Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/307

Rh Joseph the Dreamer

He was

289

governor of Yarimuta, presumably a grain-producing

district in the eastern part of tlie

Nile Delta, and he proba-

supervised the gathering of the grain for the national

bly

food supply. that

the

The name

man was

even probably,

an

Semitic, and probably

is

indicates

a Semite, although not necessarily,

He

nor

from Joseph in have employed the powers of his office Israelite.

differed

he seems to and his great influence with the king unjustly, oppressively, It is not at all improbable, and for his own advantage. however, that the position which this man held suggested a portion of the plot to the authors of the Joseph story. They seem to have been well acquainted with Egyptian life and manners (cf. XL 1 1 1, 32, and the pure Egyptian names, Potiphar, Zaphenath-paneah, Asenath and Poti-phera) and literature, and may therefore have drawn upon Egyptian histhat

tory for the original of the figure of their hero. the episode of Potiphar's wife is borrowed from Egyptian literature. There is a well-known Egyptian tale, found upon au ancient papyrus, which tells of tw^o brothers who dwelt together, the older married and the younger single. One day the older brother sent the younger brother from the field where they were plowing, to bring some seed. When the younger brother came to the house, he found his brother's wife combing her hair. He took two How^ever, large measures of seed and prepared to depart. when the w^oman beheld his beauty and strength, her heart became inflamed with love for him. But he rejected her advances indignantly and bitterly rebuked her. But he said nothing to his brother of wdiat had happened. The woman,

Certainly

directly

how^ever, self

wath

Therefore she anointed herand made herself like one to whom an evil-

feared exceedingly. fat,

doer had offered violence.

home

in

When

the older brother returned

the evening, his wife did not receive him as usual.

Instead she lay stretched out upon the bed, as

When

he asked her the cause, she answ^ered,

if

injured.

"No one

has \n