Early Jewish Writings | Early Christian Writings

Joseph and Aseneth

First Century B.C. - Second Century A.D.

Online Text for Joseph and Aseneth

• Translation by David Cook

Online Resources for Joseph and Aseneth

• The Aseneth Home Page
• Notes prepared by Mark Seitz
• Abstract by Elaine Pardoe
• Bryn Mawr Review of When Aseneth Met Joseph

Offline Resources for Joseph and Aseneth

• The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume Two
• The Apocryphal Old Testament
• When Aseneth Met Joseph

Information on Joseph and Aseneth

Chr. Burchard writes: "JosAsen appears to have originated in the Jewish diaspora of Egypt, no later than c. AD 100 and perhaps as early as the first century BC. A sectarian milieu has been suggested: Essenes, Therapeutae, or some unknown form of Judaism shaped in the iamge of a hellenistic mystery religion. But the book presents Judaism, not a special form distinct from others. According to some scholars, it was written to promote Jewish mission among non-Jews, or Jews, or both. However, Judaism as depicted in JosAsen is not mission-minded. Besides the book never bothers to explain Jewish life. The sabbath, circumcision, the interdiction against pork, the standards of levitical purity, indeed the necessity of keeping the Law, which is fundamental to all forms of Judaism, go unmentioned. So it is safer to assume that JosAsen was meant to be read by Jews as a reminder of the supernatural vitality and lofty morality which were theirs. We should remember, however, that the Egyptian diaspora undoubtedly included many proselytes and attracted 'God-fearing' sympathizers such as we know, e.g., from the Book of Acts." (Outside the Old Testament, p. 94)

James Charlesworth writes: "That Joseph and Asenath is a fifth-century Christian work, based upon a Jewish writing, is a dated conclusion (P. Batiffol, Le Livre de la Prière d'Asénath [Studia Patristica 1-2] Paris: Leroux, 1889-1890). That it is an early, perhaps late first-century A.D., Jewish composition is a contemporary perspective (cf. C. Burchard, Untersuchungen zu Joseph und Aseneth [WUNT 8] Tübingen: Mohr, 1965; see esp. pp. 148-51; Philonenko, no. 1003; A.-M. Denis, no. 24, pp. 40-48). Most scholars now contend that the original language is Greek (Burchard, Untersuch., pp. 91-99; Philonenko, no. 1003, pp. 27-32). The parallels with the Dead Sea Scrolls have raised the possibility of influence from the Essenes, or more probably from the Therapeutae; some scholars affirm a relationship (P. Riessler, no. 62, p. 1303; K. G. Kuhn in The Scrolls and the New Testament, ed. K. Stendhal. New York: Harper, 1957; pp. 75f.; M. Delcor, 'Un roman d'amour d'origine thérapeute: le livre de Joseph et Asénath,' BLE 63 [1962] 3-27); others deny it (Philonenko, no. 1003, p. 105; Burchard, Untersuch., pp. 107-12)." (The Pseudepigrapha and Modern Research, p. 137)

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