Potipherah
{{Short description|Priest of the ancient Egyptian town of On}}
File:Meister der Josephsfolge 002.jpg. Man depicted close to them may be Potiphera.]]
According to the Hebrew Bible, Potiphera ({{IPAc-en|p|ɒ|ˈ|t|ɪ|f|ər|ə}}, {{langx|he|פּוֹטִי פֶרַע|Poṭi-p̄eraʿ}}{{px2}}) was a priest of the ancient Egyptian town of On,The Open court, Volume 27. Harry Houdini Collection (Library of Congress). mentioned in the {{bibleverse||Genesis|41:45|HE}} and {{bibleverse-nb||Genesis|41:50|HE}}. He was the father of Asenath, who was given to Joseph as his wife by the Pharaoh, ({{bibleverse-nb||Genesis|41:45|HE}}) and who bore Joseph two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim.{{bibleverse-nb||Genesis|41:50|HE}}
His name means "he whom Ra has given".{{cite book |title=Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition |last=Hoffmeier |first=James K. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-19-976123-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Ileeam5iOYC&pg=PA84 |page=84}}
Biblical source
{{quote|Pharaoh then gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him for a wife Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On. Thus Joseph emerged in charge of the land of Egypt.|{{Bibleref2|Genesis|41:45}}}}
Theories
It has been noted that Potipherah served as a priest in Ra's most important cult center. A Jewish legend makes him the same person as Potiphar, whose wifeLegends of Old Testament characters from the Talmud and other sources by Sabine Baring-Gould was in love with Joseph and whose false accusation got him thrown in prison.