Joseph

The story of Joseph and his brothers, recounted in the Book of Genesis, involves a great misdeed
committed within a family and the forgiveness that eventually followed. Joseph, one of twelve sons of
Jacob, was hated by his brothers due to the preferential treatment he received from his aging father. The
brothers sold Joseph into slavery, but he eventually rose to wealth and high appointment in Egypt. In a
perfect position to exact revenge on his brothers, Joseph instead chose to forgive them. Joseph's two
sons would grow up to lead two of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Early Life

The account of Joseph's life, which takes place in Egypt, is recounted in the Book of Genesis. However
dates of his life can only be approximated, as the Book does not mention any particular Pharaoh (ruler of
Egypt). In addition, the Egyptian customs and manners which were depicted do not definitively identify
any specific period in Egyptian history, although there are strong indications that it took place during the
Hyksos era.

Find The Best Insurance - Experienced Staff | yellowpages.com

Save Money on Your Insurance. Request a Free Quote!

yellowpages.com | Sponsored▼

Joseph was born in Haran. He was the son of Jacob and Rachel. His name is either a contraction off
Jehoseph or an abbreviation of Joseph-El. He was the eleventh son of Jacob and the first born of his
mother, who was not able to have any children for a long period of time.

Joseph's brothers were born to Jacob from three other women: Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah. Leah was the
first of Jacob's wives (in this period and place, it was not unusual for men to have more than one wife).
Bilhah was Rachel's servant, and Zilpah was Leah's servant.

Save on Dental Coverage | CignaDentalPlans.com

Quick & Easy Process Get Dental Coverage in Less Than 10 Minutes!

CignaDentalPlans.com | Sponsored▼

Report Advertisement
Leah gave birth to Reuben, the first-born son, and then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
Rachel wanted to have children so badly that she offered up her female servant Bilhah to Jacob, to be his
wife, but for the sole purpose of bearing him children. Bilhah gave birth to Dan and Napthali. Zilpah gave
birth to Gad and Asher. When Rachel was finally able to have children, she gave birth to Joseph. Later,
she gave birth to Benjamin.

Jacob is estimated to have been ninety-one years old when Joseph was born. As a young boy, Joseph
spent a great deal of time with his father, because his father was so old. As such, a strong love developed
between Jacob and Joseph.

The Favorite Son

By the time he was seventeen years old, Joseph worked as a shepherd on his father's land in Canaan. His
brothers did the same work, and all of them, including Joseph, worked equally hard. However, the other
brothers did not like Joseph, as they could see that he was their father's favored son. The brother's
jealousy festered when Jacob presented Joseph with a many-colored cloak. In addition, Joseph often
reported to his father about some of the misdeeds his brothers committed.

Fueling his brothers' hatred, Joseph liked to relate his dreams, especially the ones that revealed he
would become an important person one day. In one dream, even the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed
down to Joseph. But the dream even annoyed Jacob, who admonished his son for revealing such a self-
important vision. His brothers questioned him sarcastically, asking Joseph if he really believed he would
one day rule over them or that one day they would bow before him.

Sold into Slavery

Report Advertisement

One time, Joseph's brothers went to a place called Shechem to do business for their father. Later, Jacob
instructed Joseph to go check on his brothers. When Joseph did not find them in Shechem, he learned
they went to Dothan. Joseph followed them, and when they spotted him, they conspired to kill him and
toss his body into a pit. However, Reuben, the oldest brother, suggested they only throw Joseph in the
pit and leave him there, where he would eventually die. That way, they wouldn't be responsible for his
murder. The brothers agreed, but Reuben had only made the suggestion so that he could later return to
the still-living Joseph and rescue him from the pit.
When Joseph approached his brothers, they overpowered him, took his coat, and then threw him into
the pit. Afterward, they stopped to eat. While dining, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelite traders from
Gilead. The sight gave Judah and idea: It would be better to sell Joseph into slavery, so that they could
profit from their deed.

After selling Joseph for twenty pieces of silver, the brothers took the coat they had taken from him and
smeared it with the blood of a slaughtered goat. The idea was to show it Jacob, to convince their father
that the missing son had been killed.

When the brothers presented the manufactured evidence to their father, Jacob recognized the coat and
surmised that an animal had killed his son. His grief was enormous, and he mourned for a long time.

Became a Favored Slave

In the meantime, Joseph was taken to Egypt, where he was bought by Potiphar, who was an officer and
head of the kitchen of Pharaoh. As it turned out, Potiphar took a liking to Joseph, and he made him his
personal attendant and placed him in charge of his household.

But Joseph ran into some trouble with Potiphar's wife. As Joseph was young, well-built, and handsome,
she often tried to seduce him. However, Joseph consistently spurned her, telling her that he loyal to both
Potiphar and to God.

Imprisoned on False Slander

One day, when Joseph was working inside the house, Potiphar's wife grabbed his coat. Frightened,
Joseph ran from the house. Later, Potiphar's wife showed her husband the coat and claimed that Joseph
had tried to seduce her. The outraged Potiphar sent Joseph to prison.

While in prison, the apparently likeable Joseph gained the friendship of the chief jailor, who placed
Joseph in charge of all of the other prisoners. Two of the other prisoners included the Pharoah's butler
and baker. One night, both of these men had strange, disturbing dreams, so they went to Joseph, who
seemed to possess the ability to interpret dreams. Joseph told the butler that his dream meant that he
would soon be released from prison and return to his previous position. Only three days later, the
interpretation came true. As the butler was leaving, Joseph asked him to put in a good word for him to
the Pharoah. The butler agreed, but later forgot about Joseph.

Attained High Position in Egypt

However, two years later, the Pharoah experienced troubling dreams that his magicians could not
interpret. The butler remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh about him. Pharaoh sent for Joseph.

By now, Joseph was thirty years old. He listened to the Pharoah's dream and told the ruler that the
dream predicted seven years of feast that would be followed by seven years of famine. In addition to the
interpretation, he offered advice. He suggested that the Pharoah place a wise man in charge of all of the
land who would organize the gathering and storage of food in preparation for the upcoming years of
famine. The Pharoah was so impressed with Joseph's advice that he elevated the former prisoner to his
second-in-command. Essentially, Joseph became that "wise man" who would plan for the famine. He
was in placed in charge of gathering and storing grain for the upcoming famine, and his duties took him
to cities all throughout Egypt. For his new position, Joseph received a ring, a gold necklace and fine
clothes. Also, the Pharaoh gave him the Egyptian name Zaphenath-paneah and gave him a wife, Asenath,
who was the daughter of the priest Potiphera. During these years, Asenath and Joseph had two sons,
Manasseh and Ephraim.

Joseph Encountered Brothers in Egypt

When the famine struck, it was widespread, and Egypt was the only country that had food. Joseph
rationed grain to Egyptians and to outsiders who came seeking help.

Canaan was one of many places affected by the famine, so Jacob sent his ten sons to Egypt to buy food.
After Joseph's disappearance, Rachel and Jacob had one more son, Benjamin, but he remained behind,
as Joseph was concerned about his safety.

Report Advertisement

When the brothers reached Egypt, they bowed down to Joseph, unaware of who he was. Joseph
recognized his brothers but pretended he did not. Joseph interrogated them and accused them of being
spies. To try and prove their innocence, the brothers revealed they had a younger brother back home,
and that they were concerned for his safety. Joseph imprisoned the brothers for three days then
demanded that they go home and bring back their youngest brother, to prove they were telling the
truth. The brothers consulted among themselves and said that they knew they were finally being
punished for what they had done to their brother Joseph. Joseph overheard them and wept, but he
continued his deception. He gave the brothers provisions for their journey and grain for their homeland,
but he kept Simeon in jail, to ensure his brothers' return. He also returned to them the money they had
paid, but he did it without their knowledge, slipping the money into one of the brother's bags.

Back home, the brothers told Jacob what happened in Egypt and asked that Benjamin be allowed to
accompany them. Jacob refused. He had already lost Joseph, and now it looked as if he lost Simeon as
well. He did not want to lose another son. Reuben promised that Jacob could kill his own sons if he did
not return safely with Benjamin. Still, Jacob refused.

Famine Forced Brothers Back to Egypt

Eventually, the rations ran out, and the brothers had no choice but to return to Egypt for more supplies.
Jacob sent the brothers back to Egypt with Benjamin, along with a gift for Joseph and twice the amount
of money needed to repay Joseph for the money he returned to them during the first trip.

When the brothers reached Egypt, Joseph took them to the entrance of his house and instructed his
servant to prepare a meal. The brothers were frightened. They feared that Joseph believed they had
stolen the money that they had found in their bag at the end of the first trip. But Joseph only told them
that God must have put it there because he received their payment.

The brothers then went inside and waited to eat. When Joseph returned, they gave him the gifts and
bowed to him. He asked about their father. Bowing again, they said he was well. Soon, Joseph became
overwhelmed with emotion, and he left the room. Then he came back and they all dined. He then
instructed his servant to fill the brothers' bags with food, return each one's money a second time, and
put his own silver goblet in Benjamin's bag.

Joseph's True Identity Revealed

Report Advertisement

When the brothers left Egypt, Joseph's servant chased after them and accused them of stealing Joseph's
goblet. He said that whoever had the goblet in his possession would be kept as a slave, while the others
would go free. He found the goblet in Benjamin's bag. The brothers returned to Egypt and threw
themselves at Joseph's feet, begging on Benjamin's behalf. But Joseph insisted that only Benjamin would
become a slave. Judah pleaded passionately with Joseph, revealing Jacob's reluctance to send Benjamin
and of his own responsibility in the matter. He told of the sorrow that Benjamin's loss would bring to
Jacob. Finally, Joseph could not continue with the deception. He revealed his true identity. Then, Joseph
again asked about his father. The brothers were too stunned to reply. Joseph explained that he was not
angry with them.

He sent them home with instructions to tell Jacob what really had become of his beloved son Joseph. In
addition, he wanted them to bring Jacob and his household to the nearby town of Goshen, where Joseph
could care for all of them during the remainder of the famine. All of the brothers then wept and kissed.

When the brothers revealed the news to their father, Jacob initially did not believe them. But after he
saw the wagons and provisions Joseph had provided, he knew it was all true.

Then Jacob, at age 130, set out for Goshen with the 70 members of his household. The brothers were
placed in charge of the Pharoah's livestock. They now lived in Ramses, the richest part of Egypt, and
Joseph provided them with food.

Eventually as the famine continued, and the Egyptian economy became endangered, Joseph established
a just arrangement with the people, where they were supplied with seed and would return one-fifth of
their crops to the Pharoah. All farmland became nationalized, and the people became serfs.

Jacob Died in Egypt

After Jacob had lived in Egypt for 17 more years, he asked Joseph to bury him not in Egypt but in the
burial place of his fathers, in the cave of Machpelah. For Jacob knew that he was sick and dying. Before
he passed away, he gave an extra portion of his inheritance to Joseph, a custom usually reserved for the
first born. Jacob then blessed Joseph's sons and all of his own sons, saving the longest blessing for
Joseph.

After Jacob passed away, the Egyptians mourned for seventy days, and Joseph returned to Canaan to
bury his father.
Upon Jacob's death, the brothers feared that Joseph would finally take his revenge on them. They tried
to convince Joseph that, before he died, Jacob had told them to tell Joseph that he wanted him to forgive
them. They even offered to be his slaves. But the ruse and the offer were both unnecessary. Joseph told
them that God had always intended that he go to Egypt, to save many people. Therefore, he intended to
take care of his brothers, their children, and his father's household.

Lived for more than a Century

Joseph reportedly lived to be one-hundred-and-ten years old. He resided in Egypt with his brothers and
their families until he died. He had many grandchildren and great-grandchildren from his sons, Manasseh
and Ephraim.

Before Joseph died, he told his brothers that God would raise them up from Egypt—meaning the Jewish
people—and take them to the "promised land." When Joseph died, his body was embalmed according
the Egyptian custom and placed in a coffin in Egypt. According to accounts, when the Jews finally left
Egypt, about one hundred years later, Moses carried out Joseph's bones. Eventually, Joseph was buried
in Shechem, on a piece of land that Jacob had once owned.

Joseph's two sons became the ancestors of two large and important tribes in Israel. The northern
Israelite kingdom is often times called the "House of Joseph."

Today, among scholars, the story of Joseph is considered historical fact and not allegorical historical
fiction. The recorded story reveals numerous verifiable details about Egypt, particularly the Hyksos
period, when the Pharaohs tended to be Semitic foreigners. That would explain how a Semite such as
Joseph would attain such a high position in Egypt.

In addition, historical records reveal a significant economic change taking place during the Hyksos
period. This change can easily be accounted for by details from the story of Joseph. Further, Egyptian
monuments illustrate many details of the story of Joseph.

Online

"Joseph," Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08506a.htm (January 9, 2005).

"Joseph," Christian Resource Center, http://www.nisbett.com/people/bp-joseph.htm (January 8, 2004).

"Joseph," Jewish Virtual Library, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Joseph.html

(January 9, 2005).

"Joseph: Son of Jacob (Part 1), Christian Churches of God, http://www.logon.org/english/c/cb014.html

(January 9, 2005).

"Joseph: Son of Jacob (Part 2), Christian Churches of God, http://www.logon.org/english/c/cb015.html

(January 9, 2005).

Page 1 of 9 NEXT

Cite this article

Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA

Chicago

APA

"Joseph." Encyclopedia of World Biography. . Encyclopedia.com. 10 Jul. 2018

<http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Learn more about citation styles

Sponsored Content

Arthritis can be cured NOW! This is how I did it in just a week...

Arthritis can be cured NOW! This is how I did it in just a week...

www.besthealthadvices.com

Vivo introduces the first ever In-Display Fingerprint Scanning smartphone!

Vivo introduces the first ever In-Display Fingerprint Scanning smartphone!

Vivo Smartphone

Filipino Foodies are flocking to this dream destination

Filipino Foodies are flocking to this dream destination

Singapore Tourism on When In Manila

P5,000 Nike Park giveaway. Well-deserved.

P5,000 Nike Park giveaway. Well-deserved.

Citibank Philippines

Hair Accessories Are Officially Back - Bangstyle

Hair Accessories Are Officially Back - Bangstyle

Bangstyle

Ancajas and Sultan: Rivals in the ring, partners in boxing history

Ancajas and Sultan: Rivals in the ring, partners in boxing history

tv5.espn.com

Recommended by

Report Advertisement

Related Topics

Potiphar
Report Advertisement

Report Advertisement