צפנת פענח

Hebrew

Etymology

From צָפְנַת (tsofnat, “a hidden thing”) +‎ פַּעְנֵחַ (pa'neakh, “he must decipher”). Egyptologists have interpreted the final element of the name as containing the Egyptian word ꜥnḫ "life"; in 1889 Georg Steindorff offered a tentative full reconstruction of *ḏd-pꜣ-nṯr-jw.f-ꜥnḫ, “the god speaks [and] he lives”.

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /t͡sofˈnat paˈne.aχ/
• (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /t͡sɔfˈnaːθ paʕˈneːaħ/

Proper noun

צָפְנַת פַּעְנֵחַ • (tsofnat pa'neakh)

1. Zaphnath-Paaneah, an epithet of Joseph.
   • Tanach, Genesis 41:45, with translation of Aryeh Kaplan:

     וַיִּקְרָא פַרְעֹה שֵׁם־יוֹסֵף צָפְנַת פַּעְנֵחַ וַיִּתֶּן־לוֹ אֶת־אָסְנַת בַּת־פּוֹטִי פֶרַע כֹּהֵן אֹן לְאִשָּׁה וַיֵּצֵא יוֹסֵף עַל־אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם׃

     vay-yiqra far'óh shem yoséf tsafnát pa'néaḥ vay-yitten lo et asənat bat poṭi féra' kohen on le-ishá vay-yetsé yoséf 'al érets mitsráyim.

     Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Tzaphnath Paaneach. He gave him Asenath, daughter of Poti Phera, the priest of On, as a wife. Joseph thus went out to oversee Egypt.