View source for Potiphar

{{Short description|Biblical character}}
{{hiero|Potiphar<br />pꜣ-dj-pꜣ-rꜥ|<hiero><-ra-pA-di-pA-></hiero>|align=right|era=egypt}}
'''Potiphar''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɒ|t|ɪ|f|ər}} {{respell|POT|if|ər}}; {{langx|he|פּוֹטִיפַר/פּוֹטִיפָר| Pōṭīp̄ar/Pōṭīp̄ār}}; {{langx|egy|label=from [[Late Egyptian]]|pꜣ-dj-pꜣ-rꜥ||he whom [[Ra]] gave}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ulmer |first=Rivka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HkuCG_BG6q4C&q=p3+dj+p3+r%60+potiphar&pg=PA258 |title=Egyptian Cultural Icons in Midrash |date=2009-12-15 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=9783110223934 |language=en}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=HkuCG_BG6q4C&dq=p3-dj+egyptian&pg=PA258]</ref>) is a figure in the [[Hebrew Bible]] and the [[Quran]]. His name possibly indicates the same figure as [[Potiphera]] ({{Langx|he|פוטיפרע|links=no}}).

Potiphar is the [[captain of the guard]] for a [[pharaoh]] who is said to have purchased [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]]<ref>''“The Egyptian Sun-God Ra in the Joseph Story.”'' ''Vetus Testamentum'' 36, no. 4 (1986): 417–418.</ref><ref>''Genesis 16–50'' (Word Biblical Commentary; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994).</ref> as a slave and, impressed by his intelligence, makes him the master of his household. [[Potiphar's wife]],<ref>'''Gordon J. Wenham''', ''Genesis 16–50'' (Word Biblical Commentary; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994).</ref><ref>'''Victor P. Hamilton''', ''The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18–50'' (New International Commentary on the Old Testament; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995).</ref> who was known for her infidelities, took a liking to Joseph and attempted to seduce him. When Joseph refused her advances and ran off, leaving his outer vestment in her hands, she retaliated by falsely accusing him of trying to [[rape]] her, and Potiphar had Joseph imprisoned.

What happened to Potiphar after that is unclear; some sources identify him as [[Potipherah]], an Egyptian priest whose daughter, [[Asenath]], marries Joseph.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12316-potiphar|title=Potiphar – JewishEncyclopedia.com|website=www.jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> The false accusation by Potiphar's wife plays an important role in Joseph's narrative because had he not been imprisoned, he would not have met the fellow prisoner who introduced him to Pharaoh. Likewise, the fate of Potiphar's wife is unclear but some sources say she was stricken with illness.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=1901 |title=Joseph |encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]] |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8803-joseph |accessdate=24 October 2018}}</ref>

Rachel Adelman suggests that both Potiphar and his wife were sexually attracted to Joseph and tried to [[Sex slave|use him]] for their own purposes. But Potiphar's attempts were thwarted via castration, according to [[Talmud|Talmudic]] legend. She believes the story is a criticism of Jewish assimilation since foreigners like Potiphar and his wife would seduce Jews to sin.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adelman |first=Rachel |date=2022 |title=Potiphar and His Wife Desire Joseph |url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/potiphar-and-his-wife-desire-joseph |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419035152/https://www.thetorah.com/article/potiphar-and-his-wife-desire-joseph |archive-date=April 19, 2024 |website=TheTorah.com}}</ref>

The medieval [[Sefer haYashar (midrash)|Sefer HaYashar]], a commentary on the [[Torah]], gives Potiphar's wife's name as ''Zuleikha'', as do many [[Islam]]ic traditions - hence the [[Persia]]n poem, titled [[Yusuf and Zulaikha]], which also has [[Persian miniature]]s of the couple, from [[Jami]]'s ''[[Haft Awrang]]'' ("Seven thrones").

The story became prevalent in Western art during the [[Renaissance]] and [[Baroque]] periods, usually depicting the moment when Joseph tears himself away from the bed containing a more or less naked figure of Potiphar's wife.

==Religious references==
Tying Potiphar or Joseph accurately to a particular pharaoh or period is difficult. According to the [[Jewish calendar]], Joseph was purchased in the year 2216, which is 1544 BC, at the end of the [[Second Intermediate Period]] or the very beginning of the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]]. The [[Torah]] in which the story appears (before the [[Bible]] and the [[Quran]]) was the earliest written of the three: c. 600 BC during the Babylonian Exile. According to the [[documentary hypothesis]], the story of Potiphar and his wife is credited to the [[Yahwist]] source and stands in the same place as the stories of the butler and the baker and Pharaoh's dreams stand in the [[Elohist]] text.

A similar story is found in the [[Tale of Two Brothers]], where the wife of [[Anubis|Anpu]] tries to seduce his brother [[Bata (god)|Bata]].

==Islam==
The story is first related in [[Yusuf (surah)|Quran 12:21–35]]: an Egyptian purchases Joseph and proposes to adopt him. The Egyptian's wife endeavors to seduce Joseph, but he is preserved from her enticements. She accuses Joseph of an attempt to dishonor her. The rent in his garment testifies to Joseph's innocence. The Azeez believes Joseph and condemns his wife. The sin of the Azeez's wife becomes known in the city ([[Q12:30]]). Seeing Joseph's beauty, the wives of other noblemen call him an angel. The Azeez's wife declares her purpose to imprison Joseph unless he yields to her solicitations. Joseph seeks protection from God, who hears his prayer and turns aside their snares, but Joseph is imprisoned notwithstanding his innocence.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wherry |first1=Elwood Morris |author1-link=Elwood Morris Wherry |title=A Complete Index to [[Sale's Text]], Preliminary Discourse, and Notes |date=1896 |publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co |location=London}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

==Cultural references==
[[File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 065.jpg|thumb|Joseph Accused by Potiphar's Wife, by [[Rembrandt van Rijn]], 1655.]]
*[[Prophet Joseph (TV series)|Prophet Joseph]] is an Iranian historical drama that tells the story of prophet Joseph. In this TV series, Jafar Dehghan plays the role of Potiphar. 
*In art, the subject is most commonly shown in the [[Power of Women]] ''topos''.
* There is a Persian poem called [[Yusuf and Zulaikha]] in [[Jami]]'s ''[[Haft Awrang]]'' ("Seven thrones").
*In ''[[The Divine Comedy]]'', [[Dante]] sees the shade of Potiphar's wife in the eighth circle of [[Hell]]. She does not speak, but Dante is told by another spirit that, along with other [[perjury|perjurers]], she is condemned to suffer a burning [[fever]] for all eternity.
*In the 1987 [[John Sayles]] film ''[[Matewan (film)|Matewan]]'', a young minister boy preaches the story of Potiphar to his small town.
*In [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]] and [[Tim Rice]]'s musical ''[[Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat]]'', Potiphar is a tycoon of ancient Egypt who made his wealth through buying shares in pyramids ("Potiphar had made a huge pile, owned a large percentage of the Nile"). His wife is a seductive [[Femme fatale|man-eater]]. Both feature in the song "Potiphar".
*In [[John Keats]]' poem, "On Fame", Keats calls Fame "Sister-in-law to jealous Potiphar".
*In the film [[Joseph_(1995_film)|''Joseph'']], Potiphar ([[Ben Kingsley]]) allows Joseph the opportunity to defend himself against his wife's accusations. Joseph proceeds to tell his life story from childhood to becoming a slave. Potiphar believes Joseph to be innocent, but has him imprisoned to save his reputation. When Joseph is made governor of Egypt, he and Potiphar share a moment of reconciliation before Joseph leaves to commence his work of preparing Egypt for the years of abundance and famine.
*In the animated film ''[[Joseph: King of Dreams]]'', before having him jailed for allegedly assaulting his wife, Potiphar takes notice of Joseph's intelligence and makes him a chief slave in his household. He orders Joseph to be executed for the attempted rape of his wife; when she asks him to stop, Potiphar realizes Joseph was telling the truth of his innocence and instead has him jailed to save face, though he shows significant disgust at his wife. Potiphar later brings Joseph to Pharaoh, who is plagued by inexplicable dreams, and expresses deep regret for having Joseph put in prison, but Joseph understands and forgives Potiphar. After Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams, Pharaoh asks Potiphar if he trusts Joseph, to which he responds that he trusts Joseph "with [his] life." Potiphar is also present when Joseph reunites with his brothers.
*In ''[[Joseph and his Brothers]]'', [[Thomas Mann]] suggests that Potiphar's wife is sexually frustrated partly because Potiphar is a [[eunuch]].
* In Margaret Atwood's ''[[The Testaments]]'', the sequel to ''The Handmaid's Tale'', Potiphar's wife is referred to in Chapter 46 of the Ardua Hall Holograph storyline as narrated by Aunt Lydia. She mentions that Dr. Grove defended himself against attempted rape charges through the Potiphar vignette.
* Czechoslovak author Valdemar Vinař wrote ''La skandalo pro Jozefo'', an original work of fiction in [[Esperanto]], relating the story from the viewpoints of five different witnesses.
==Gallery==
<gallery perrow="7" widths="160px" heights="160px" caption="Joseph and Potiphar's Wife in Art">
File:Nuremberg chronicles f 27r 2.png| ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]'' 1493
File:Giuseppe e la moglie di Putifarre, Ludovico Cigoli, Roma, Galleria Borghese (1610), olio su tela.jpg|Joseph and Potiphar's Wife by [[Ludovico Cigoli]]
File:Joseph and Potiphar's Wife - Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino, 1649 - NG Wash DC.jpg| ''Joseph and Potiphar's Wife'' by [[Guercino]], 1649
File:Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo - Joseph and Potiphar's Wife - WGA16386.jpg| Joseph and Potiphar's Wife by [[Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo]] 
File:Jean-Baptiste Nattier - Joseph and Potiphar's Wife - WGA16449.jpg| Joseph and Potiphar's Wife by [[Jean-Baptiste Nattier]]
Image:Joseph and Potiphar's Wife.jpg|[[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]] and Potiphar's Wife by [[Guido Reni]], 1631
File:Rembrandt - Joseph and Potiphar's wife.jpg|Joseph and Potiphar's Wife by [[Rembrandt]], 1634
<!-- File:Sebald Beham Joseph und Potiphars Weib 1544.jpg|[[Hans Sebald Beham]], ''Joseph and Potiphar's Wife'', 1544 --> 
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Yusuf and Zulaikha]]
* [[Tale of Two Brothers]]

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* Osman, A. (1987) ''The Hebrew Pharaohs of Egypt'', Bear & Co.: Rochester, Vermont. {{ISBN|9781591430223}}.

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Ancient Egyptians]]
[[Category:Joseph (Genesis)]]
[[Category:Book of Genesis people]]
[[Category:Egypt in the Hebrew Bible]]
[[Category:False allegations of sex crimes]]
[[Category:People of the Quran]]
[[Category:Egyptian slave owners]]
[[Category:LGBTQ in Egypt]]
[[Category:LGBTQ and Judaism]]
[[Category:LGBTQ and Christianity]]
[[Category:Asenath]]