Bereishit
Rabbah 90:4
AND PHARAOH CALLED
YOSEF‘S NAME TZAFENAT-PA'NEACH (41:45).
R. Johanan said: The name connotes: He reveals things that are hidden and
easily declares them.3 Hezekiah interpreted the name: With his knowledge he
reveals things that are hidden and sets the minds of people at ease.
The Rabbis
said: [The name is an abbreviation and stands for]:
Zofeh
(seer),
podeh
(redeemer),
navi
(prophet),
tomek
(supporter),
poter
(interpreter),
‘arom
(skilled), nabon
(understanding), and
hozeh
(seer).
R. Aha said:
The name connotes: The one that was hidden here, thou hast
come to reveal her.4
4) Possibly this is an
allusion to an old legend that Dinah had a daughter by Shechem (Bereishit
34:2), whom Yaakov drove out of his home after having tied a disc round her
neck to indicate that she was of his family. She was the Asenat whom Yosef
married, but he saw the disc and hid it, so that her identity might not be
known.
When the Patriarch Yaakov
came from Shechem, he wrote on a gold foil all that had befallen them with
Chamor father of Shechem. When Dinah gave birth to Asenat, he placed the
foil about her neck and cast her into the wall of Egypt. That day Potifar
went out to stroll with his young men. When they reached the wall, they
heard the sound of a baby crying. He said to his servants, "Bring me this
child." He saw the foil, [read about] the events, and said, "This is the
daughter of a great man. Take her to my house" (Midrash Aggadah).