Joseph (Hebrew Bible)

Joseph, in the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament), appears in the Book of Genesis (his name Yosef, Hebrew: יוֹסֵף means "The Lord increases", (Tiberian Hebrew Yôsēp̄), later called Zaphnath-paaneah or Tzáfnat panéach צפנת פענח, Standard Hebrew Ẓáfənat paʿnéaḥ, Tiberian Hebrew Ṣāp̄ənaṯ paʿănēªḥ : Egyptian origin "Discoverer of hidden things"), the eleventh son of Jacob, born of Rachel. He is one of the best-known figures in the Scriptures, famous for his coat of many colours and his God-given ability to interpret dreams. Owing to jealousy from his brothers, he was sold as a slave, eventually working under the Egyptian Potiphar, but was later freed, and became the chief adviser (vizier) to the Egyptian Pharaoh around 1600 BC.

The Genesis story of Joseph

According to Genesis, Joseph was the elder of the two sons of Jacob by Rachel (Gen. 30:23, 24), who, on the occasion of his birth, said, "The Lord shall add to me another son" (Gen. 30:24). This was the reputed origin of his name. He was born in Padan-Aram when Jacob was about ninety years old. He was probably six years old when his father returned from Haran to Canaan and took up his residence in the town of Hebron. Joseph was a favorite son of his father's, who made him a multi-colored coat, and was envied by his half-brothers. They "hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him." Their anger was increased when he told them his two dreams (Gen. 37:11) which hinted they would submit themselves to him.

Related Topics:
Jacob - Rachel - Padan-Aram - Haran - Canaan - Hebron

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The story tells that his brothers plotted against him one day when he was seventeen, and would have killed him had not Reuben interposed. He persuaded them to instead throw Joseph into a pit and secretly planned to rescue him later. However, while Reuben was absent, the others planned to sell him to a company of Ishmaelite merchants. He was stolen from the pit by passing Midianites who sold him to the merchants for twenty shekels of silver. These merchants brought him to Egypt where Medanite slave dealers in turn sold him to Potiphar, an "officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard" (Gen. 37:36). Potiphar is probably a rendering of the Egyptian name Pa-tu-pa-Ra, "the gift of the sun-god". Joseph prospered in Potiphar's household and was eventually made head of the servants.

Related Topics:
Reuben - Ishmaelite - Midian - Shekel - Medan

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After Joseph rejected the attempts of Potiphar's wife to seduce him, she accused Joseph of attempted rape, and he was cast into the state prison (Gen. 39; 40), where he remained for at least two years. The story tells of two servants of Pharaoh's household who were in jail with Joseph, and asked him to interpret their dreams. Joseph correctly predicted the future based on their dreams: one would be reinstated in his post while the other would be executed. Joseph urged the first, a royal cupbearer, to get him out of prison once he was reinstated, but the cupbearer forgot about him and left him in prison for two more years.

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At the end of that period, the Pharoah had a strange dream. The chief cupbearer remembered Joseph and recommended his services to the Pharaoh. At his suggestion Joseph was brought from prison to interpret the king's dreams. Joseph predicted seven years of plenty to be followed by seven years of famine and advised the Pharoah to appoint someone to store up surplus grain. The Pharaoh was well pleased with Joseph's interpretion and advice. Because of this, the Pharaoh gave him authority over all the land of Egypt (Gen. 41:46), and gave him the name of Zaphnath-paaneah. This name is probably the Egyptian title Zaf-nti-pa-ankh, "nourisher of the living one", although other interpretations are possible.

Related Topics:
Famine - Egypt

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Joseph then married Asenath, the daughter of the priest of On, and thus became a member of the priestly class. Joseph was now about thirty years of age.

Related Topics:
Asenath - On

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As Joseph had foreseen, seven years of plenty came, during which he stored up a great abundance of grain in granaries built for the purpose. These years were followed by seven years of famine "over all the face of the earth", when "all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain" (Gen. 41:56, 57; 47:13,14). Thus, "Joseph gathered up all the money that was in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought." Afterwards all the cattle and all the land, and at last the Egyptians themselves, became the property of the Pharaoh.

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During this period of famine Joseph's brothers, without Benjamin, also came down to Egypt to buy grain. The history of his dealings with them, and of the manner in which he at length made himself known to them, is one of the most interesting narratives in Genesis. On reaching Eygpt, Joseph's brothers, not recognizing him, "bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground" (Gen. 42:7), thus fulfilling in part his earlier dream. Joseph disguised his identity from his brothers and indulged in a little revenge by accusing them of being spies. He imprisoned them for three days, then sent them away with grain, retaining Simeon as a hostage (Gen. 42:1-25) ordering not to return until their youngest brother, Benjamin, be brought to him. However, in Canaan, Jacob refused to let Benjamin go for fear that something would happen to Benjamin.

Related Topics:
Benjamin - Simeon - Canaan

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But owing to the prolonged famine Jacob was forced to send his sons back to Egypt with Benjamin. This time, Joseph received them kindly and threw a feast for them. Although Joseph allowed them to buy grain, he tested them further, planting their money back in their grain sacks and his personal silver goblet in Benjamin's. When the brothers had purchased the grain and left the next morning, Joseph sent a messenger after them, accusing them of theft. They were forced back to his house, where Joseph demanded that Benjamin alone be taken as slave.

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But Judah pleaded for Benjamin, insisting that their father would die if Benjamin was taken, and offered himself as a slave instead. Convinced of his brothers' repentance and overcome with emotion, Joseph finally revealed himself to them. He forgave them and sent for his father and all their families and possessions to come to Egypt. Joseph settled Jacob's families with Pharaoh's blessing and command "in the land of Rameses" in Goshen (Gen. 47:29). As a ruler, Joseph brought about a permanent change in the system of land-tenure in Egypt. Because of the famine, the people gave up all their cattle and land to the Pharaoh, and the people became his tenants, giving him one-fifth of the produce (Gen. 28. 14-26).

Related Topics:
Judah - Rameses - Goshen - Land-tenure

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Joseph lived to the age of 110. Shortly before his death he made the Israelites take an oath that they would resettle his bones in Canaan. The oath was fulfilled during the Exodus where his remains were eventually buried in Shechem (Ex. 8:19; Josh. 24:32).

Related Topics:
Exodus - Shechem

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Excursus: The coat of many colors

Thanks to the musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and countless childrens books, Joseph is perhaps best known for what the King James Version of the Bible called his "coat of many colors." The Hebrew expression underlying that phrase is ketonet passim, which the New International Version translates as "richly ornamented robe." Other suggestions have included "coat with long sleeves" and "coat with deep pockets." The phrase appears in only one Bible passage not connected with Joseph (2 Samuel 13:18-19) and has proved baffling to interpreters.

Related Topics:
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - King James Version - Bible - New International Version

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But while its translation has proved vexing, the symbolic meaning of the coat is clear. In Ancient Near Eastern cultures, the symbol of the passing of the inheritance from the father to his chosen son was the giving of a long cloak. Traditionally, the inheritance passed to the eldest son, who after the father's death received a double portion of the father's goods, as opposed to the single share each of his brothers received. In addition, the chosen son became the head of the family. That Jacob gave this coat to Joseph instead of to any of his ten elder brothers explains their resentment far better than simple sartorial jealousy. It wasn't the coat that upset them, it was the elevation of their youngest (at the time) brother and the clear disrespect of their own positions by their father. It was as if Jacob was saying that Joseph was his first true son.

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This significance of the long coat adds insight to a number of other Bible passages, including Genesis 9:20-23, where Noah's son Ham "uncovered his father's nakedness" and his brothers restored the coat to him, and Judges 14:12-15, where Samson proposes a riddle that can potentially disinherit a large segment of the Philistine population.

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