Potipherah

Biblical Record

Potipherah appears three times in Genesis, each time within the same phrase, "Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On." The text records none of his words or deeds.

• Genesis 41:45: Pharaoh gives Joseph the Egyptian name Zaphnathpaaneah and gives him Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, as his wife.
• Genesis 41:50: Before the years of famine come, Asenath bears Joseph two sons.
• Genesis 46:20: In the list of the household of Jacob, Manasseh and Ephraim are recorded as the sons whom Asenath bore to Joseph in the land of Egypt.

On was a city in the lower Nile region. The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) renders its name as Heliopolis ("city of the sun"). The city is known as a center of sun-god worship.

Significance in the Bible

Potipherah's role in the narrative illustrates Joseph's entry into the upper ranks of Egyptian society. Pharaoh's bestowal on Joseph of a new name, together with a wife from a prominent priestly family, is commonly understood to signify Joseph's official recognition as a high-ranking Egyptian official. Potipherah's maternal grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim later received Jacob's blessing and became two of the twelve tribes of Israel. Potipherah is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Debated Points

• Name: Scholars often interpret the name as Egyptian, meaning "he whom Ra (the sun god) has given."
• Distinction from Potiphar: Although his name resembles that of Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard who bought Joseph as a slave (Genesis 37:36; 39:1), the biblical text presents them as different individuals. Some later Jewish traditions are reported to have identified the two as the same person, but this is not what the text of Genesis states.
• Apocryphal narrative: The ancient Jewish work Joseph and Aseneth tells at length how Asenath came to believe in the God of Israel, but it is a noncanonical writing.
• Marriage to the daughter of a foreign priest: Interpreters differ over Joseph's marriage to the daughter of a foreign priest. Some view it as having taken place within God's providence, while others discuss it in light of the later laws concerning marriage. The text of Genesis itself offers no evaluation of the marriage.

In Korean Churches

Sermons and Sunday school lessons focusing on Potipherah are rare in Korean churches. His name comes up mainly in sermons and Bible studies on the life of Joseph, when explaining the background of Joseph's life after he became governor of Egypt. In such contexts, he is sometimes explicitly distinguished from Potiphar, whose name is similar, to avoid confusion.