08.04.05 Joseph and Asenath's Journey of Progress and Development A Biblical Revelation

Joseph and Asenath’s Journey of Progress and Development – A Biblical Revelation

The account of Joseph and Asenath presents two individuals who came from entirely different worlds, yet built a narrative of remarkable and exemplary progress and development.

Initially, Joseph started out as a shepherd. He was one of those people whose life could suggest that he was born to progress and develop his environment, naturally. At a very young age, he started getting visions that indicated that his father and brothers would bow to him. Little did they know that those obviously annoying dreams were actually prophetic - more real than the air they breathed. It all started when his dad made him a coat of many colours, an act which evoked so much jealousy that they sold the boy to slave traders, not knowing that they were setting their younger brother on the path that would make those dreams turn into a reality. The anointing to lead, progress and develop his space was about to break loose.

No sooner had Joseph been bought as a slave by one of the highly placed Egyptian officers, Potiphar, than he was elevated to manage the household. In refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife, the young and handsome Hebrew was falsely convicted of sexual assault and thrown into prison. But surprisingly, all that seems to have been God-orchestrated, for again, he was put in charge of his fellow prisoners. It was there that he interpreted dreams for two inmates, which came to pass, with one beheaded and the other freed.

In the course of time, Pharaoh received disturbing dreams which no one could interpret in that highly civilised kingdom. On the recommendation of one of the inmates who had been freed as Joseph had predicted, the young Hebrew was summoned. What followed was a display of Jehovah’s anointing for progress and development in Joseph, as he interpreted the great ruler’s dreams one by one, with a divine solution to match. Apparently, there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of drought. Therefore, Egypt needed to implement a grain storage strategy if the nation was to survive the famine. Pharaoh must have run through his files and discovered that there was no one fit enough to head the project.

That was when the most unexpected happened. The great ruler elevated a foreigner and convict to the position of prime minister, second in command to Pharaoh. But another surprise was to reveal itself when the great ruler gave a wife to Joseph as a gift. Her name was Asenath, a daughter of Potiphera, one of the priests of On or Heliopolis. Although the Bible is silent about the reason for Pharaoh’s gift, he must have known that marrying Asenath, out of all women on the great ruler’s call, was a critical ingredient for the success of the grain project and the progress of his nation as a whole.

Although the Bible mentions Joseph’s wife in very few verses, apparently a lot is written about her. All in all, God must have planned that Asenath would contribute towards the progress-oriented anointing that divinity had placed on Joseph. With the demanding assignment of overseeing the grain project that covered about 3 to 4 million people with a cultivated arable area of approximately 6,000–7,000 square miles, comprising the Nile Valley and the Delta, Joseph needed a partner to support him in that endeavour. That was how Asenath fitted into the picture.

Apparently, Asenath was very well prepared for the task of ensuring that the couple fulfilled God’s plan for progressing and developing Egypt in that particular season. Writers narrate how she abandoned idolatry at the very beginning of their relationship and turned to worshipping God, since Joseph could not tolerate being yoked to an idol worshipper. This adjustment must have turned Asenath into a virtuous woman, giving her access to Jehovah’s divine wisdom and enabling her to support Joseph’s beliefs, pray with him and intercede on his behalf, which was a major requirement for the success of his work.

Marrying Asenath bound Joseph to a powerful, noble family, validating his promotion and strengthening his new identity as a high-ranking Egyptian official, second-in-command to Pharaoh. This, in essence, enhanced the man’s political legitimacy and cemented his authority in Egypt. Since Heliopolis was a major religious centre, holding a very high status among the Egyptian elite and beyond the country’s borders, Joseph was able to expand his social network by rubbing shoulders with high-ranking Egyptian leadership, protecting him and his future family from potential accusations or instability in a foreign land, which would have otherwise disturbed his focus on the project.

In addition, Asenath was highly educated, a contribution that would have greatly enhanced the progress and development of Joseph’s assignments. She had been brought up in Heliopolis, a major centre for learning and governance. The priests were regarded as custodians of specialised knowledge and would educate their children in literacy and scribing, religious instruction, household management, etiquette, diplomacy, arts, basic arithmetic, astronomy and elements of medicine, all of which positioned her to support Joseph in handling complex and demanding circumstances. Therefore, Asenath must have been disciplined, responsible, orderly and accountable.

Another thing to note was that Joseph’s history of adversity could have easily been a source of stress and related challenges that might have had a downward toll on that assignment. But Asenath must have provided much-needed emotional comfort and companionship after her husband’s years of slavery and imprisonment. No wonder that when their two sons came along, Joseph named their firstborn, Manasseh, to signify that God made the man forget all his troubles. Had Asenath been a trouble-causer, the son’s name would have been very different. The second son’s name also indicates progress and development, that God had made him fruitful in the land of his affliction.

Joseph’s responsibilities required him to move from place to place. But Asenath was there to keep the home stable, manage the household effectively and raise their sons during a period when their father was extremely busy and probably not that available. Lineage was a very important aspect of progress and development in the Hebrew culture. Asenath therefore supported the preservation of Manasseh and Ephraim’s heritage, raising them in a way that kept them connected to their ancestral roots, even in a foreign setting and under the influence of an Egyptian mother. Their upbringing was sufficiently grounded to preserve their identity.

The sons were later adopted by Jacob, becoming founders of two tribes in Israel. That was how Joseph and Asenath’s progress and development extended beyond their household to shape both Egypt and Israel for generations.