Potiphar is thecaptain of the guard for apharaoh who is said to have purchasedJoseph[2][3] as a slave and, impressed by his intelligence, makes him the master of his household.Potiphar's wife,[4][5] who was known for her infidelities, took a liking to Joseph and attempted to seduce him. When Joseph refused her advances and ran off, leaving his outer vestment in her hands, she retaliated by falsely accusing him of trying torape her, and Potiphar had Joseph imprisoned.
What happened to Potiphar after that is unclear; some sources identify him asPotipherah, an Egyptian priest whose daughter,Asenath, marries Joseph.[6] The false accusation by Potiphar's wife plays an important role in Joseph's narrative because had he not been imprisoned, he would not have met the fellow prisoner who introduced him to Pharaoh. Likewise, the fate of Potiphar's wife is unclear but some sources say she was stricken with illness.[7]
Rachel Adelman suggests that both Potiphar and his wife were sexually attracted to Joseph and tried touse him for their own purposes. But Potiphar's attempts were thwarted via castration, according toTalmudic legend. She believes the story is a criticism of Jewish assimilation since foreigners like Potiphar and his wife would seduce Jews to sin.[8]
The story became prevalent in Western art during theRenaissance andBaroque periods, usually depicting the moment when Joseph tears himself away from the bed containing a more or less naked figure of Potiphar's wife.
Tying Potiphar or Joseph accurately to a particular pharaoh or period is difficult. According to theJewish calendar, Joseph was purchased in the year 2216, which is 1544 BC, at the end of theSecond Intermediate Period or the very beginning of theNew Kingdom. TheTorah in which the story appears (before theBible and theQuran) was the earliest written of the three: c. 600 BC during the Babylonian Exile. According to thedocumentary hypothesis, the story of Potiphar and his wife is credited to theYahwist source and stands in the same place as the stories of the butler and the baker and Pharaoh's dreams stand in theElohist text.
The story is first related inQuran 12:21–35: an Egyptian purchases Joseph and proposes to adopt him. The Egyptian's wife endeavors to seduce Joseph, but he is preserved from her enticements. She accuses Joseph of an attempt to dishonor her. The rent in his garment testifies to Joseph's innocence. The Azeez believes Joseph and condemns his wife. The sin of the Azeez's wife becomes known in the city (Q12:30). Seeing Joseph's beauty, the wives of other noblemen call him an angel. The Azeez's wife declares her purpose to imprison Joseph unless he yields to her solicitations. Joseph seeks protection from God, who hears his prayer and turns aside their snares, but Joseph is imprisoned notwithstanding his innocence.[9]
InThe Divine Comedy,Dante sees the shade of Potiphar's wife in the eighth circle ofHell. She does not speak, but Dante is told by another spirit that, along with otherperjurers, she is condemned to suffer a burningfever for all eternity.
In the 1987John Sayles filmMatewan, a young minister boy preaches the story of Potiphar to his small town.
InAndrew Lloyd Webber andTim Rice's musicalJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Potiphar is a tycoon of ancient Egypt who made his wealth through buying shares in pyramids ("Potiphar had made a huge pile, owned a large percentage of the Nile"). His wife is a seductiveman-eater. Both feature in the song "Potiphar".
In the filmJoseph, Potiphar (Ben Kingsley) allows Joseph the opportunity to defend himself against his wife's accusations. Joseph proceeds to tell his life story from childhood to becoming a slave. Potiphar believes Joseph to be innocent, but has him imprisoned to save his reputation. When Joseph is made governor of Egypt, he and Potiphar share a moment of reconciliation before Joseph leaves to commence his work of preparing Egypt for the years of abundance and famine.
In the animated filmJoseph: King of Dreams, before having him jailed for allegedly assaulting his wife, Potiphar takes notice of Joseph's intelligence and makes him a chief slave in his household. He orders Joseph to be executed for the attempted rape of his wife; when she asks him to stop, Potiphar realizes Joseph was telling the truth of his innocence and instead has him jailed to save face, though he shows significant disgust at his wife. Potiphar later brings Joseph to Pharaoh, who is plagued by inexplicable dreams, and expresses deep regret for having Joseph put in prison, but Joseph understands and forgives Potiphar. After Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams, Pharaoh asks Potiphar if he trusts Joseph, to which he responds that he trusts Joseph "with [his] life." Potiphar is also present when Joseph reunites with his brothers.
In Margaret Atwood'sThe Testaments, the sequel toThe Handmaid's Tale, Potiphar's wife is referred to in Chapter 46 of the Ardua Hall Holograph storyline as narrated by Aunt Lydia. She mentions that Dr. Grove defended himself against attempted rape charges through the Potiphar vignette.
Czechoslovak author Valdemar Vinař wroteLa skandalo pro Jozefo, an original work of fiction inEsperanto, relating the story from the viewpoints of five different witnesses.
^Wherry, Elwood Morris (1896).A Complete Index toSale's Text, Preliminary Discourse, and Notes. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
