מי הייתה אסנת בת פוטיפרע

JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN
"OR went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and the serpent bit him" (Amos v. 19). When Jacob went into his house in the land of Canaan the serpent bit him. || And who was the serpent? This was Shechem, the son of Chamor. Because the daughter of Jacob was abiding in the tents, and she did not go into the street; what did Shechem, the son of Chamor, do? He brought dancing girls who were (also) playing on pipes in the streets. Dinah went forth to see those girls who were making merry; and he seized her, and he slept with her, and she conceived and bare Asenath. The sons of Israel said that she should be killed, for they said that now people would say in all the land that there was an immoral daughter in the tents of Jacob.

What did (Jacob) do? He wrote the Holy Name upon a golden plate, and suspended it about her neck and sent her away. She went her way. Everything is revealed before the Holy One, blessed be He, and Michael the angel descended and took her, and brought her down to Egypt to the house of Potiphera; because Asenath was destined to become the wife of Joseph. Now the wife of Potiphera was barren, and (Asenath) grew up with her as a daughter. When Joseph came down to Egypt he married her, as it is said, "And he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potiphera priest of On" (Gen. xli. 45).

ויתן לו את אסנת בת פוטיפרע...לאשה, “He gave him Ossnat, daughter of Potiphera as a wife.” He did not give him as a wife the daughter of a member of the Egyptian political hierarchy, but the daughter of Potiphar, Joseph’s former master. This was a politically inspired move, designed to stifle any protest movement that might be sparked by Potiphar resenting that his former slave had now become the economic czar of the empire, with power over life and death. Seeing that he made Joseph Potiphar’s son-in-law by this astute maneuver, he was certain that the former master would now boast about being Joseph’s father-in-law. Rashi also agrees that the man called here Potiphera, was the one that used to be Joseph’s master and is known to us as Potiphar. The name change reflects that he had become castrated. The description by the Torah of the position of this man as “the priest of On,” prompted Rashi to give this commentary, as the word און is an expression of “greatness, strength,” as we know from Yaakov describing his first born son Reuven as ראשית אוני, “the first product of my virility” (Genesis 49,3). In his capacity as the chief executioner, Potiphar occupied a position of power. Nachmanides writes that the attribute כהן און, indicates that as a result of his castration Potiphar felt very embarrassed and decided to devote the rest of his life to a monk-like existence in a Temple, far from the eyes of the world. It is quite possible that the word “On” is the designation given to the specific deity whom Potiphar worshipped as a priest. The description of Yitro as כהן מדין, similarly describes the deity that Yitro used to serve in his position of priest. Our sages illustrate this when they said that he would offer fatted calves to this deity. (compare Yalkut Shimoni Judges 1) Some commentators claim that Potiphar took refuge in a monastery out of fear that Joseph would revenge himself on him for having thrown him into jail.