Potiphar
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Potiphar (or Potifar) (Hebrew פּוֹטִיפַר / פּוֹטִיפָר, Standard Hebrew Potifar, Tiberian Hebrew Pôṭîp̄ar / Pôṭîp̄ār; Egyptian origin: p-di-p-rʿ "the one whom Ra gave.") is mentioned in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible. After Joseph had been brought to ancient Egypt, having been sold into slavery by his own brothers, Potiphar, a wealthy and perhaps prominent Egyptian, purchased Joseph as a household slave.
According to the narrative in Genesis, Joseph was eventually appointed the head of Potiphar's household, and Potiphar's wife attempted to seduce Joseph. When Joseph demurred, Potiphar's wife falsely accused Joseph of attempting to rape her and supported her false accusation with a piece of Joseph's garment. As a result, Joseph was sent to prison.
According to the documentary hypothesis, the story of Potiphar's wife derives from the Jahwist source, and stands in the same place that the stories of the butler and the baker and Pharaoh's dreams stand in the Elohist text. Casting Joseph as a victim of seduction, and of false witness, the text suits the Jahwist's purpose of denigrating Joseph, the Jahwist being a southern writer, and Joseph being a northern hero. This may also be the reason for the homoerotic undertones to the description of Potiphar's favouritism of Joseph, and thus for the description of Potiphar as a eunuch (saris).
The Elohist tradition still makes mention of a man named Potiphar (corrupted as Potipherah), but in that tradition, Potiphar is simply a priest of On, whose daughter Joseph marries. It is possible that the northern view of Potiphar, the view the Elohist records, is where the Jahwist derived the name and motif of the sexual connection with Joseph.
Some others have speculated that the Egyptian " p3 di p3 r` " simply indicates a native Egyptian and not a personal name at all, since the personal name Potiphar is not present in Egyptian records until well into the New Kingdom, whereas the Joseph story occurs in the Middle Kingdom, according to those scholars. However, most evidence points to the Joseph story happening in the New Kingdom, and that Joseph was Yuya as recorded by the Egyptians ("Yu" could have been a transliteration of the syllable "Jo", while "Ya" was probably a reference to Yahweh, as most Egyptian names had the name of a chosen god in them, and as the only god Joseph believed in, that would be the perfect example. Also, Manetho recorded Yuya's name as "Osarseph"). However, Potiphar was truly most likely just a given name by the biblical author(s).
Non-biblical references
- In the mediaeval Sefer HaYasher which discusses the torah, Potiphar's wife is given the name Zuleika.
- In The Divine Comedy, Dante sees the shade of Potiphar's wife in the eighth circle of Hell. She does not speak, but Dante is told by another spirit that, along with other perjurers, she is condemned to suffer a burning fever for all eternity.
- In John Sayle's film, Matewan, Will Oldham plays a young minister boy who preaches the story of Potiphar to his small town.
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