Was Potiphar a Eunuch?

Well, here’s a topic no male of our species every wants to discuss. But according to the original Hebrew language of Scripture, Potiphar was, in fact, a eunuch.

But Maybe Not THAT Kind of Eunuch…

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia (online), not all “eunuchs” are created equal:

The term “saris” is commonly used in the Old Testament of eunuchs; but occasionally it seems to stand in a more general sense for “court official,” and sometimes it designates a military officer (II Kings xxv. 19; comp. ib. xviii. 17; Jer. xxxix. 3, 13).

So, maybe when the Bible describes Joseph’s master, it really meant he was a soldier:

“Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.” Genesis 37:36

Why Does It Matter?

Does it really matter if Potiphar was or wasn’t a eunuch–in the traditional sense of Miriam-Webster’s Dictionary two primary definitions of the word:

1. a castrated man placed in charge of a harem or employed as a chamberlain in a palace
2. a man or boy deprived of the testes or external genitals

I would guess it mattered very much to Potiphar–and likely to Potiphar’s Wife, a woman’s whose story I’ve spent eighteen months beating my head against a wall to get just right.

The Rabbis Have an Opinion:

Some rabbis believe Potiphar WAS castrated by the archangel, Gabriel, to protect Joseph from his master’s untoward advances. (Oh, yes, this article was really taken from rabbinic historical texts.)

Want to know why I went with the “court official” theory for Potiphar–and STILL found motivation for his wife to be extremely “unfulfilled” in their marriage?

Relax. It has nothing to do with castration but everything to do with how the Lord needed to work in MY heart. It might even have something to do with how our God wants to work in YOUR heart today!

P’s Wife: Mentally Ill Or Morally Bereft?

When I began brainstorming this story with a couple of friends in October 2019, we kicked around all sorts of reasons Zully might have betrayed the godly servant, Joseph. Her full name, Zuleika, can be found in the Quran and Legends of the Jews but, as in many of my novels, I offer a simpler nickname (Zully) for today’s readers.

But there was no simple motivation for her bizarre attack on the righteous Joseph! In what universe could I make this woman–the main character in this book–someone likable enough to stick with her for 400 pages yet awful enough to betray everyone’s favorite biblical good-guy?

Thus, the 472 rewrites. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. But it felt like 472 rewrites.

Could I make her mentally ill? Nope. None of my editors were feeling it for bipolar or schizophrenic Zully. In our hyper-sensitized culture, where a Facebook fight breaks out over burning your morning toast–I didn’t DARE touch a mentally ill heroine.

Morally deficient? Could I really let Zully sleep with other servants? Even if it happened “off-screen,” that felt too smutty for redemptive Christian fiction. We could make her morally deficient in other ways, of course–and would need to–but she still HAD TO BE LIKABLE!

Flawed But Likable

I’ve written hard-to-like characters before. Let’s face it, I was pretty hard on King Solomon in Love’s Sacred Song. Every time I’d go a little overboard on my harsh characterization of the king that God called, Jedadiah–beloved of Jehovah–my editor would simply type “Charlie Sheen” in the margin, and I knew I’d crossed the line into party boy descriptors. (It was 2011, during Mr. Sheen’s tough publicity years.)

And how frustrating was Gomer in Love in a Broken Vessel? The prophet, Hosea, was called to marry a prostitute and love her as God loved adulterous Israel. Sheesh! I just wanted to shake some sense into that character!

Creating likable characters out of biblical bad guys is like walking a tightrope while juggling eggs. You’re gonna break something–you just gotta decide when and how many the reader can stand. And the final victory MUST BE WORTH THE WAIT!

Pivotal Editing Decision

My line editor and I were less than a week away from the given deadline. We were less than halfway through the manuscript and knew we’d never make it at the current pace. She texted me and asked, “Can we talk?”

That’s never a good sign.

She started the conversation with lots of encouragement about how hard I’d worked and the fact that she knew I was tired and discouraged. “We can rush the rest of the manuscript and make deadline. We CAN do that.” I told her that was NOT an option. She and I had done six books together. That’s not the way we did things.

She asked if she could be completely honest. Oh no! “Please,” I said, shaking in my slippers.

“I don’t know who Zully is or what she really wants. Worst of all–I don’t even care.”

YIKES! That’s when the rubber met the road. We totally went back to the drawing board on Zully’s character arc. Who was this woman and what could make her betray Joseph so completely?

Zully’s Lesson For Me/Us

The key to unlocking Zully’s character–and making her both likable and relatable—was to make her desire for one thing greater than her moral compass. She became completely, unilaterally, absolutely obsessed with returning to her homeland–the island of Crete. (Don’t worry. This isn’t a spoiler.)

Her one, overblown, obsession totally skewed everything in her life. She allowed that obsession to blind her to God’s work around her. Everything in her life was seen through the filter of, “How will it help me get back home?” Anything that helped in that single quest was acceptable, no matter how morally bankrupt.

It was a very strong lesson for me–since I’d put my whole life on hold to write and rewrite this story again and again and again. Yes, God always teaches me the lessons my characters learn. Ugh! 💡

Zully’s Worth the Wait

It took an extra month to birth a plausible, likable, redemptive Zully–but she was worth the wait. I believe Potiphar’s Wife is someone you’ll feel deeply for, get angry with, cheer for, and (hopefully) learn a great deal from.

In my novel, Potiphar was NOT castrated by an archangel, nor did he make any advances toward Joseph. (Sheesh!) He’s a crusty old bachelor who never wanted a wife–yet finds himself smitten with a spicy princess from Crete. And both their hearts get broken–as happens with all worthy love stories.

It’s the picking up of those pieces that gives us the twisting and turning endings we love–and I wouldn’t DARE spoil that for you! 😆

Today’s Question:

• Is there an unfulfilled desire you’ve allowed to become an unhealthy filter over your thoughts, your perspective, and/or your outlook on life? What is it that you say, “If only…then I could…”? Ask the Lord how you can give your desires to Him and perhaps receive it back in a healthier dose with His fingerprints all over it.