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.

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.

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

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.

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

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).

For more information on Joseph, visit Britannica.com.

Elder son of the patriarch Jacob and his beloved wife Rachel. The Bible relates (Gen. 37-50) that Jacob's preferential treatment of Joseph angered his ten elder brothers. Further incensed by Joseph's two prophetic dreams, where metaphorically his brothers, father, and mother bow down to him, they conspire to kill him but are convinced by one of the brothers, Judah, to sell him into slavery, bringing his many-colored coat, stained with animal blood, to Jacob as evidence of his death. Ultimately he is taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, the captain of the Pharaoh's guard, who makes him overseer of his house. Joseph's charm arouses the desire of his master's wife; but finding her advances rejected, she in turn accuses him of trying to rape her, for which his master puts him in prison. There he acquires the reputation of an interpreter of dreams for which he is recommended to Pharaoh. Successfully interpreting Pharaoh's dreams as forecasting a period of famine, he is freed and made viceroy, charged with the task of preparing for the famine period---which he accomplishes impressively. When the famine materializes, it also affects Canaan and his brothers come to Egypt to seek food and there they bow down to Joseph, not knowing his identity. Eventually they show repentance for their mistreatment of him, and he reveals himself to them. He then tells them to bring their aged father Jacob to Egypt to join them and he settles them in the land of Goshen. Before his death, at the age of 110, Joseph makes his family swear that his bones will be buried in Canaan. At the time of the Exodus from Egypt (traditionally 400 years later), Moses fulfills Joseph's last wish by taking along his bones. Joseph was finally buried by Joshua near Shechem (Josh. 24:32).

According to the rabbis, Joseph possessed two distinct qualities: His trust in Divine Providence and his ability to live as a Jew in a Gentile land and culture. The sages, who called him Joseph the Righteous, relate many legends about his life. Scholars have suggested that the story should be dated to the period of the Hyksos, a Semitic people who ruled the north of Egypt in the 18th-16th centuries BCE, a propitious time for a Semitic figure like Joseph to rise to power. They are divided as to the historicity of the story, as many of the details are not corroborated in any other source.

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Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, had twelve sons. Joseph, the eleventh, was his father's favorite. His story, made popular anew by the resounding success of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's stage show, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, is told in a collection of stories found in Genesis, beginning in chapter 37. Joseph becomes the means by which the children of Abraham make the move from Canaan to Egypt.

Joseph was gifted with the ability to see the future in symbolic dreams. When Jacob gave his son a colorful coat as an expression of his love, the other sons became jealous. Joseph dreamed his brothers would someday bow down before him, and he made the mistake of telling them about it. In a fit of rage, they sought to kill him by throwing him into a dry well. At the last minute they changed their minds and sold him into slavery in Egypt, telling their father Joseph had died fighting a wild beast.

In Egypt Joseph became a respected attendant to a wealthy man named Potiphar. Potiphar's wife, however, had designs on more than Joseph's administrative talents, and she invited Joseph to her bed. Joseph refused, and in the ensuing struggle he escaped only by sliding out of his cloak and running from the room. To cover up her attempted seduction, she told her husband that Joseph had attacked her. Once again, Joseph found himself the victim of jealousy.

He was jailed and would have remained forgotten had he not interpreted the dreams of some of his cellmates. When one of them was restored to the company of Pharaoh's personal slaves, that man remembered Joseph when Pharaoh himself needed a dream interpreter. Joseph was summoned and prophesied a time of wealth followed by a period of famine. Pharaoh was so impressed he made Joseph second in command of all Egypt, in order to prepare for the hard times to come. When famine struck, Egypt was the only country ready for it.

Meanwhile, Joseph's family, back in Canaan, was in dire straits when their crops failed. They realized the only way they could get food was to travel to Egypt to beg for it. Not knowing their brother was the new Egyptian governor, they were tested by him and finally forgiven for their sins. After a few twists and turns of the story, the family is finally reunited in Egypt to live in luxury under the auspices of their powerful brother.

Four hundred years later, as the book of Exodus begins, their descendants are still there. But in the interim a "new king arose, who knew not Joseph." One of Jacob's greatest descendants, Moses, is also living in Egyptian luxury, unaware of his ancestry. This period of change happens between Genesis and Exodus. To close the pages of one book and open the next is to jump over four centuries of upheaval that sets the stage for the Passover (See Moses; Passover).

Sources: May, Herbert G., and Bruce M. Metzger, eds. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. Rev. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973.

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("may [God] increase")

1. Son of Jacob and Rachel. As the firstborn son of his mother, the favorite wife of Jacob (Gen 30:22-24), Joseph received preferential treatment which angered his ten older brothers, their jealousy increasing further after Joseph confided to them his dreams forecasting his future ascendancy over his brothers and father (Gen 37:5-11).

When Joseph came to visit them in the fields near Dothan, the brothers decided to avenge themselves upon him (Gen 37:12-18). The proposal to kill him on the spot was rejected by the eldest, Reuben, who urged his brothers to cast Joseph into an empty well. Afterwards, in Reuben's absence, and at the suggestion of another brother, Judah, they sold him to a caravan of Ishmaelite traders who were on their way to Egypt (Gen 37:19-28). According to another tradition he was hauled out of the well by Midianites (Gen 37:28). On their return home, the brothers told their father that Joseph had been devoured by a wild animal; in support of their story, they displayed Joseph's coat which they had dipped in blood (Gen 37:29-36).

In Egypt Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard, who rewarded Joseph's success in all his tasks by appointing him overseer of his house. Joseph's charm induced Potiphar's wife to attempt to seduce him (Gen 39:1-6); but finding her advances rejected she in turn accused him of trying to rape her, an accusation for which his master put him in prison (Gen 39:7-20). There he was entrusted with the care of two of Pharaoh's imprisoned officers, his chief butler and his chief baker (Gen 39:21-40:4), whose dreams he interpreted.

The chief butler was subsequently reinstated. When Pharaoh had two disturbing dreams which seemed to defy interpretation, the butler told him about Joseph. Joseph was brought before Pharaoh, and interpreted his dreams as foretelling seven years of plenty to be followed by seven years of famine (Gen 41:8-32). Joseph also suggested how to put this foreknowledge to good use: during the seven bountiful years, a fifth of all agricultural produce was to be stored in Pharaoh's warehouses for distribution during the years of famine. Pharaoh charged Joseph, then age 30, with the task of implementing his own suggestions and gave him the rank and authority of a viceroy (Gen 41:33-44; cf 47:13-26). He also gave him an Egyptian name (Zaphnath-Paaneah) and a wife (Asenath), who bore him two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim (Gen 41:45, 50-53).

When the famine came, it also affected the land of Canaan, whereupon Jacob sent all his sons, except for Benjamin, to Egypt in order to buy corn (Gen 42:1-5). There they met Joseph who directed the distribution. He recognized them, but concealed his identity: accusing them of espionage, he put them in prison for three days. Afterwards he ordered them to bring their youngest brother, Benjamin (Joseph's full brother) to Egypt. Simeon was to remain in prison as a hostage (Gen 42:6-24). Despite his misgivings, Jacob had to approve of a second expedition and Judah took upon himself the responsibility for the safety of Benjamin (Gen 43:1-15).

On the brothers' return, Joseph still kept his identity hidden from them. When they left for home, all the money which they had brought with them was returned to their sacks, and Joseph's silver goblet was placed in Benjamin's luggage. Joseph then sent guards to bring them back, accusing them of stealing his favorite cup (Gen 44:1-15). After Judah in self-defense told the story of their family, recounting all the ills which had befallen Jacob (Gen 44:18-34), Joseph could no longer maintain the pretense. Weeping, he finally revealed his identity, explaining to them that his deportation to Egypt was actually an act of divine providence, whereby it befell to him to take care of his family. He ordered them to return home to fetch his father (Gen 45:1-24), and upon their return they were given land in Goshen (Gen 47:4, 11-12).

In accordance with Jacob's wishes, Joseph undertook the responsibility for his father's burial in Canaan (Gen 47:28-31; 49:29-33; 50:1-14). When Joseph himself died, at the age of 110, he made his family swear to restore his bones to Canaan (Gen 50:22-26).

The Joseph cycle forms the transition between the stories of the patriarchs and the Israelite enslavement in Egypt (Ex 1:6-8). At the time of the Exodus, Moses fulfilled Joseph's last wish by taking along his bones (Ex 13:19). Joseph was finally buried near Shechem in the field of Jacob (Josh 24:32).

In biblical literature the name "Joseph" (or "house of Joseph", "children of Joseph", etc.) denotes the tribes Manasseh and Ephraim (Josh 17:14-17; I Kgs 11:28; Ps 78:67); or the kingdom of the northern tribes (Amos 5:6; 6:6); or even Israel in general (Ps 80:1; 81:5).

The story of Joseph allows for interpretation on several levels. From the personal point of view, it is a story of the suffering and greatness of Joseph himself, the epitome of wisdom in government and in things divine (interpretation of dreams, Gen 40:8; 41:25, 28, 32) as well as of temperance (as e.g. Gen 39:8-12; 50:14-21). On the national plane, the Joseph narrative reflects the relations between the tribes; the powerful tribes of the house of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) are exalted (cf Gen 48:19-20; 49:22-26) as is Benjamin; Judah is cautiously honored (Gen 37:26-27; 43:3-10; 44:18-34), whereas Reuben is shown to be well-intentioned but powerless (Gen 37:21-30; 42:22-37).

In the NT, Joseph was referred to by Stephen in his speech of defense before the Sanhedrin (Acts 7:9 ff); in the Epistle to the Hebrews he is mentioned among the heroes of faith (Heb 11:22).

2. Father of Igal, of the tribe of Issachar, one of the spies sent to scout the land of Canaan.

3. A Levite musician in the Temple and one of the sons of Asaph.

4. A son of Bani who repudiated his alien wife in accordance with Ezra's decree.

5. A priest at the time of Joiakim, and head of the house of Shebaniah.

6. Son of Jacob (Matt 1:16), or of Heli (Luke 3:23). The gospels refer to Joseph as Jesus' father, through whom his family tree is traced back to David and Abraham (Matt chap. 1) or to Adam (Luke chap. 3). Joseph lived in Nazareth and worked there as a carpenter (Matt 13:55). Betrothed to Mary, he married her at the instigation of an angel, who informed him of her pregnancy by the Holy Spirit. At the time of the census during the rule of Quirinius, Joseph, being a descendant of David, was required to undergo registration in David's city, Bethlehem, and it was there that Jesus was born. With his wife Mary and the infant Jesus, Joseph subsequently fled to Egypt, fearing Herod's wrath; after the latter's death they returned to Nazareth. Joseph and his family went up to Jerusalem on two occasions, once to present Jesus in the Temple after Marry's "days of purification" were completed (Luke 2:22) and again, during Passover when Jesus was 12 years old. Joseph is not mentioned during the period of Jesus' public ministry and may have died previously.

7. Joseph of Arimathea. A rich man, a member of the Sanhedrin (Mark 15:43) and a follower of Jesus, to whom Pilate delivered the body of Jesus. Joseph owned the tomb in which Jesus was interred (Matt 27:57 ff). According to Luke 23:50 Joseph was "a good and just man"; John adds (19:38) that he secretly feared the Jews.

8. The name of several otherwise unknown persons, mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Luke chapter 3.

9. One of the two disciples mentioned as successor of Judas Iscariot. He was also known as Barsabas, and bore the added name of Justus.

Concordance
JOSEPH 1: Gen 30:24-25; 33:2, 7; 35:24; 37:2-3, 5, 13,17, 23, 28-29,31, 33; 39:1-2,4-7, 10-11, 20-23; 40:3-4, 6,8-9, 12, 16,18, 22-23; 41:14-17, 25,39, 41-42, 44-46, 49-51, 54-57; 42:3-4, 6-9, 14, 18, 23,25, 36; 43:15-19, 24-26, 30; 44:2, 4, 14-15; 45:1, 3-4, 9,16-17, 21, 26-28; 46:4, 19-20, 27-31; 47:1, 5, 7, 11-12, 14-17, 20,23, 26, 29; 48:1-3, 8-13,15, 17-18, 21; 49:22, 26; 50:1-2, 4, 7-8,14-17, 19, 22-26. Ex 1:5-6,8; 13:19. Num 1:10, 32; 13:11; 26:28,37; 27:1; 32:33; 34:23; 36:1, 5, 12. Deut 27:12; 33:13, 16. Josh 14:4; 16:1, 4; 17:1-2, 14, 16-17; 18:5, 11; 24:32. Judg 1:22-23, 35. II Sam 19:20. I Kgs 11:28. I Chr 2:2; 5:1-2; 7:29. Ps 77:15, 78:67; 80:1; 81:5; 105:17. Ezek 37:16, 19; 47:13; 48:32. Amos 5:6, 15; 6:6. Obad v.18. Zech 10:6. John 4:5. Acts 7:9, 13-14, 18. Heb 11:21-22. Rev 7:8
JOSEPH 2: Num 13:7
JOSEPH 3: I Chr 25:2, 9
JOSEPH 4: Ezra 10:42
JOSEPH 5: Neh 12:14
JOSEPH 6: Matt 1:16, 18-20, 24; 2:13,19. Luke 1:27; 2:4, 16, 33,43; 3:23; 4:22. John 1:45; 6:42
JOSEPH 7: Matt 27:57,59. Mark 15:43, 45. Luke 23:50. John 19:38
JOSEPH 8: Luke 3:24, 26,30
JOSEPH 9: Acts 1:23

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Joseph, one of the heroes of the patriarchal narratives of the Book of Genesis. He is presented as the favored son of Jacob and Rachel, sold as a boy into slavery by his brothers, who were jealous of Joseph's dreams and of his coat of many colors given him by Jacob. In Egypt, Joseph gained a position of authority in the household of his master, Potiphar, and was later imprisoned on the false accusations of Potiphar's wife. He was released after interpreting Pharaoh's dream of the lean and fat cows. Pharaoh renamed him Zaphnath-paaneah and took him into favor. Joseph's recognition of his brothers in the famine years when he was governor over Egypt is a famous scene. His wife was Asenath, an Egyptian, and their sons Manasseh and Ephraim were eponymous ancestors of two of the 12 tribes of Israel. The Joseph saga bridges the era of the patriarchs in Canaan and the Hebrews in Egypt. The mention of Joseph's marriage to Asenath in the Book of Genesis is the subject of Joseph and Asenath, now classified among the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. The Joseph story is retold in the Qur'an.

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