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Posts: 7963
Wed, 23-May-12 13:15:54
Well that’s interesting, because Yoséf was still being referred to as an אָסוּר asur (“prisoner”) in B'réshıt 40:3, at which time ten years had passed since his ‘brief encounter’ with Mrs Potifar. Is it being suggested that he was held for all that time without trial?Actually, as שַׂר הַטַּבָּחִים sar hatabbaḥim (“Junior Justice Minister”), Potifar would have been in control of the prisons and it would therefore have been easy for him to manipulate the system and arrange for Yoséf to be incarcerated indefinitely. It seems to me, though, that it’s entirely possible that Potifar didn’t entirely believe his wife’s attempted rape allegations against the unfortunate Yoséf, or he would most likely have been summarily executed; but Potifar had to do something for the sake of appearances, and so it was that Yoséf found himself locked up in an Egyptian prison.By the way, in the 13 years that Yoséf was imprisoned, Potifar had been promoted to the post of כֹּהֵן אוֹן kohén on (“Minister for the Armed Forces”), a much higher position in the Egyptian government, and, in keeping with his greater seniority, he is now no longer referred to by the nickname “Potifar”, but is called by his full name Poti-Fĕra.But in any event, what difference does it make?
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