When Aseneth met Joseph : a late antique tale of the biblical patriarch and his Egyptian wife, reconsidered / Ross Shepard Kraemer.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 323-338) and indexes.

Abbreviations -- 1. Introduction -- Part I: Reinterpreting Aseneth ; 2. Composing Aseneth: The construction of Aseneth out of traditional elements and techniques ; 3. Recasting Aseneth: The enhancement of traditional elements in the longer reconstruction ; 4. Aseneth and the adjuration of the angels ; 5. Aseneth and mystical transformation in the Hekhalot traditions ; 6. Aseneth and late antique religious sensibilities ; 7. Why is Aseneth a woman? The use and significance of gender in the Aseneth stories -- Part II: Relocating Aseneth ; 8. The dating of Aseneth reconsidered ; 9. The authorial identity of Aseneth reconsidered ; 10. The provenance of Aseneth reconsidered ; 11. Aseneth reconsidered -- Appendix: Aseneth in Rabbinic traditions -- Bibliography -- Index of ancient sources -- Index of modern authors -- Index of subjects.

Print version record.

This is a study of an anonymous ancient work, originally composed in Greek, titled Joseph and Aseneth. Although relatively unknown outside of scholarly circles, the story is remarkable because of its focus on a female character and its lack of overt misogyny and has traditionally been viewed as an early second-century C.E. conversion story of Jewish provenance. Kraemer offers conclusions that differ with previous findings in questions of date, provenance, identity, geographic origin and textual relationships as well as in matters of interpretation. She also explores the story's implications within the context of late antique constructs of and concerns about gender.

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