When Aseneth Met Joseph: A Late Antique Tale of the Biblical Patriarch and His Egyptian Wife, Reconsidered

This is the study of an anonymous ancient work, usually called Joseph and Aseneth, which narrates the transformation of the daughter of an Egyptian priest into an acceptable spouse for the biblical Joseph, whose marriage to Aseneth is given brief notice in Genesis. Kraemer takes issue with the scholarly consensus that the tale is a Jewish conversion story composed no later than the early second century C.E. Instead, she dates it to the third or fourth century C.E., and argues that, although no definitive answer is presently possible, it may well be a Christian account. This critique also raises larger issues about the dating and identification of many similar writings, known as pseudepigrapha. Kraemer reads its account of Aseneth's interactions with an angelic double of Joseph in the context of ancient accounts of encounters with powerful divine beings, including the sun god Helios, and of Neoplatonic ideas about the fate of souls. When Aseneth Met Joseph demonstrates the centrality of ideas about gender in the representation of Aseneth and, by extension, offers implications for broader concerns about gender in Late Antiquity.

Table of Contents:
Preface Abbreviations 1 Introduction Part I: Reinterpreting Aseneth 2 Composing Aseneth: The Construction of Aseneth out of Traditional Elements and Techniques 3 Recasting Aseneth: The Enhancement of Traditional Elements in the Longer Reconstruction 4 Aseneth and the Adjuration of Angels 5 Aseneth and Mystical Transformation in the Hekhalot Traditions 6 Aseneth and Late Antique Religious Sensibilities 7 Why Is Aseneth a Woman? The Use and Significance of Gender in the Aseneth Stories Part II: Relocating Aseneth 8 The Dating of Aseneth Reconsidered 9 The Authorial Identity of Aseneth Reconsidered 10 The Provenance of Aseneth Reconsidered 11 Aseneth Reconsidered Appendix: Aseneth in Rabbinic Traditions Bibliography Index of Ancient Sources Index of Modern Authors Index of Subjects

About the Author :
Ross Shepard Kraemer is Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at Brown University.

Review :
"When Aseneth Met Joseph stands out as a thought-provoking, clear and broadly informed analysis that will be instructive to students of ancient religion and historians of ancient Mediterranean culture." --Church History "Extremely learned and lively... For anyone interested in ancient religious fiction generally or in the complex history of Judaism and Christianity in the late antique period, this enormously erudite and thoroughly engaging work will be a stimulating read." --Hebrew Studies "A challenging, provocative and refreshing book that should help to bring Joseph and Aseneth closer to classicists and to ancient historians... Kraemer's work is an impressive and dynamic display of scholarship and an excellent point of departure for any future exploration of Joseph and Aseneth." --Bryn Mawr Classical Review