Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel, born while they were living in Haran in the house of his grandfather Laban. Finally Jacob and his twelve sons settled in the land of Canaan, where his father Isaac, son of Abraham, also resided.
The story of Joseph the son of Jacob, is one of the best known among the stories of biblical characters. José’s life arouses great curiosity among people. Therefore, in this article, we will study what the Bible says about the biography of Joseph.
The story of Joseph is very important because God preserved the life of the people of Israel thanks to the events that happened in the life of this man, so we can see that God uses different situations in life, but that all of them help for good (Romans 8:28).
Joseph was the first son of Raquel, Jacob’s favorite wife and his father’s number 11. Jacob loved Joseph very much and gave him a beautiful colored tunic. His ten brothers hated him because of his special condition and sold him into slavery.
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Who was Joseph the dreamer?
Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob, and the first with his loving wife, Rachel. Genesis chapter 30 describes the entire conflict between Rachel and readthe two wives of Jacob.
Rachel was barren and suffered because she could not bear children to Jacob. However, the Word of God says that the Lord remembered Rachel and made her fertile. So she gave birth to Joseph and later to Benjamin (Genesis 30:22-23).
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The name “Joseph” comes from the Hebrew Yoseph and means “that God adds”, or “that He adds” or “that He increases”. This meaning is made clear in Genesis 30:24. Joseph is generally known as “Joseph of Egypt.” It is clear that this is due to the way in which God exalted him among the Egyptians.
Joseph was born in Paddan-Haran, six years before Jacob returned to Canaan. At that time, the patriarch was about 90 years old. The most probable historical period in which Joseph lived is perhaps the time of the hyksos pharaohsbetween 1720 and 1570 BC
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Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son
Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son, because in addition to being his old son, he was also Raquel’s son. Joseph received a special tunic from Jacob (Genesis 37:3), which demonstrated his predilection.
Another fact that exemplifies this status as a favorite son is the episode of the reunion between Jacob and Esau. On that occasion, José and Raquel were placed in the safest place in the entourage.
Some hold that the coat Jacob gave him was perhaps a sign that his father intended to make Joseph his chief heir. However, there is no really solid basis for taking this hypothesis for granted.
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José’s first two dreams
Joseph’s brothers were clearly jealous and disgusted with him (Genesis 37:4). But it was after the two dreams that Joseph had that the situation became even more complicated (Genesis 37:11).
In those two dreams, Joseph’s family bowed down to him (Genesis 37:6-9). These dreams were fulfilled when his brothers went to Egypt to buy wheat due to the famine in the region (Genesis 42: 9). At that time Joseph was already the governor of Egypt.
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Joseph was sold by his brothers
One day, Joseph was sent by his father to look for his brothers and to see the flock. However, out of jealousy, Joseph’s brothers planned to kill him, but were stopped by his older brother Reuben (Genesis 37:22).
So they threw it into a well, and when a caravan of Ishmaelites passed by, it occurred to them to sell it. Finally, when the caravan reached Egypt, Joseph was sold by the Midianites to Potiphar, who was an official of Pharaoh.
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Joseph at Potiphar’s house
Joseph began to prosper in Potiphar’s house, until he was promoted to overseer of the house (Genesis 39:4). Potiphar’s wife became interested in Joseph and tried to seduce him (Genesis 39:10). But Joseph was fearful of God and rejected the woman.
In the last attempt at seduction, Potifar’s wife got Joseph’s clothes into her hands. She then used it as a tool of accusation against José. The husband believed his wife’s accusation of him and sent Joseph to jail.
Joseph was imprisoned in Egypt and interpreted dreams in prison
The prison Joseph was in in Egypt was for political prisoners. Even in a hostile place, José was blessed by God and soon held a prominent position among the internees. In jail he met two officials of Pharaoh’s court: the baker and the cupbearer.
They both dreamed the same night, and it was up to José to interpret these dreams. It is worth mentioning that in the eastern culture of the time, dreams were considered omens, and they were taken very seriously and with great importance in people’s lives.
The cupbearer dreamed of a three-branched vine that sprouted, blossomed, and produced grapes, which he squeezed into Pharaoh’s cup and gave him. This dream meant that within three days the cupbearer would be released from jail, and would return to his original position. After interpreting the dream, Joseph asked the cupbearer to remember him when he was with Pharaoh, so that he could be released from that prison.
The baker, in turn, dreamed that there were three baskets on his head. In the upper basket were various kinds of bread and sweets that Pharaoh liked, but the birds came and ate from the basket on his head. The interpretation of this dream was that in three days Pharaoh would take off the baker’s head, hang it on a tree, and the birds would eat its meat.
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Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream
About two years after the dream interpretation in jail, Pharaoh had a dream. None of his magicians and advisors could give him the interpretation. It was then that the cupbearer remembered Joseph and spoke to Pharaoh, who sent for him to the palace.
Pharaoh told Joseph about the dreams he had had. In the first dream, Pharaoh was standing by the Nile River, and he saw seven fat cows come out and begin to graze. Soon after, seven skinny cows came out and ate the fat cows. Even after they had eaten the fat cows, they were still skinny.
In the second dream, Pharaoh saw seven good ears growing on the same stalk. Then he saw seven dry and bad ears sprout, which swallowed the seven good ears.
Joseph then told Pharaoh that both dreams were really one. This dream corresponded to what God was going to do. There would be seven years of great plenty on the land of Egypt, but then there would be seven years of famine so severe that they would make the times of plenty forget.
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Joseph, the Governor of Egypt
In addition to giving Joseph the interpretation of the dream, God also gave him wisdom to devise a plan for Pharaoh so that Egypt could overcome the seven years of crisis. Pharaoh then placed Joseph as the second man in Egypt, second only to him (Genesis 41:41).
The position held by Joseph was called a vizier in the Ancient Orient. It was the main administrative position that implied several functions, such as being in charge of the treasury, justice, and the execution and supervision of royal decrees.
After being placed in the position of governor of Egypt, Joseph received the Egyptian name of Zafenat Panea (Genesis 41:45), and married Azenat, daughter of a priest of Om. Joseph and Azenat had two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim. Later, the two sons of Joseph would represent his father among the sons of Jacob in the distribution of the tribes of Israel.
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Joseph of Egypt reunites with his brothers and his father
With the famine that ravaged the land, the fame grew that Egypt had food. This made Joseph’s brothers go there for help.
At first, only Joseph recognized them (Genesis 42:7,8). However, later, after some tests from Joseph (Genesis 43:18), the governor of Egypt revealed his true identity to his brothers and it was a very emotional encounter.
After his identity was revealed, Joseph set out to take his father and his entire family to Egypt. Pharaoh also supported his decision (Genesis 47). Later, when his father died, José made the burial arrangements. He had Jacob embalmed according to the Egyptian custom, and buried him in Canaan as he wished (Genesis 50).
Joseph’s death
After his long story, Joseph understood that it had all been God’s plan, and that thanks to his life Israel was preserved (Genesis 45:7; 50:20). Joseph then lived the rest of his days in Egypt. He reached the third generation of the sons of Ephraim, and died at the age of 110 years.
Before he died, Joseph remembered the promise God had made to his fathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) that his people would inherit the promised land. He then asked that when God brought the Israelites out of there, that their remains also be taken with them.
Thus, Joseph died trusting in the Lord’s promise. Later, Moses remembered Joseph’s wish and brought his bones out of Egypt, as it says in Exodus 13:19. Joseph was buried in Shechem, on land that his father, Jacob, had purchased (Joshua 24:32).
If you want to go even deeper into the life of José, we recommend the following video.