# Joseph and Asenath [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [UNKNOWN MASTER, Flemish]() - Date: 1451-1500 - Technique: Oak, diameter 153 cm ## Commentary Asenath \(or Asenith\) is a figure in the Book of Genesis, an Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph, son of Jacob, to be his wife. She bore Joseph two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, who became the patriarchs of the Israelite tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, respectively. Her story is elaborated in the apocryphal Joseph and Asenath. There, she is a virgin who rejects several worthy suitors in favour of Joseph, but Joseph will not have a pagan for a wife. She locks herself in a tower and rejects her idolatry in favour of Joseph's God Yahweh, and receives a visit from an angel who accepts her conversion. A ritual involving a honeycomb follows, and Joseph now consents to marry her. <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="\#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 5 minutes\):<BR><A HREF="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/music1/18\_cent/mehul\_joseph.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true"><B>Étienne Nicolas Méhul: Joseph, aria</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> ## Related artworks - [A Young Witch]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() - [Adoration of the Magi]() - [Adoration of the Magi]() - [Adoration of the Magi]() - [Adoration of the Magi]() - [Adoration of the Magi]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()