The Wiles of Women/the Wiles of Men: Joseph and Potiphar's Wife in Ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, and Islamic Folklore

226 Pages·1995·34.37 MB·English

by  Shalom Goldman

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The Wiles of Women/
The Wiles of Men
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The Wiles of Women/
The Wiles of Men
Joseph and Potiphar's Wife
in Ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, and
Islamic Folklore
Shalom Goldman
State University of New York Press
The Wiles of Women/ The Wiles of Men: Joseph and Potiphar's Wife in Ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, and Islamic Folklore 4 2/18/2011 9:32:18 AM
The author gratefully acknowledges the following for granting permission to
quote from previously published material:
The Jewish Publication Society for excerpts from Tanakh: The Holy
Scriptures. Used by Permission.
Princeton University Press for excerpts from James Pritchard, Ancient Near
Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Used by Permission.
Simon and Schuster, Inc. for excerpts from The Koran Interpreted by A. J.
Arbeny, translator. Copyright by George Allen and Unwin, Ltd. Used by
Permission.
The University of Chicago Press for excerpts from The Riad ofH omer, R
Lattimore, translator. Used by Permission.
The illustrations are from a seventeenth-century Persian manuscript of
Firdawsl's YU.suf and Zuleikha (Dartmouth College Library, Special
Collections, Hanover, NH)
Published by
State University of New York Press. Albany
© 1995 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval
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electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical. photocopying. recording. or
otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, address State University of New York Press.
State University Plaza. Albany. NY 12246
Production by Cynthia Tenace Lassonde
Marketing by Bernadette LaManna
Library of Congress Cataloging-iu-Publicatlou Data
Goldman, Shalom.
The wiles of women/the wiles of men : Joseph and Potiphar's wife
in ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, and Islamic folklore I Shalom
Goldman.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-2683-1 (he: alk. paper). -ISBN 0-7914-2684-X (pb:
alk. paper)
1. Joseph (Son of Jacob)-Legends. 2. Potiphar's wife (Biblical
figure)- Legends. 3. Legends, Jewish-History and criticism.
4. Legends-Middle East- History and criticism. 5. Middle Eastern
literature-Relation to the Hebrew Bible. I. Title.
BS580.J6G55 1995
398'. 35-dc20 95-17220
CIP
10 9 8 7 6 54 3 2 I
The Wiles of Women/ The Wiles of Men: Joseph and Potiphar's Wife in Ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, and Islamic Folklore 5 2/18/2011 9:32:21 AM
In memory of my mother
Judith Goldman
1924-1995
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Contents
Illustrations viii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction Joseph, Comparative Folldore, and
Questions of "Influence" xi
The Texts The Bible, The Qur'an, Ancient Egyptian
Literature, and the Iliad XXV
1. The Centrality and Significance of the Joseph Narratives 1
2. The Spurned Woman: Potiphar's Wife in Scripture
and Folklore 31
3. The Egyptian Background of the Joseph Story 57
4. A Portrait of Joseph 79
5. The Women of the Joseph Story 93
6. Joseph's Bones: Linking Canaan and Egypt 119
Summary and Conclusions 145
Notes 149
Bibliography 169
Index 179
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Illustrations
l. Joseph with His Father and His Brothers X
2. The Women of the City at Zuleikha's Banquet xxiv
3. The Pharaoh's Dream xxxiv
4. Joseph and Potiphar's Wife 30
5. Joseph Led into Prison 56
6. Zuleikha Pursues Joseph 78
7. Zuleikha Complains of Joseph to Her Husband 92
8. A Repentant Zuleikha Meets Joseph 118
9. Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph 144
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Acknowledgments
I am indebted to colleagues who read and commented upon
the manuscript. among them Alan Tansman and Barbara
Kreiger of Dartmouth College, Michael Cooperson of UCLA,
Harvey Goldberg of the Hebrew University, and Ktziah Spanier of
The New School for Social Research. Adel Allouche provided
valuable information on the Arabic sources. and Charles Stinson
of Dartmouth provided guidance in the use of Christian sources.
My brother Art Goldman brought his usual good judgment to
bear on questions of style and the use of Rabbinic texts. For all
errors. I alone bear full responsibility.
My students at Dartmouth College, The New School for
Social Research, and the 92nd St. Y Jewish Omnibus Program
provided me with feedback and inspiration. My teacher Cyrus
Gordon and his wife Connie Gordon encouraged me to complete
this long-term project. Ted and Cynthia Arenson of Sunny
Oaks provided me with a "summer world" in which I could write
and pursue my research. My wife. Liora Alschuler, and my son
Daniel Goldman, were my frrst and best readers and editors,
and it is to them that I owe the greatest todah mikerev halev.
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