Joseph and Aseneth is a pseudepigraphic hellenistic romance novel that elaborates on the biblical character of Joseph and his wife aseneth. an expansion of genesis 41: 45, the text describes how aseneth is transformed into a radiant bride t for Joseph, and is thereby associated with his god.1 previous studies may have overstepped the limits of what Joseph and Aseneth is willing to tell us about religious identity; rather than treat the novel as a description (or prescription!) of religious initiation, i propose to view it as a re ection of the complex interactions of Judean and “pagan” modes of religious experience.2 aseneth’s transformation associates her with the divine realm through several methods, one of which, i argue, is her clothing, a culturally anticipated identity marker for both Judeans and “pagans.”