man is ruler of all the land of Egypt; and King Pharaoh appointed him ruler of all our land and king, and he himself gives corn to all this country, and saves it from the coming famine; and this Joseph is a man that worships God, and [is as] discreet and a virgin as you are today, and a man mighty in wisdom and knowledge, and the Spirit of God is on him, and the grace of the Lord is in him. Come, dearest child, and I will give you over to him to be [his] wife, and you will be to him for a bride, and he himself will be your bridegroom forever.” And when Asenath heard these words from her father, a great sweat was poured out on her over her face, and she grew angry with great anger, and she looked suspiciously with her eyes at her father, and said, “Therefore, my lord father, [why] do you speak these words? Do you wish to give me over as a captive to an alien, and a fugitive, and one that has been sold? Is this not the son of the shepherd from the land of Canaan? And he himself has been left behind by him. Is this not 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? But rather, I will be married to the king’s firstborn son, because he himself is king of all the land.” When he heard these things Pentephres was ashamed to speak further to his daughter Asenath about Joseph, for she answered him with boastfulness and anger.
And behold, a young man of Pentephres’ servants sprang in, and he says to him, “Behold, Joseph stands 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 Pentephres came out with his wife, and all their relatives, 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 entirely of pure gold. And Joseph was clad in a tunic white and rare, and the robe that was thrown around him was purple, made of fine linen interwoven with gold, and a golden wreath was on his head, and around 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 the guards of the gates drew to and closed the doors, Pentephres came with his wife and all their relatives, except their daughter Asenath, and they paid homage to Joseph on their faces on the earth; and Joseph descended from his chariot and greeted them with his hand.
And when Asenath saw Joseph she was sorely struck 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: “Oh miserable me! Where now will I, the wretched one, go away? Or where will I be hidden from his face? Or how will Joseph, the son of God, see me, for on my part I have spoken evil things about him? Oh miserable me! Where will I go away and be hidden, because he himself sees every hiding place, and knows all things, and no hidden thing escapes 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 will I, the wretched one, follow? Have I not said, Joseph comes, the son of the shepherd, from the land of Canaan? Now he has therefore come to us in his chariot as the sun from heaven, and he entered our house today, and he shines into it like light on the earth. But I am foolish and bold, because I scorned him, and spoke 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? I am wretched and foolish, because I have spoken evil words to my father. Now therefore, let my father give me to Joseph for a handmaid and a bondwoman rather, and I will be in bondage to him forever.”
And Joseph came into the house of Pentephres and sat on a chair. And they washed his feet, and set a table before him separately, for 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 says to Pentephres: “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 Israel.” For Joseph always had God before his eyes and always remembered the injunctions of his father; for Jacob often spoke 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 Pentephres said to him, “My lord, that woman whom you have seen standing in the loft is not a stranger, but is our daughter, one who hates every man, and no other man has ever seen her except you only today; and if you wish, lord, she will come and speak to you, for that daughter of ours is as your sister.” And Joseph rejoiced with exceedingly great joy, for Pentephres said, “She is a virgin hating every man.” And Joseph said to Pentephres and his wife, “If she is your daughter, and is a virgin, let her come, for she is my sister, and I love her from today as my sister.”
Then her mother went up into the loft and brought Asenath to Joseph, and Pcntephres said to her, “Kiss your brother, because he is also a virgin even as you [are] today and hates every strange woman even as you hate every strange man.” And Asenath said to Joseph, “Greetings, lord, blessed of God Most High.” And Joseph said to her, “God who quickens all things will bless you, girl.” Then Pentephres says to his daughter Asenath, “Come and kiss your brother.” When Asenath then came up to kiss Joseph, Joseph stretched forth his right hand, and laid it on her chest between her two breasts (for her breasts were already standing forth like lovely apples), and Joseph said, “It is not fitting for a man that worships God, who blesses the living God with his mouth, and eats the blessed bread of life, and drinks the blessed cup of immortality, and is anointed with the blessed unction of incorruption, to kiss a strange woman who blesses dead and deaf idols with her mouth, and eats the bread of strangling from their table, and drinks the cup of deceit from their libation, and is anointed with the unction of destruction; but the man that worships God will kiss his mother, and the sister who is born of his mother, and the sister who is born of his tribe, and the wife who shares his couch, who bless the living God with their mouth. Likewise also, it is not fitting for a woman that worships God to kiss a strange man, for this is an abomination in the sight of the Lord God.” And when Asenath heard these words from Joseph, she was sorely 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 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 quickened all things and called from the darkness to the light, and from error to truth, and from death to life, bless this virgin also, and quicken her, and renew her with Your Holy Spirit, and let her eat the bread of Your life and drink the cup of Your blessing, and number her with Your people whom You chose before all things were made, and let her enter into Your rest which You prepared for Your elect, and let her live in Your continuous life forever.”
And Asenath rejoiced over the blessing of Joseph with exceedingly great joy. Then she hurried and came up into her loft by herself, and fell on her bed in infirmity, for 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 spoke to her in the Name of God Most High. Then she wept with a great and bitter weeping, and she turned in penitence from her gods whom she was accustomed to worship, and the idols which she spurned, and waited for evening to come. But Joseph ate and drank; and he told his menservants to yoke the horses to their chariots, and to go around all the land. And Pentephres said to Joseph, “Let my lord lodge here today, and in the morning you will go your way.” And Joseph said, “But rather, I will go away today, for 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.”
And when Joseph had left the house, Pentephres also and all his relatives departed to their inheritance, and Asenath was left alone with the seven virgins, listless and weeping until the sun set; and she neither ate bread nor drank water, but while all slept, she herself alone was awake, and weeping, and frequently beating her breast with her hand. And after these things Asenath rose from her bed, and quietly went down the stairs from the loft, and on coming to the gateway, found the doorkeeper sleeping with her children; and she hurried and took down from the door the leather cover of the curtain, and filled it with cinders, and carried it up to the loft, and laid it on the floor. And thereon she shut the door securely, and fastened it with the iron bolt from the side, and groaned with great groaning together with much and very great weeping. But the virgin whom Asenath loved above all the virgins, having heard her groaning, hurried and came to the door after also awaking the other virgins and found it shut. And when she had listened to the groaning and the weeping of Asenath, she said to her [while] standing outside, “What is it, my mistress? And are you therefore sad? And what is it that troubles you? Open to us and let us see you.” And Asenath said to her, being shut inside, “Great and grievous pain has attacked my head, and I am resting in my bed, and I am not able to rise and open to you, for I am weak in all my limbs. Therefore, each of you go to her chamber and sleep, and let me be still.” And when the virgins had departed, each to her own chamber, Asenath rose, and opened the door of her bedroom quietly, and went away into her second chamber where the chests of her adornment were, and she opened her coffer, and took a black and somber tunic which she had put on and mourned in when her firstborn brother died. Having taken, then, this tunic, she carried it into her chamber, and again shut the door securely, and put the bolt through from the side. Then, therefore, Asenath took off her royal robe, and put on the mourning tunic, and loosed her golden girdle, and girded herself with a rope, and put off the tiara, that is the turban, from her head, likewise also the diadem, and the chains from her hands and her feet were also all laid on the floor. Then she takes her choice robe, and the golden girdle, and the turban, and her diadem, and she cast them through the window that looked toward the north, to the poor. And thereon she took all her gods that were in her chamber, the gods of gold and of silver whereof there was no number, and broke them up into fragments, and cast them through the window to poor men and beggars. And again Asenath took her royal dinner, and the fatlings, and the fish, and heifer’s flesh, and all the sacrifices of her gods, and the vessels of the wine of libation, and cast all of them through the window that looked north as food for the dogs. And after these things she took the leather cover containing the cinders and poured them on the floor; and thereon she took sackcloth and girded her loins; and she also loosed the net of the hair of her head and sprinkled ashes over her head. And she also strewed cinders on the floor, and fell on the cinders, and kept beating her breast constantly with her hands and weeping all night with groaning until the morning. And when Asenath arose in the morning and saw, and behold, the cinders were beneath her as clay from her tears, she again fell on her face on the cinders until the sun set. Thus Asenath did for seven days, not tasting anything whatsoever.
And on the eighth day, when the dawn came, and the birds were already chirping, and the dogs barking at the passers by, Asenath lifted up her head a little from the floor and the cinders whereon she was seated, for she was exceedingly weary and had lost the power of her limbs from her great humiliation; for Asenath had grown weary and faint and her strength was failing, and thereon she turned toward the wall, sitting under the window that looked east; and she laid her head on her bosom, wrapping the fingers of her hands over her right knee; and her mouth was shut, and she did not open it during the seven days and during the seven nights of her humiliation. And she said in her heart, not opening her mouth: “What will I do—I, the lowly one—or where will I go? And with whom again will I find refuge hereafter? Or to whom will I speak—the virgin that is an orphan, and desolate, and abandoned by all, and hated? Everyone has now come to hate me, and among these even my father and my mother, for I spurned the gods with loathing, and made away with them, and have given them to the poor to be destroyed by men. For my father and my mother said, Asenath is not our daughter, but all my relatives have also come to hate me, and all men, for I have given their gods to destruction. And I have hated every man and all who wooed me, and now in this humiliation of mine I have been hated by all and they rejoice over my tribulation. But the Lord and God of the mighty Joseph hates all who worship the idols, for He is a zealous God and terrible, as I have heard, against all who worship strange gods; from which He has hated me also, because I worshiped dead and deaf idols and blessed them. But now I have shunned their sacrifice, and my mouth has become estranged from their table, and I have no courage to call on the Lord God of Heaven—the Most High and powerful one of the mighty Joseph—for my mouth is polluted from the sacrifices of the idols. But I have heard many saying that the God of the Hebrews is a true God, and a living God, and a merciful God, and compassionate, and long-suffering, and full of mercy, and gentle, and one who does not reckon the sin of a man who is humble, and especially of one who sins in ignorance, and does not convict of lawlessnesses in the time of the affliction of a man that is afflicted; accordingly, I also, the humble one, will be bold, and will turn to Him, and seek refuge with Him, and confess all my sins to Him, and pour out my petition before Him, and He will have mercy on my misery. For who knows if He will see this humiliation of mine and the desolation of my soul and pity me, and will also see the orphanhood of my wretchedness and [my] virginity and defend me. For, as I hear, He is Himself a Father of orphans, and a consolation of the afflicted, and a helper of the persecuted. But in any case, I also, the humble one, will be bold and will cry to Him.” Then Asenath rose up from the wall where she was sitting, and raised herself on her knees toward the east, and directed her eyes toward Heaven, and opened her mouth, and said to God:
“Lord God of the righteous, || Who created the ages and gives life to all things, || Who gave the breath of life to all Your creation, || Who brought the invisible things out into the light, Who made all things and made manifest things that did not appear, || Who lifted up the heaven and founded the earth on the waters, || Who fixed the great stones on the abyss of the water, || Which will not be submerged but are to the end doing Your will, For You, Lord, said the word and all things came into being, || And Your word, Lord, is the life of all Your creatures— To You I flee for refuge, O Lord my God; From henceforth I will cry to You, Lord, || And to You I will confess my sins; To you I will pour out my petition, Master, || And to You I will reveal my lawlessnesses. Spare me, Lord, spare, || For I committed many sins against You, || I did lawlessness and ungodliness, || I have spoken things not to be uttered, || And wicked in Your sight; My mouth, Lord, has been polluted from the sacrifices of the idols of the Egyptians, || And from the table of their gods: I sinned, Lord, I sinned in Your sight, || Both in knowledge and in ignorance I did ungodliness || In that I worshiped dead and deaf idols, || And I am not worthy to open my mouth to You, Lord— I, the miserable Asenath, daughter of Pentephres the priest, || The virgin and queen who was once proud and haughty || And one that prospered in my father’s riches above all men, But now an orphan, and desolate, and abandoned by all men. To You I flee, Lord, || And to You I offer my petition, || And to You I will cry. Deliver me from them that pursue me, Master, || Before I am taken by them; For as an infant in fear of some one flees to his father and mother, || And his father stretches out his hands and catches him up against his breast, || So you, Lord, stretch out Your undefiled and terrible hands on me || Like a child-loving father, || And catch me out of the hand of the transcendent enemy. For behold, the ancient, and savage, and cruel lion pursues me, || For he is father of the gods of the Egyptians, || And the gods of the idol-maniacs are his children, || And I have come to hate them, || And I made away with them, || Because they are a lion’s children; And I cast all the gods of the Egyptians from me || And did away [with] them, || And the lion, or their father the Devil, || In wrath against me is trying to swallow me up. But You, Lord, deliver me from his hands, || And I will be rescued from his mouth, || Lest he tears me apart || And casts me into the flame of fire, || And the fire casts me into a storm, || And the storm prevails over me in darkness || And casts me into the depth of the sea, || And the great beast who is from everlasting swallows me up, || And I perish forever. Deliver me, Lord, before all these things come on me; Deliver me, Master, the desolate and defenseless, || For my father and my mother have denied me || And said, Asenath is not our daughter, || Because I broke their gods in pieces and made away with them, || As having wholly hated them. And now I am an orphan and desolate, || And I have no other hope except You, Lord, || Nor another refuge except Your mercy—You friend of men, Because You alone are Father of the orphans, || And champion of the persecuted, || And helper of the afflicted. Have mercy on me, Lord, || And keep me pure and virgin, the forsaken and orphan, || For You alone, Lord, || Are a sweet, and good, and gentle Father. For what father is [as] sweet and good as You, Lord? For behold, all the houses of my father Pentephres, || Which he has given to me for an inheritance, || Are for a moment and [are] vanishing; But the houses of Your inheritance, Lord, || Are incorruptible and perpetual.”
“Visit, Lord, my humiliation, || And have mercy on my orphanhood, || And pity me, the afflicted. For behold, I, Master, fled from all || And sought refuge with You, || The only friend of men. Behold, I left all the good things of the earth || And sought refuge with You. Lord—in sackcloth and ashes, naked and solitary. Behold, now I put off my royal robe of fine linen || And of crimson stuff interwoven with gold || And have put on a black tunic of mourning. Behold, I have loosed my golden girdle, || And cast it from me, || And girded myself with rope and sackcloth. Behold, I have cast my diadem and my turban from my head || And I have sprinkled myself with cinders. Behold, the floor of my chamber that was paved with multicolored and purple stones, || Which was formerly moistened with ointments || And was dried with bright linen cloths, || Is now moistened with my tears || And has been dishonored in that it is strewn with ashes. Behold, my Lord, from the cinders and my tears || Much clay has been formed in my chamber as on a broad road. Behold, my Lord, my royal dinner || And the meats I have given to the dogs. Behold, I have also, Master, been fasting seven days and seven nights || And neither ate bread nor drank water, And my mouth is [as] dry as a wheel || And my tongue [is] as a horn, || And my lips [are] as a potsherd, || And my face has shrunk, || And my eyes have failed from shedding tears. But You, Lord my God, deliver me from my many ignorances, || And forgive me for that, being a virgin and unknowing, || I have gone astray. Behold, now all the gods whom I worshiped before in ignorance || I have now known to have been deaf and dead idols, || And I broke them in pieces || And gave them to be trampled on by all men, || And the thieves spoiled them, || Who were [only] gold and silver; And with You I sought refuge, Lord God, || The only compassionate one and friend of men. Forgive me, Lord, for I committed many sins against You in ignorance, || And have spoken blasphemous words against my lord Joseph, || And did not know—I, the miserable—That he is Your son. Lord, since the wicked men urged by envy said to me, || Joseph is a son of a shepherd from the land of Canaan, || Therefore I, the miserable one, have believed them and gone astray, || And I set him at nothing, || And have spoken wicked things about him, || Not knowing that he is Your son. For who among men begot or will ever beget such beauty? Or who else is such as he, wise and mighty, as the all-beautiful Joseph? But to You, Lord, I commit him, || Because for my part I love him more than my soul. Keep him safe in the wisdom of Your grace, || And commit me to him for a handmaid and a bondwoman, || That I may wash his feet, and make his bed, || And minister to him, and serve him, And I will be a bondwoman to him for [all] the times of my life.”
And when Asenath had ceased making confession to the Lord, behold, the morning star also arose out of the heaven in the east; and Asenath saw it, and rejoiced, and said, “Has the Lord God then heard my prayer? For this star is a messenger and herald of the light of the great day.” And behold, close by the morning star the heaven was rent and a great and ineffable light appeared. And when she saw it Asenath fell on her face on the cinders, and immediately there came to her a man from Heaven, sending forth rays of light, and stood above her head. And as she lay on her face, the divine messenger said to her, “Asenath, stand up.” And she said, “Who is he that called me, for the door of my chamber is shut and the tower is high, and how then has he come into my chamber? And he called her again a second time, saying, “Asenath, Asenath.” And she said, “Here I am, lord, tell me who you are.” And he said, “I am the chief captain of the Lord God and commander of all the host of the Most High: stand up and stand on your feet, that I may speak my words to you.” And she lifted up her face and saw, and behold, a man in all things like to Joseph, in robe, and wreath, and royal staff, except that his face was as lightning, and his eyes as the light of the sun, and the hairs of his head as the flame of fire of a burning torch, and his hands and his feet like iron shining from fire, for sparks, as it were, proceeded both from his hands and from his feet. Seeing these things, Asenath feared and fell on her face, unable even to stand on her feet, for she became greatly afraid and all her limbs trembled. And the man said to her, “Be of good cheer, Asenath, and do not fear; but stand up and stand on your feet, that I may speak my words to you.” Then Asenath stood up and stood on her feet, and the messenger said to her, “Go without impediment into your second chamber, and lay aside the black tunic wherein you are clad, and cast off the sackcloth from your loins, and shake out the cinders from your head, and wash your face and your hands with pure water, and put on a white untouched robe, and gird your loins with the bright girdle of virginity—the double one—and come to me again, and I will speak to you the words that are sent to you from the Lord.” Then Asenath hurried and went into her second chamber wherein were the chests of her adorning, and opened her coffer, and took a white, fine, untouched robe, and put it on, having first put off the black robe, and also ungirded the rope and the sackcloth from her loins, and girded herself in a bright, double girdle of her virginity—one girdle around her loins and another girdle around her breast. And she also shook out the cinders from her head, and washed her hands and face with pure water, and she took a most beautiful and fine mantle and veiled her head.
And thereon she came to the divine chief captain and stood before him, and the messenger of the Lord says to her, “Now take the mantle from your head, for you are a pure virgin today, and your head is as of a young man.” And Asenath took it from her head. And again the divine messenger says to her, “Be of good cheer, Asenath, the virgin and pure, for behold, the Lord God heard all the words of your confession and your prayer, and He has also seen the humiliation and affliction of the seven days of your abstinence, for from your tears much clay has been formed before your face on these cinders. Accordingly, be of good cheer, Asenath, the virgin and pure, for behold, your name has been written in the Scroll of Life and will not be blotted out forever; but from this day [forward] you will be renewed, and refashioned, and re-quickened, and you will eat the blessed bread of life, and drink a cup filled with immortality, and be anointed with the blessed unction of incorruption. Be of good cheer, Asenath, the virgin and pure, behold, the Lord God has given you to Joseph for a bride today, and he himself will be your bridegroom forever. And henceforth you will no longer be called Asenath, but your name will be City of Refuge, for in you many nations will seek refuge and they will lodge under your wings, and many nations will find shelter by your means, and on your walls they who cleave to God Most High through penitence will be kept secure; for Penitence is a daughter of the Most High, and she herself entreats God Most High for you every hour and for all that convert, since He is father of Penitence, and she herself is the completion and overseer of all virgins, loving you exceedingly and imploring the Most High for you every hour, and for all who convert she will provide a place of rest in the heavens, and she renews everyone who has converted. And Penitence is exceedingly lovely, a virgin pure, and gentle, and mild; and therefore God Most High loves her, and all the messengers revere her, and I love her exceedingly, for she herself is also my sister, and as she loves you virgins, I also love you. And behold, for my part I go to Joseph and will speak to him all these words concerning you, and he will come to you today, and see you, and rejoice over you, and love you, and be your bridegroom, and you will be his beloved bride forever. Accordingly, hear me, Asenath, and put on a wedding robe, the ancient and first robe that is yet laid up in your chamber from of old, and also put all your choice adornments around you, and adorn yourself as a good bride and make yourself ready to meet him; for behold, he himself comes to you today and will see you and rejoice.” And when the messenger of the Lord, in the shape of a man, had finished speaking these words to Asenath, she rejoiced with great joy over all the things that were spoken by him, and fell on her face on the earth, and paid homage before his feet, and said to him, “Blessed is the Lord your God who sent you to deliver me from the darkness and to bring me from the foundations of the abyss itself into the light, and blessed is your name forever. If I have found grace, my lord, in your sight, and will know that you will perform all the words which you have said to me so that they are accomplished, let your handmaid speak to you.” And the messenger says to her, “Speak on.” And she said, “Please, lord, sit down on this bed [for] a little while, because this bed is pure and undefiled, for another man or other woman never sat on it, and I will set a table and bread before you, and you will eat, and I will also bring you wine, aged and good, the aroma of it will reach to heaven, and you will drink thereof and afterward will depart on your way.” And he says to her, “Hurry and bring it quickly.”
And Asenath hurried and set an empty table before him; and as she was starting to fetch bread, the divine messenger says to her, “Bring me a honeycomb also.” And she stood still, and was perplexed, and grieved because she did not have a bee’s comb in her storehouse. And the divine messenger says to her, “You therefore stand still?” And she said, “My lord, I will send a boy to the suburb, because the possession of our inheritance is near, and he will come and bring one quickly from there, and I will set it before you.” The divine messenger says to her, “Enter your storehouse and you will find a bee’s comb lying on the table; take it up and bring it here.” And she said, “Lord, there is no bee’s comb in my storehouse.” And he said, “Go and you will find [one].” And Asenath entered her storehouse and found a honeycomb lying on the table; and the comb was great and white like snow and full of honey, and that honey was as the dew of heaven, and the aroma of it [was] as the aroma of life. Then Asenath wondered and said in herself: “Is this comb from the mouth of this man himself?” And Asenath took that comb, and brought it, and set it forth on the table, and the messenger said to her, “Why is it that you said, There is no honeycomb in my house, and behold, you have brought it to me?” And she said, “Lord, I have never put a honeycomb in my house, but as you said so, it has been made. Did this come forth from your mouth? For the aroma of it is as the aroma of ointment.” And the man smiled at the woman’s understanding. Then he calls her to himself, and when she came, he stretched out his right hand and took hold of her head, and when he shook her head with his right hand, Asenath feared the messenger’s hand greatly, for sparks proceeded from his hands after the manner of red-hot iron, and accordingly, she was gazing with much fear and trembling at the messenger’s hand the whole time. And he smiled and said, “Blessed are you, Asenath, because the ineffable mysteries of God have been revealed to you; and blessed are all who cleave to the Lord God in penitence, because they will eat of this comb, for this comb is the Spirit of life, and the bees of the paradise of delight have made this from the dew of the roses of life that are in the paradise of God and [from] every flower, and the messengers, and all the elect of God, and all the sons of the Most High eat of it, and whosoever will eat of it will not die forever.” Then the divine messenger stretched out his right hand and took a small piece from the comb and ate, and with his own hand placed what was left in Asenath’s mouth and said to her, “Eat,” and she ate. And the messenger says to her, “Behold, now you have eaten the bread of life, and have drunk the cup of immortality, and been anointed with the unction of incorruption; behold, now today your flesh produces flowers of life from the fountain of the Most High, and your bones will be made fat like the cedars of the paradise of delight of God, and unwearying powers will maintain you; accordingly, your youth will not see old age, nor will your beauty fail forever, but you will be as a walled mother-city of all.” And the messenger incited the comb, and many bees arose from the cells of that comb, and the cells were numberless—myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. And the bees were also white like snow, and their wings as purple and crimson stuff and as scarlet; and they also had sharp stings and injured no man. Then all those bees encircled Asenath from feet to head, and other great bees like their queens arose from the cells, and they circled around on her face and on her lips, and made a comb on her mouth and on her lips like the comb that lay before the messenger; and all those bees ate from the comb that was on Asenath’s mouth. And the messenger said to the bees, “Go now to your place.” Then all the bees rose, and flew, and departed to Heaven; but as many as wished to injure Asenath all fell on the earth and died. And thereon the messenger stretched his staff over the dead bees and said to them, “Rise and depart, you also, into your place.” Then all the dead bees rose, and departed into the court that adjoined Asenath’s house, and took up their lodging on the fruit-bearing trees.
And the messenger saith to Asenath, “Have you seen this thing?” And she said, “Yes, my lord, I have seen all these things.” The divine messenger says to her, “So all my words will be, as many as I have spoken to you today.” Then the messenger of the Lord stretched forth his right hand for the third time and touched the side of the comb, and immediately fire came up from the table and devoured the comb, but it did not injure the table a bit. And when much fragrance had come forth from the burning of the comb and filled the chamber, Asenath said to the divine messenger, “Lord, I have seven virgins who were brought up with me from my youth and were born on one night with me, who wait on me, and I love all of them as my sisters. I will call them, and you will bless them too, even as you blessed me.” And the messenger said to her, “Call them.” Then Asenath called the seven virgins and set them before the messenger, and the messenger said to them, “The Lord God Most High will bless you, and you will be [pillars] of refuge of seven cities, and all the elect of that city who dwell together will [rest on you] forever.” And after these things the divine messenger says to Asenath, “Take away this table.” And when Asenath turned to remove the table, he immediately departed from her eyes, and Asenath saw as it were a chariot with four horses that were going eastward to Heaven, and the chariot was as a flame of fire, and the horses as lightning, and the messenger was standing above that chariot. Then Asenath said, “Silly and foolish am I, the lowly one, for I have spoken as that a man came into my chamber from Heaven! I did not know that God came into it; and behold, now he goes back to Heaven, to his place.” And she said in herself: “Be gracious, Lord, to Your bondmaid, and spare your handmaid, because, for my part, I have spoken rash things before You in ignorance.”
And while Asenath was yet speaking these words to herself, behold, a young man, one of the servants of Joseph, came, saying, “Joseph, the mighty man of God, comes to you today.” And immediately Asenath called the overseer of her house and said to him, “Hurry and prepare my house and make a good dinner ready, for Joseph, the mighty man of God, comes to us today.” And when the overseer of the house saw her (for her face had shrunk from the seven days’ affliction, and weeping, and abstinence) he sorrowed and wept; and he took hold of her right hand, and kissed it tenderly, and said, “What afflicts you, my lady, that your face is thus shrunken?” And she said, “I have had great pain about my head, and sleep departed from my eyes.” Then the overseer of the house went away and prepared the house and the dinner. And Asenath remembered the messenger’s words and his injunctions, and hurried and entered her second chamber where the chests of her adornments were, and opened her great coffer, and brought out her first robe, like lightning to behold, and put it on; and she also girded herself with a bright and royal girdle that was of gold and precious stones, and on her hands she put golden bracelets, and on her feet golden buskins, and a precious ornament around her neck, and she put a golden wreath around her head; and on the wreath as on its front was a great sapphire stone, and around the great stone [were] six stones of great price, and with a very marvelous mantle she veiled her head. And when Asenath remembered the words of the overseer of her house, for he said to her that her face had shrunk, she sorrowed exceedingly, and groaned, and said, “Woe is me, the lowly one, since my face is shrunken. Joseph will see me thus and I will be set at nothing by him.” And she says to her handmaid, “Bring me pure water from the fountain.” And when she had brought it, she poured it out into the basin, and bending down to wash her face, she sees her own face shining like the sun, and her eyes as the morning star when it rises, and her cheeks as a star of heaven, and her lips as red roses; the hairs of her head were as the vine that blooms among his fruits in the paradise of God, her neck as an all-variegated cypress. And Asenath, when she saw these things, marveled in herself at the sight, and rejoiced with exceedingly great joy, and did not wash her face, for she said, “Lest I wash off this great and attractive beauty.” The overseer of her house then came back to tell her, “All things are done that you commanded”; and when he beheld her, he feared greatly and was seized with trembling for a long time, and he fell at her feet and began to say, “What is this, my mistress? What is this beauty that surrounds you that is great and marvelous? Has the Lord God of Heaven chosen you as a bride for His son Joseph?”
And while they were yet speaking these things, a boy came, saying to Asenath, “Behold, Joseph stands before the doors of our court.” Then Asenath hurried 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 marveled at her beauty, and said to her, “Who are you, girl? Tell me quickly.” And she says to him, “I, lord, am your handmaid Asenath; I have cast all the idols away from me and they perished. And a man came to me today from Heaven and has given me bread of life and I ate, and I drank a blessed cup, and he said to me, I have given you for a bride to Joseph, and he himself will be your bridegroom forever; and your name will not be called Asenath, but it will be called City of Refuge, and the Lord God will reign over many nations, and through you they will seek refuge with God Most High. And the man said, I will also go to Joseph that I may speak into his ears these words concerning you. And now you know, lord, if that man has come to you and if he has spoken to you concerning me.” Then Joseph says to Asenath, “Blessed are you, woman, of God Most High, and blessed is your name forever, for the Lord God has laid the foundations of your walls, and the sons of the living God will dwell in your city of refuge, and the Lord God will reign over them forever. For that man came from Heaven to me today and said these words to me concerning you. And now come here to me, you virgin and pure—and [why] do you therefore stand far 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.
And when they had embraced around one another for a long time and intertwined the chains of their hands, Asenath said to Joseph, “Come here, lord, and enter our house, for 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 her father Pentephres; 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, “No, lord, for henceforth you are my lord and I am your handmaid. And do you therefore seek this—that another virgin should wash your feet? For your feet are my feet, and your hands my hands, and your soul my soul, and another will not wash your feet.” And she constrained him and washed his feet. Then Joseph took hold of her right hand and kissed her tenderly and Asenath kissed his head tenderly, and thereon he seated her at his right hand. Her father, and mother, and all her relatives then came from the possession of their inheritance, and they saw her sitting with Joseph and clad in a wedding garment. And they marveled at her beauty and rejoiced and glorified God who quickens the dead. And after these things they ate and drank; and all having made cheer, Pentephres said to Joseph, “Tomorrow I will call all the princes and satraps of all the land of Egypt, and will make a wedding for you, and you will take my daughter Asenath to be [your] wife.” But Joseph said, “Tomorrow I go to Pharaoh the king, for 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 be [my] wife.” And Pentephres said to him, “Go in peace.”
And Joseph stayed with Pentephres that day, and he did not go in to Asenath, for he was accustomed to say: “It is not fitting for a man who worships 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 Pentephres, priest of Heliopolis, to be [my] wife.” And Pharaoh rejoiced with great joy, and he says to Joseph, “Behold, has this one not been betrothed to you to be [your] wife from eternity? Accordingly, let her be your wife henceforth and to time continuous.” Then Pharaoh sent and called Pentephres, and Pentephres brought Asenath and set her before Pharaoh; and when Pharaoh saw her he marveled at her beauty and said, “The Lord God of Joseph will bless you, child, and this beauty of yours will remain forever, for the Lord God of Joseph chose you as a bride for him, for Joseph is as the son of the Most High, and you will be called his bride henceforth and forever.” And after these things Pharaoh took Joseph and Asenath and set golden wreaths on 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 on their heads and said, “The Lord God Most High will bless you and will multiply, and magnify, and glorify you to time continuous.” Then Pharaoh turned them around 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 will do work during the seven days of the wedding of Joseph and Asenath will 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 bore Manasseh and his brother Ephraim in Joseph’s house.
And when the seven years of plenty had passed, the seven years of famine began to come. And when Jacob heard about his son Joseph, he came into Egypt with all his relatives in the second year of the famine, in the second month, on the twenty-first of the month, and settled in Goshen. And Asenath said to Joseph, “I will go and see your father, for your father Israel is as my father and God.” And Joseph said to her, “You will go with me and see my father.” And Joseph and Asenath came to Jacob in the land of Goshen, and Joseph’s brothers met them and paid homage to them on their faces on the earth. Then both went in to Jacob; and Jacob was sitting on his bed, and he himself was an old man in a robust old age. And when Asenath saw him, she marveled at his beauty, for Jacob was exceedingly beautiful to behold and his old age as the youth of a handsome man, and all his head was white like snow, and the hairs of his head were all close and exceedingly thick, and his beard [was] white, reaching to his breast, his eyes cheerful and glittering, his sinews, and his shoulders, and his arms as of a messenger, his thighs, and his calves, and his feet as of a giant. Then Asenath, when she saw him thus, marveled, and fell down, and paid homage on her face on the earth. And Jacob said to Joseph, “Is this my daughter-in-law, your wife? She will be blessed of God Most High.” Then Jacob called Asenath to himself, and blessed her, and kissed her tenderly; and Asenath stretched out her hands, and took hold of Jacob’s neck, and hung on to his neck, and kissed him tenderly. And after these things they ate and drank. And thereon both Joseph and Asenath went to their house; and Simeon and Levi, the sons of Leah, alone conducted them forth, but the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the handmaids of Leah and Rachel, did not join in conducting them forth, for they envied and detested them. And Levi was at Asenath’s right and Simeon at her left. And Asenath took hold of Levi’s hand, for she loved him exceedingly above all of Joseph’s brothers and as a prophet, and a worshiper of God, and one who feared the Lord. For he was an understanding man and a prophet of the Most High, and he himself saw letters written in Heaven, and read them, and revealed them to Asenath in secret; for Levi himself also loved Asenath much and saw the place of her rest in the highest.
And it came to pass as Joseph and Asenath were passing by, when they were going to Jacob, Pharaoh’s firstborn son saw them from the wall, and when he saw Asenath, he became crazed with her by reason of her surpassing beauty. Then Pharaoh’s son sent messengers, and called Simeon and Levi to himself; and when they came and stood before him, Pharaoh’s firstborn son says to them, “I for my part know that you are today mighty men above all men on the earth, and with these right hands of yours the city of the Shechemites was overthrown, and with your two swords thirty thousand warriors were cut down. And I today will take you to myself as companions and give you much gold, and silver, and menservants, and handmaids, and houses, and great inheritances, and you contend on my side and do me kindness; for I received great injury from your brother Joseph, since he himself took Asenath to be [his] wife, and this woman was betrothed to me from of old. And now come with me, and I will fight against Joseph to slay him with my sword, and I will take Asenath to be [my] wife, and you will be to me as brothers and faithful friends. But if you will not listen to my words, I will slay you with my sword.” And when he had said these things, he drew out his sword and showed it to them. And Simeon was a bold and daring man, and he thought to lay his right hand on the hilt of his sword, and draw it from the sheath thereof, and smite Pharaoh’s son, for he had spoken hard words to them. Levi then saw the thought of his heart, because he was a prophet, and he trod with his foot on Simeon’s right foot and pressed it, signaling to him to cease from his wrath. And Levi was quietly saying to Simeon, “Are you therefore angry against this man? We are men who worship God, and it is not fitting for us to render evil for evil.” Then Levi said to Pharaoh’s son openly, with mildness of heart, “Does our lord therefore speak these words? We are men who worship God, and our father is a friend of God Most High, and our brother is as a son of God. And how will we do this wicked thing, to sin in the sight of our God and of our father Israel and in the sight ot our brother Joseph? And now hear my words: it is not fitting for a man who worships God to harm any man in any way; and if anyone wishes to harm a man who worships God, that man who worships God does not avenge himself on him, for there is no sword in his hands. And you must beware of speaking anymore of these words about our brother Joseph. But if you continue in your evil counsel, behold, our swords are drawn against you.” Then Simeon and Levi drew their swords from their sheaths and said, “Do you now see these swords? With these two swords the Lord punished the injury of the Shechemites, by which they did injury to the sons of Israel through our sister Dinah, whom Shechem the son of Hamor defiled.” And Pharaoh’s son, when he saw the swords drawn, feared exceedingly and trembled all over his body, for they glittered like a flame of fire, and his eyes became dim, and he fell on his face on the earth beneath their feet. Then Levi stretched out his right hand and took hold of him, saying, “Stand up and do not fear, only beware of speaking any evil word anymore concerning our brother Joseph.” And so both Simeon and Levi went out from before his face.
Pharaoh’s son then continued to be full of fear and grief for he feared Joseph’s brothers, and again he was exceedingly crazed by reason of Asenath’s beauty, and he grieved greatly. Then his menservants say in his ear: “Behold, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, the handmaids of Leah and Rachel, Jacob’s wives, are at great enmity against Joseph and Asenath and hate them; these will be to you in all things according to your will.” Therefore Pharaoh’s son immediately sent messengers and called them, and they came to him at the first hour of the night, and they stood in his presence, and he says to them, “I have learned from many that you are mighty men.” And Dan and Gad, the elder brothers, said to him, “Let my lord now speak to his menservants what he wishes [so] that your menservants may hear and we may do according to your will.” Then Pharaoh’s son rejoiced with exceedingly great joy and said to his menservants, “Withdraw now for a short space from me, for I have secret speech to hold with these men.” And they all withdrew. Then Pharaoh’s son lied, and he says to them, “Behold, now blessing and death are before your faces: you therefore take the blessing rather than the death, because you are mighty men and will not die as women; but be brave and avenge yourselves on your enemies. For I have heard your brother Joseph saying to Pharaoh, my father: “Dan, and Gad, and Naphtali, and Asher are not my brothers, but children of my father’s handmaids: I therefore wait for my father’s death and will blot them out from the earth and all their issue, lest they should inherit with us, because they are children of handmaids. For these also sold me to the Ishmaelites, and I will render to them again according to their injury which they wickedly committed against me; only my father will die. And my father Pharaoh commended him for these things and said to him, “You have spoken well, child. Accordingly, take mighty men from me and proceed against them according to what they worked against you, and I will be a helper to you.” And when Dan and Gad heard these things from Pharaoh’s son they were very troubled, and exceedingly grieved, and they said to him, “Please, lord, help us; for henceforth we are your slaves and bondmen and will die with you.” And Pharaoh’s son said, “I will be a helper to you if you will also listen to my words.” And they said to him, “Command us what you wish and we will do according to your will.” And Pharaoh’s son says to them, “I will slay my father Pharaoh this night, for Pharaoh is as Joseph’s father and said to him that he would help against you; and you slay Joseph, and I will take Asenath to myself to be [my] wife, and you will be my brothers and fellow-heirs of all my possessions. Only do this thing.” And Dan and Gad said to him, “We are your menservants today and will do all [the] things that you have commanded us. And we have heard Joseph saying to Asenath, Go tomorrow to the possession of our inheritance, for it is the season of the vintage; and he sent six hundred mighty men to war with her and fifty forerunners. Now therefore, hear us and we will speak to our lord.” And they spoke to him all their secret words. Then Pharaoh’s son gave the four brothers five hundred men each and appointed them their chiefs and leaders. And Dan and Gad said to him, “We are your menservants today and will do all the things that you have commanded us, and we will set forth by night, and lie in wait in the ravine, and hide ourselves in the thicket of the reeds; and you take with yourself fifty bowmen on horses and go a long way before us, and Asenath will come and fall into our hands, and we will cut down the men that are with her, and she herself will flee before [us] with her chariot and fall into your hands, and you will do to her as your soul desires; and after these things we will also slay Joseph while he is grieving for Asenath; we will also likewise slay his children before his eyes.” Pharaoh’s firstborn son then, when he heard these things, rejoiced exceedingly, and he sent them forth and two thousand fighting men with them. And when they came to the ravine, they hid themselves in the thicket of the reeds, and they divided into four companies, and took up their station on the far side of the ravine as in the front part—five hundred men on this side of the road and on that; and on the near side of the ravine likewise the rest remained, and they themselves also took up their station in the thicket ot the reeds—five hundred men on this side and on that of the road; and between them was a broad and wide road.
Then Pharaoh’s son rose up the same night and came to his father’s bed-chamber to slay him with the sword. His father’s guards thereon hindered him from coming in to his father and said to him, “What do you command, lord?” And Pharaoh’s son said to them, “I wish to see my father, for I am going to gather the vintage of my newly planted vineyard.” And the guards said to him, “Your father suffers pain, and lies awake the whole night, and now rests, and he said to us that no one was to come in to him, Not even if it is my firstborn son.” And he on hearing these things went away in wrath and immediately took mounted bowmen, fifty in number, and went away before them as Dan and Gad had said to him. And the younger brothers, Naphtali and Asher, spoke to their elder brothers Dan and Gad, saying, “Therefore do you on your part again work wickedness against your father Israel and against your brother Joseph? And God preserves him as the apple of an eye. Behold, did you not once sell Joseph? And he is king today of all the land of Egypt and food-giver. Now therefore, if you again wish to work wickedness against him, he will cry to the Most High, and He will send fire from Heaven and it will devour you, and the messengers of God will fight against you.” Then the elder brothers were moved to anger against them and said, “And will we die as women? Far be it.” And they went out to meet Joseph and Asenath.
And Asenath rose in the morning and said to Joseph, “I am going to the possession of our inheritance as you have said; but my soul exceedingly fears for you are parting from me.” And Joseph said to her, “Be of good cheer and do not be afraid, but rather go away rejoicing, in dread of no man whatsoever, for the Lord is with you and He Himself will preserve you as the apple of an eye from every evil. And I will set forth for my giving of food and will give to all the men in the city, and no man will perish of hunger in the land of Egypt.” Then Asenath departed on her way, and Joseph for his giving of food. And when Asenath reached the place of the ravine with the six hundred men, suddenly they who were with Pharaoh’s son came forth from their ambush and joined battle with those who were with Asenath, and cut them all down with their swords, and all her forerunners they slew, but Asenath fled with her chariot. Then Levi, the son of Leah, knew all these things by the Spirit as a prophet and told his brothers of Asenath’s danger, and immediately each of them took his sword on his thigh, and their shields on their arms, and the spears in their right hands, and pursued after Asenath with great speed. And as Asenath was fleeing before, behold, Pharaoh’s son met her and fifty horsemen with him: and Asenath, when she saw him, was seized with very great fear and was trembling, and she called on the Name of the Lord her God.
And Benjamin was sitting with her on the chariot on the right side; and Benjamin was a strong young man of about nineteen years, and on him was ineffable beauty and might as of a lion’s whelp, and he was also one who feared God exceedingly. Then Benjamin leapt down from the chariot, and took a round stone from the ravine, and filled his hand, and hurled [it] at Pharaoh’s son, and struck his left temple, and wounded him with a grievous wound, and he fell from his horse on the earth half-dead. And thereon Benjamin, having run up onto a rock, says to Asenath’s charioteer: “Give me stones from the ravine.” And he gave him fifty stones. And Benjamin hurled the stones and slew the fifty men who were with Pharaoh’s son, all the stones sinking in through their temples. Then the sons of Leah, Reuben and Simeon, Levi and Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, pursued after the men who had lain in wait against Asenath, and fell on them stealthily, and cut them all down; and the six men slew two thousand and seventy-six men. And the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah fled from their face and said, “We have perished at the hands of our brothers, and Pharaoh’s son has also died by the hand of the young man Benjamin, and all who were with him perished by the hand of the boy Benjamin. Accordingly, therefore, come let us slay Asenath and Benjamin and flee to the thicket of these reeds.” And they came against Asenath, holding their swords drawn, covered with blood. And when Asenath saw them, she feared greatly and said, “Lord God, who quickened me and delivered me from the idols and the corruption of death, even as You said to me that my soul will live forever, now also deliver me from these wicked men.” And the Lord God heard Asenath’s voice, and immediately the swords of the adversaries fell from their hands on the earth and were turned into ashes.
And the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, when they saw the strange miracle that had been worked, feared and said, “The Lord fights against us on Asenath’s behalf.” Then they fell on their faces on the earth, and paid homage to Asenath, and said, “Have mercy on us, your bondmen, for you are our mistress and queen. We wickedly committed evil deeds against you and against our brother Joseph, but the Lord repaid us according to our works. Therefore we your bondmen beg you: have mercy on us, the lowly and miserable, and deliver us from the hands of our brothers, for they will make themselves avengers of the injury done to you and their swords are against us. Accordingly, be gracious to your bondmen, mistress, before them.” And Asenath said to them, “Be of good cheer and do not be afraid of your brothers, for they themselves are men who worship God and fear the Lord; but go into the thicket of these reeds until I will appease them on your behalf and stay their wrath on account of the great crimes which you on your part have dared to commit against them. But may the Lord see and judge between me and you.” Then Dan and Gad fled into the thicket of the reeds; and their brothers, Leah’s sons, came running like stags with great haste against them. And Asenath stepped down from the chariot that was her cover and gave them her right hand with tears, and they themselves fell down and paid homage to her on the earth and wept with a loud voice; and they continued asking for their brothers, the sons of the handmaids, to put them to death. And Asenath said to them, “Please spare your brothers, and do not render to them evil for evil. For the Lord saved me from them and shattered their daggers and swords from out of their hands, and behold, they have melted and were burned to ashes on the earth like wax from before fire, and this is sufficient for us that the Lord fights for us against them. Accordingly, spare your brothers, for they are your brothers and the blood of your father Israel.” And Simeon said to her, “Does our mistress therefore speak good words on behalf of her enemies? No, but rather we will cut them down limb from limb with our swords, for they devised evil things concerning our brother Joseph and our father Israel and against you, our mistress, today.” Then Asenath stretched out her right hand, and touched Simeon’s beard, and kissed him tenderly, and said, “In no way, brother, render evil for evil to your neighbor, for the Lord will avenge this injury. They themselves, you know, are your brothers and the offspring of your father Israel, and they fled far from your face. Accordingly, grant them pardon.” Then Levi came up to her and kissed her right hand tenderly, for he knew that she was pleased to save the men from their brothers’ anger that they should not slay them. And they themselves were near at hand in the thicket of the reed-bed: and their brother Levi, knowing this, did not declare it to his brothers, for he feared lest in their anger they should cut their brothers down.
And Pharaoh’s son rose from the earth, and sat up, and spat blood from his mouth, for the blood was running down from his temple into his mouth. And Benjamin ran up to him, and took his sword, and drew it from Pharaoh’s son’s sheath (for Benjamin was not wearing a sword on his thigh), and wished to strike Pharaoh’s son on the breast. Then Levi ran up to him, and took hold of his hand, and said, “In no way, brother, do [this], for it is not fitting for a man who worships God to render evil for evil, nor to trample on one who has fallen, nor utterly to crush his enemy even to death. And now put back the sword into his place, and come and help me, and let us heal him of this wound; and if he lives, he will be our friend and his father Pharaoh will be our father.” Then Levi raised Pharaoh’s son from the earth, and washed away the blood from his face, and tied a bandage over his wound, and set him on his horse, and led him to his father Pharaoh, relating to him all the things that had happened and befallen. And Pharaoh arose from his throne, and paid homage to Levi on the earth, and blessed him. Then when the third day had passed, Pharaoh’s son died from the stone with which he was wounded by Benjamin. And Pharaoh mourned for his firstborn son exceedingly, from which grief Pharaoh fell sick and died at one hundred and nine years, and he left his diadem to the all-beautiful Joseph. And Joseph reigned alone in Egypt forty-eight years; and after these things Joseph gave back the diadem to Pharaoh’s younger child, who was at the breast when the old man Pharaoh died. And Joseph was then on as father of Pharaoh’s younger child in Egypt until his death, glorifying and praising God.