Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

WIFE OF POTIPHAR

The wife of Joseph’s Egyptian master, unnamed in the biblical account (cf. Mut-em-enet [Thomas Mann, Joseph in Egypt]; Zuleika [Midrash, Qurʾan Sura 12]). Enamored with the handsome Joseph, she repeatedly tempts the virtuous hero with all the wiles of the stereotypical “foreign woman,” falsely accusing him of rape (Gen. 39:6-20). Driven by sexual desire, her actions sharply contrast with the customary passivity expected of wives (cf. also Tamar, Gen. 38). Potiphar displays loyalty to his wife by having Joseph jailed rather than executed, the penalty for adultery.

Her efforts are intensified in the version of the narrative found in the Testament of Joseph (cf. T. Jos. 6:1-8; 9:1). After vowing to have her husband (Pentephres) killed so she and Joseph can marry (T. Jos. 5:1), she persuades him to rescue Joseph from the Ishmaelite merchant (14:1) and pressures him to purchase the enslaved Hebrew (16:4).

Bibliography. A. Bach, Women, Seduction, and Betrayal in Biblical Narrative (Cambridge, 1997).

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

WIFE OF POTIPHAR

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)