Potiphar, Cairo, Gormeh Sabzi

Well it took me some time and a little bit of research but I was able to make a stride towards solving this puzzle.  Through some research, some at reliable sources and others not so much, I was able to make a connection to all the categories so here it goes.

Potiphar- Potiphar was the captain of the palace guard in Egypt during the time that Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers.  Joseph had a slight misunderstanding which involved the claim that he had bed Potiphar's wife without her permission (Rape).  Potiphar sent Joseph to the Pharoe's prison which is a little strange since according to Dr. G.J. Wenhem 'rape cases were normally solved by execution, so Potiphar may have had some doubts as to the guilt of Joseph.'

The modern city of Cairo, which in Arabic Al Qahira means The Vanquisher or The Conqueror, lays very close to the ancient city of Memphis.  Memphis was located right at the beginning of the Nile river delta which made it an important port and actually the seat of Pharaoh power during the Old Kingdom.  The capital was later moved to Thebes but during the time of the New Kingdom (Potiphar's time period) became a place of education.  The city of Memphis actually became such an influential city that the Pharaohs children often studied there, which one could predict that the Pharaoh must have had a palace there.  Joseph when he was arrested was sent to the Pharaohs prisons which could very well have been in Memphis considering the center of learning that Memphis became during the New Kingdom.  After all Ramses the second the god-king during the Exodus actually did live in this city at the time of the Hebrew flight.

Gormeh Sabzi is a type of stew made out of herbs in Iran.  It is considered the national dish of Iran.  The herbs that are used to make the base are parsley, leeks, and fenugreek leaves.  Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) leaves was actually found in the form of desiccated seeds in the tomb of King Tutankhamen.  Tutankhamen's tomb was found in the valley of the kings which is just outside of Thebes in southern Egypt.  Memphis is the first city one comes to after the river delta of the Nile.  For this reason it is still a trading port even today, but what that means for the connection is that these leaves that are indigenous to Greece at one point made their way up the river to the city of Thebes.  In order to make their way up the river to Thebes they would have had to pass through the ports of Memphis and be taxed before being sent throughout the rest of the empire.  Thus we have our last connection and complete the loop.

David, that was one of the funnest problems you have given me thank you for the challenge.  Now to give you your challenge if you choose to accept:  I used a randomizer and came up with the letters W, H, and B.  So in honor of the book "Genome" which I am currently reading I chose science to base this subject.

W- Watson, James
H-  Homeostasis
B-  Botany

Good luck I think you will have some fun with this one.