Asenath, Josephs Wife

 

As I read Josephs story this time around, (Genesis 30-50) I stopped to really consider Asenath, Josephs wife and his marriage. This woman was a key life changer in Josephs life, 3 verses in the bible that mention her. When I sat down to write this post, I was floored by the books and commentaries about Josephs wife that I found. Joseph was a pretty strong figure in Hebrew and biblical history, why wouldn't people talk about Asenath? That's how it is with famous powerful leaders. 

Joseph, a believer of the One True God who had spent his years in bondage fighting to maintain his purity and faith was suddenly a husband. He went from 13 years of slavery, a few of those years in prison, accused falsely. Suddenly he was Prime Minister of Egypt and husband to a very prominent woman in the kingdom. But the truth is nothing is "suddenly" with God. Joseph was ready for the new roles. 

Joseph was a man of integrity. He fled from Potiphars wife as a young man, he had quite an opportunity to indulge when she saw how handsome and strong he was and went after him, yet he was a man of God with good character who respected her husband, even though she didn't and more importantly, he honored Gods laws. Then one day, after his rise to power, came his own marriage vows, enter the bride Asenath. Joseph was presented with the wife that Pharoah, the king of Egpty had chosen for him, the daughter of the priest of On who worshiped Egyptian gods, not the God of the Hebrews.  Asenath "gift of the sun-god" a constant reminder of one of the many gods of her country. 

What kind of a marriage did they have? What was Asenath like in physical appearance and  personality?  Did she also notice how handsome this Hebrew man was? Did she have a good character like Joseph? He did not run from this woman, it seems that he embraced and loved her. My romantic heart assumed this simply because of the names of his sons: Manasseh which means "God has made me forget all my hardship and all my fathers house" and the second son was Ephraim, which means God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. The names alone declare his appreciation for ALL that God had done for him and given him, this would include his wife, the mother of his sons. Did Asenath influence her sons in positive ways? Did their upbringing include Hebrew traditions? Is it possible that Joseph influenced his wife?

Joseph kept his eyes on the One True God and established himself and family there in the land of his captivity. 

Of course as a wife of 35 years in a bi-racial marriage, I am very curious about this mixed marriage. My husband and I are both Americans and Born Again Christians, but our ethnicity is different and our marriage is splashed with Mexican and New England cultural traditions. The foundation of our marriage and the cord that ties us together is God. His ways keep us working on our marriage relationship even after we've raised our four kids. 

I'd have to dig a bit deeper to study the culture of marriages in those ancient days, but reading Gods living word, the account of Josephs marriage, did leave me with the conviction that God, my omnipotent God is the author of our stories, from beginning to end.  Jeremiah 29:11 says "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not evil to give you a future and a hope" (esv) When we take life into our own hands, because we often do, we mark up the pages of our story. Waiting on God or for God is hard for me sometimes. Choosing not to judge God as unjust or uncaring is a great temptation, but God is never early, never late, but always righ on time with the right move for our lives.