Aseneth's Transformation

Full title
Aseneth's Transformation
Updated By
Research notes

SHS/not checked/14/04/2019

Reference type
Author(s)
Hartvigsen, Kirsten Marie
Year
2018
Journal / Book Title || Series Title
Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies
Issue / Series Volume
24
Publisher
de Gruyter
Place of Publication
Berlin/Boston
Work type
Label
29/04/2019
Abstract

The story of Joseph and Aseneth is a fascinating expansion of the narrative in Genesis of Joseph in Egypt, and in particular, of his marriage to the daughter of an Egyptian priest. This study examines the portrayal of Aseneth’s transformation in the text, focusing on three perspectives. How did Aseneth’s encounter with Joseph and her subsequent transformation affect various aspects of her identity in the narrative? In what ways do the portrayals of Aseneth, her transformation, and her abode relate to select metaphors and other symbolic features depicted in the Septuagint, the Hebrew Bible, and the Pseudepigrapha? And, how do the ritualized components through which Aseneth’s transformation occurred function in the narrative, and why are they perceived as effective? In order to shed light on these facets of Joseph and Aseneth, the author draws on the contemporary approaches of intersectionality, conceptual blending, intertextual blending, and the cognitive theory of rituals, using these theoretical frameworks to explore and illuminate the complexity of Aseneth’s transformation.

Primary Texts: Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
Composition / Author