Why was Joseph an important person in the Old Testament?

Answer 1

Joseph was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. The twelve sons of Jacob were the progenitors of the tribes of Israel from which the nation of Israel was built. Joseph two sons Ephraim and Menashe were two of these tribes.

Answer 2

Today, millions revere Joseph Smith Jr. (1805-1844) as the prophet of the "restoration" of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Early American Christianity sought to de-legitimize Catholicism for its monarchical appearance. Many taught the bishops of the Catholic church had lost authority following the deaths of the Apostles. JS claimed at a young age to have beheld many visions of angels and deity and to have been the instrument of God to restore Christ's true church to the earth. On 6 April 1830, JS and five others officially organized the Church of Christ. Since then millions have accepted his claims to revelation and reception of holy priesthood authority. Many churches have sprung up as a result of his Latter-day Saint movement such as: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) based in Utah; the Community of Christ based in Independence, MO; and the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also based in Independence, just to name a few.

Answer 3

In Judaism: 1) It was thanks to him that our ancestors (Jacob and family) survived the famine (Genesis ch.46 and ch.50).
2) He was the only person from the time of Jacob until Moses who experienced prophecy in any form. (Joseph had prophetic dreams. Genesis ch.37.)
3) Joseph was viceroy in Egypt (Genesis ch.41); and it was thanks to him that the nation of Egypt survived the famine.
4) During the long sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, Joseph took steps to preclude them from assimilating (Genesis 46:31-34).
5) Jacob considered him the most worthy of his sons (Genesis 37:3 and 49:26); and he was deemed important enough to comprise two of the twelve Israelite tribes (Genesis 48:3-5).
6) He was the ancestor of Joshua (1 Chronicles ch.7).
7) Joseph was steadfast in withstanding temptation (Genesis ch.39).

Answer 4

gensis 37:36 Joseph was important to Jacob because he and Benjamin were the ony sons of his wife Rachel. Jacob saved his family from famine and brought them to Egypt and Joseph was not treated well by his brothers or by the slavedrivers or by Potiphar's wife. but God was with him, and he was the one who an interpit dreams, [meaning give the meaning of dreams] and he interpited Pharaoh's and Pharaoh made him govenor of Egypt. He married Asenath and had two sons Manasseh and Ephraim.

Answer 5

The story serves as an important historical background as to how the Hebrews ended up as slaves in Egypt. Additionally, although that is not why it was written, it has served as an allegorical morality tale for Rabbis and Jewish scholars for centuries. The story is also important to Christians struggling through life, the hope that God will not abandon them, and, it is an example of "forgiveness."

Why the story is important to Jews;

1) More ominously, and this is something that bothered me a bit when the History Channel's Rabbi David Wolpe said this, was that Wolpe argued "no matter how much power a Jew has in a foreign country, the Jews are still vulnerable." Joseph, was the most powerful Jew in the whole of history up until Benjamin Disraeli. Only the Jewish British prime minister, held more power than Joseph. David Wolpe made a very ominous statement, and I consider it ominous because his prejudice towards gentiles was apparent from the look in his eyes, and he said "the story of Joseph is a demonstration, that in a foreign country, Jews are not truly ever safe, no matter how much power they hold." And, up until Benjamin Disraeli, Joseph was the most powerful Jew, to hold power in a foreign country. At least a country foreign to Jews. Second only to Pharaoh, in the same way Disraeli was second only to Queen Victoria. Egypt was strong, but only as far as regional powers go; Disraeli for all intents and purposes managed a world spanning empire. If there has been a Jew who came close to ruling the world, it would be Britain's Benjamin Disraeli.

2) Diaspora Jews look to the story as encouragement, that Jews can find happiness even beyond the borders of Israel like Joseph did.

3) The story is looked as a warning to some, that even "family" (fellow Jews) can not be always trusted. In fact the story of Joseph, has high relevance in the modern state of Israel, although, the story may also be cause for despair far as mending Jewish society. Lets operate under the assumption, all European Jews are removed from Israel. By that I mean, any paternal link to Europeans is destroyed, only Jews who are Jewish, that is ancient Hebrew, from the mother and father, all "arabid" ashkenazi, are allowed to stay, and ONLY, "arabid" ashkenazim. "Arabid" ashkenazim like for example Jeff Goldbloom, and yes even Natalie Portman. The story, is cause for despair, because more than a "people," Joseph and the other 11, were actual brothers, half brothers true, but much closer genetically than modern Jews are. If division could exist between so closely related Hebrews then what hope is there, for the mending of the modern state of Israel regarding intra Jewish conflict? Matters are made only worse, by blue eyed, very European looking people saying to obviously semitic looking individuals "you're not Jewish" there is this turd on youtube, giving me a hard time over it. Said turd probably has red hair, pasty white skin, and green or blue eyes, and paper thin lips. Semitic people, men and women, our lips tend to be FULL, not thin. The general semitic combination of features, is olive skin ranging in shade, dark hair and eyes ranging in shade but tending towards very dark to outright black many semites have hair so black its almost blue and that characteristic is unique to us by the way blackest hair in the world among many of us, finally, small to medium large build depending on geographic region. Even the most thickly limbed semitic person, will not grow a bone structure as large as that of a European, the weather of the lands called Sumeria, and the Arabian peninsula, simply don't allow it. There are numerous anthropological facts, that prove many ashkenazi do not belong in Israel, said anthropological facts are never pointed to out of fear of being labeled a "nazi." There is a reason, the British used the Arabs to fight the Turks; they simply could not handle the weather there, in fact, T.E. Lawrence collapsed from heat stroke so many times, he suffered from brain damage. By all reports, the legendary Lawrence of Arabia was never right in the head after he returned from Arabia; he was always a bit of an oddball, but he became ESPECIALLY odd, after WWI. Heat stroke will do things to a man's sanity dude; even he did not come out of that weather unscathed. Why don't you ask ashkenazi Jews how much money they spend on air conditioning living in Israel. Air conditioning feels good regardless of weather adaptation but you get my point; for numerous anthropological reasons regarding weather adaptation many ashkenazi indeed do not belong there. Indeed, the majority of "arabid" ashkenazi, even they, tend to be more built for the Middle East than for Europe. The stronger the semitic features of a given ashkenazi Jew, the less heavy set they tend to be. The story of Joseph is a warning, that you can not always trust your own people. There are "arabid" ashkenazi, who question the Jewishness of middle eastern Jews, specifically the Jews of Iraq. The truth is most of that stuff is envy; many ashkenazi are extremely arrogant, and justify their cruelty towards others based on what little Hebrew they've got when, what happens when someone is fully Hebrew if you've got that view of the world? Obviously they are goint to be consumed by envy and hatred. The Talmudic view of the world, is not a spiritually or sociologically healthy one let me put it that way.

4) The near guarantee, that God does not abandon good people. To answer the question "why do bad things happen to good people" the answer is in the book of Genesis; God warned to Noah, before he sent the flood "my spirit will not dwell on earth forever, I will leave, and destroy man whom I have made" paraphrase mine of different verses. Prior to the flood, the extreme longevity of the men mentioned, was due to the pressence of God, in our time, actually in the post flood world, God no longer dwells on earth. Whereas good people, namely the lineage of Adam, enjoyed God's protection from the rampant wickedness of the pre-flood world, modern day good people do not, God, only dwells in the spirit world now, and the only way he will protect you is if you seek him out. Many good people, are arrogant without them being aware of it, thinking their life is fine, that they are beyond harm, they never pray to God to be protected. They may not do anything wrong either; just live, work, avoid spending money on luxuries, and generally live an "upright and moral life" they do everything EXCEPT pray "God, protect me from evil." Many children, and grandchildren of Rabbis who survived the Holocaust, credit their constant prayer vigils regarding surviving the Nazis. Part of the reason Orthodox Jews are so fanatical, is because they believe it was constant prayer that saved them. Stories are told of "obviously Jewish" men and women, being overlooked by SS soldiers, stories of men and women who should not have lived through that, living through it indeed documented proof exists, the majority of Jews killed by the Nazis, were in fact secular, only a very small minority was religious. See though the problem is a catch 22; you could very well be praying to God unaware you are so arrogant, God looks upon your prayers with a degree of disgust. A humble mindset, is extremely difficult to achieve, it is especially difficult in these modern times. The story of Joseph, is seen as proof that God does not abandon the truly pure hearted, and it is an encouragement for good people, who have suffered unfairly.

5) Finally the story is used as an example of the value of scholarship; it is mentioned in The Bible that indeed Joseph, was not a sheepherder, at least, not in certain traditions. Joseph was a scroll reader, and a scholar, and it was only because he was educated that Pharaoh put him in charge of Egypt as education was a rarity at the time. Ashkenazi Jews have always had one simple survival strategy "if you wish to survive, be valuable." Its part of the reason that whenever possible they gravitated towards fields such as medicine, law, basically all the professions stereotyped to Jews, and yes banking.

There are numerous other reasons, too many to list here.

Answer 6

Joseph is famous in the bible because of what he did.

He was special because he could read dreams and helped save the pahroahs from famine.

He had his coloured coat because that was the colour of the rainbow which is special because, the rainbow is a sign of the promise god gave to us when he sent the flood.

Does that help or do you have any more questions i would be more than happy t help is you need more information.

Answer 7

1) It was thanks to him that Jacob and his family survived the famine (Genesis ch.46).

2) He was the only person from the time of Jacob until Moses who experienced prophecy in any form.

3) Joseph was viceroy in Egypt (Genesis ch.41); and it was thanks to him that the nation of Egypt survived the famine.

4) During the long sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, Joseph took steps to preclude them from assimilating (Genesis 46:31-34).

5) Jacob considered Joseph the most worthy of his sons (Genesis 37:3 and 49:26); and he was deemed important enough to comprise two of the twelve Israelite tribes (Genesis 48:3-5).

6) He was the ancestor of Joshua (1 Chronicles ch.7).

7) Joseph was steadfast in withstanding temptation (Genesis ch.39).

Answer 8

1) It was thanks to him that our ancestors (Jacob and his family) survived the famine (Genesis ch.46 and ch.50).
2) He was the only person from the time of Jacob until Moses who experienced prophecy in any form. (Joseph had prophetic dreams. Genesis ch.37.)

3) Joseph was viceroy in Egypt (Genesis ch.41); and it was thanks to him that the nation of Egypt survived the famine.

4) During the long sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, Joseph took steps to preclude them from assimilating (Genesis 46:31-34).

5) Jacob considered Joseph the most worthy of his sons (Genesis 37:3 and 49:26); and he was deemed important enough to comprise two of the twelve Israelite tribes (Genesis 48:3-5).

6) He was the ancestor of Joshua (1 Chronicles ch.7).

Link: About Joshua
7) Joseph was steadfast in withstanding temptation (Genesis ch.39).

See also the Related Links.

Link: God's providence for Joseph

Link: Jacob and Joseph

Link: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

Answer 9

The narratives concerning Joseph (Genesis ch.37 and 39-50) show how full trust in God can bring vindication and Divine protection.How_did_God's_providence_take_care_of_Joseph

Why_is_Joseph_important_in_Judaism

Answer 10

1) It was thanks to him that our ancestors (Jacob and family) survived the famine (Genesis ch.46 and ch.50).
2) He was the only person from the time of Jacob until Moses who experienced prophecy in any form. (Joseph had prophetic dreams. Genesis ch.37.)
3) Joseph was viceroy in Egypt (Genesis ch.41); and it was thanks to him that the nation of Egypt survived the famine.
4) During the long sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, Joseph took steps to preclude them from assimilating (Genesis 46:31-34).
5) Jacob considered him the most worthy of his sons (Genesis 37:3 and 49:26); and he was deemed important enough to comprise two of the twelve Israelite tribes (Genesis 48:3-5).
6) He was the ancestor of Joshua (1 Chronicles ch.7).