JOSEPH & ASENETH
A variation of the gods fecund prowess is demonstrated in the moving
account
of Joseph and Aseneth a Jewish tractate, under the same name from
around the
time of Christ.[77] The record speaks of Pentephres, a priest of
Heliopolis,
who, upon learning of Joseph's visit to the region, instructs his
steward to
prepare a feast in honor of "the Powerful One of God."[78]
Pentephres
informs his daughter that he intends to offer her to Joseph, son of
Jacob,
for a bride.[79] Aseneth responded with contempt and refused
cooperation until,
from afar, she catches sight of the "sun from heaven ...
come to us on
(his) chariot."[80] Paralyzed by his stunning beauty and radiant
countenance,
she acknowledges "Joseph as a son of God"[81]; marveling at how a
mortal
womb could "give birth to such light."[82] Shaken by his majestic
presence,
the recalcitrant heart of Aseneth is softened, and a remorseful
daughter prays
that her father will "give (her) to Joseph for a maidservant
... (for
she) will serve him for ever and ever."[83]
Before taking leave, Joseph places his right hand on the head of Aseneth
and
pronounces this blessing:
Lord God ... of Israel ... who gave life to all things ... bless this
virgin
and renew her by your spirit, and form her anew by your hidden hand,
and make
her alive again by your life, and let her eat your bread of life ...
And number
her among your people....Let her enter into your rest which you
have prepared
for your chosen ones, and live in your eternal life for ever and
ever.[84]
In preparation for his anticipated return, Aseneth, haunted by her
idolatrous
past, retreats to the privacy of her room where she begins a
seven-day period
of fasting and prayer.[85] After incessantly petitioning the
heavens for forgiveness,
"the morning star rose ... and Aseneth saw it and
rejoiced (saying) 'So
the Lord God listened to my prayers, because this star
rose as a messenger.'"
From this star an "unutterable light appeared ... and
called (to) her."[86]
Aseneth, raising her head, found herself in the presence
of "the chief
of the house of the Lord"[87]; "a man in every respect similar
to
Joseph."[88] The heavenly emissary subdued her fears and invited Aseneth
to
"wash (her) face and (her) hands with living water, and dress in a
new linen
robe (as yet) untouched ... and gird (her) waist with a new twin
girdle of
virginity."[89] Aseneth, having complied with her host's directives,
is then
told "you are a chaste virgin today ... I have heard (your humble
confessions
and prayers)[90]... Your name WAS written in the book of the living
in heaven;
in the BEGINNING of the book... From today, you will be RENEWED
and formed
ANEW and made alive AGAIN... Behold, I have given you today to Joseph
for a
bride, and he himself will be your bridegroom for ever and ever."[91]
It is unnecessary to narrate the entirety of Aseneth's purification
ritual,
but suffice it to state that the Jewish author's shrewd insight is as
eloquent
as it is exhilarating.[92] Having found her pure, the heavens
announced "Your
name will no longer be called Aseneth, but ... will be called
City of Refuge
... (for) in you many nations will take refuge with the Lord
God, the Most
High.[93] Joseph, too, recognized the greatness of his
bride-to-be. "Blessed
are you by the Most High God ... because the sons of the
living God will dwell
in your City of Refuge."[94] Such a disclosure affirms
the pivotal and
maternal role Aseneth will play in the incarnation of divine
offspring.
Her adoration and eternal regard for her royal suitor is poignantly
reflected
in mellifluous poetry:
And Aseneth said to Joseph, "Come, my Lord, and enter our house ...And
she
grasped his right hand and led him into her house and seated him on ...
her
father's throne. And she brought water to wash his feet. And Joseph said,
"Let
one of the virgins come and wash my feet." And Aseneth said to him, "No,
my
Lord, because you are my lord from now on, and I (am) your maidservant.And
why
do you say this (that) another virgin (is) to wash your feet? For your
feet
are my feet, and your hands are my hands, and your soul my soul, and your
feet
another (woman) will never wash."... And Joseph looked at her hands, and
they
were like hands of life, and her fingers fine ... And after this Joseph
grasped
her right hand and kissed it, and Aseneth kissed his head and sat at
his right
(hand).[95]
Announcing his intentions to marry Aseneth, Joseph sought Pharaoh's
blessings;
to which a joyful pharaoh exclaimed, "Is not this (the) one
betrothed
to you since eternity? And she shall be your wife from now on and
for ever
and ever."[96] Upon seeing her ineffable beauty, he tells Aseneth,
"the
Lord, the God of Joseph, has chosen you as a bride for Joseph, because he
IS
the FIRSTBORN SON OF GOD[97] ... and you shall be a daughter of the Most
High."[98]
Placing golden crowns on their heads (which had been in his house
"from
the beginning"), he "brought them mouth to mouth and joined them by
their
lips."[99] Following the celebration, "Joseph went in to Aseneth, and
Aseneth
conceived from Joseph, and gave birth to Manasseh and Ephraim, his
brother,
in Joseph's house."[100]
SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA, THE BUDDHA
It should come as no surprise that references of gods consorting with
mortal
women is not limited to the Judeo-Christian world. Similar accounts are
also
found in Buddhism, as in the sixth-century B.C.E. story of Shuddhodana
Gautama
and his wife Maya, King and Queen of the Shakya (a people who lived at
the
southern foothills of the Himalayas). "For twenty years they had no
children.
But one night Queen Maya had a strange dream in which she saw a
white elephant
entering into her womb through the right side of her chest, and
she became
pregnant."[101] After the customary gestation period, Siddhartha
Gautama
was born, at which time, we are told, "Heaven and Earth
rejoiced."[102]
The joy soon turned to sadness, however, for shortly after the
child's birth,
Queen Maya died. A hermit (Asita) living in the nearby
mountains, saw a radiance
about the palace and came to see the newborn infant.
To the royal family, Asita
declared, "This Prince, if he remains in the
palace, when grown up will
become a great king and subjugate the whole world.
But if he forsakes the court
life to embrace a religious life, he will become
a Buddha, the Savior of the
world."[103]
Although the King was delighted to hear the prophecy, he soon became
fearful
that his only son would choose to leave, becoming a "homeless
recluse."
Destiny prevailed for at age twenty-nine the prince would leave
his bride of
ten years, a newborn child, and all the comforts of royalty to
begin a six-year
journey culminating in an epic transformation: from
Siddhartha to the Buddha.[104]
Turning again our attention to the gods of ancient Egypt; as the viceroy
of
God, the king was considered to be both divine and human: Divine, so long
as
he was fulfilling his fiduciary responsibilities. Once dead, he was
considered
an equal with the gods.[105] "(The king) did the same as Re ... he
raised
himself up like Osiris; ... he was at one with Osiris."[106] What was
at
first a rite or ritual allowed only for the king was later made available
for
the entire populace; "the democratization of mortuary beliefs ... which
enabled
the deceased to become Osiris EX OPERE OPERATO."[107] The king had a
dual
nature; he was both a god, but "simultaneously the obedient servant ('the
son')."[108]
On matters pertaining to the priesthood, the Egyptians held to the
following:
A priest had to be initiated into the secret of the service performed for
the
deity....He actually had to belong to the divine sphere if he wanted to
associate
with God. For this reason, the Egyptian priesthood, in theory, only
represented
the deified king. In practice, it developed as a result of a
delegation by
the king of his rights and duties.[109]
Modern scripture reflects in kind; to be a High Priest is to belong to
the
"holy order of the Son."[110] The scriptures are not bashful or economical
when
it comes to concealing the greatness of those found within this holy
order.
To the Hebrews, Paul declared "And all those who are ordained unto this
priesthood
are made LIKE UNTO THE SON OF GOD, abiding a priest
continually."[111]
Abraham was told that such are God's rulers, and that he,
too, was one of them;
chosen before he was born.[112]
And there stood one among [the rulers] that was LIKE UNTO GOD, and he
said
unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there,
and
we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these
may
dwell ...
And
the Lord said; Whom shall I send? And one answered LIKE UNTO THE SON
OF MAN:
Here am I, send me...[113]
Let us be clear: "One like unto the Son of man" is NOT "the Son
of man"
but one LIKE the Son of man. Such epithets identify separate and
distinct
personalities. While such may share a common heritage, or engage in
complementary
missions or ambitions, nonetheless they remain uniquely
individual. To elucidate:
Seth, we are told, was after the likeness and image
of his father; but that
doesn't make him Adam.[114] Furthermore, in both Moses
4:1 and Abraham 3:27,
we read of individuals who make certain their
intentions: "Here am I,
send me." Citing from the book of Moses, we are told
it is the "Only
Begotten" who offers to come down; While in the book of
Abraham it is
one "like unto the Son of Man" who offers himself.
What is there about life on earth that would remotely interest the noble
and
great? Why would heaven's elite seek cyclical occasion to be found among
the
sons of men? To explore possible explanations, we turn our curious
attention
to the man Abraham.
Above:
The Pioneers went through great harship in their quest to build Zion