Joseph of Egypt was an iconic figure from the Old Testament, known for his prophetic dreams and his unshakable trust in God. Born into a family of thirteen brothers and being the favorite of his father, Jacob, Joseph soon aroused the anger and envy of his brothers, resulting in an incredible life saga, which took him from the abyss of a well to the grandeur of Egyptian power.
Joseph’s talent for interpreting dreams began his impressive journey, first as a slave sold by his own brothers, and then as a wrongfully accused prisoner. Through these adversities that Joseph excels, his unshakable faith in God and his incorruptible character lead him to a surprising awakening of prosperity and power in Egypt.
The story of Joseph of Egypt shows the virtue of perseverance, the importance of trust in God and the power of forgiveness. It tells the story of a man who, despite all obstacles, never lost his faith, and whose life exemplifies the truth that God can transform the darkest circumstances into shining light. Joseph’s life is an exciting journey of faith, full of valuable lessons that resonate to this day.
Birth and rivalry with siblings
Of all Jacob’s thirteen sons, Joseph was one of the youngest. The Bible reports that Joseph was, in fact, Joseph’s favorite son, to the point of giving him a beautiful tunic, a valuable item in antiquity. His brothers envied him, because they saw that Jacob treated him in a special way.
In addition to being a talented young man, knowing how to write and do math, God granted Joseph the ability to have prophetic dreams, which revealed a distant future. Jacob had two significant dreams mentioned in the Bible, in the book of Genesis, chapter 37.
Joseph dreamed that he and his brothers were tying sheaves of wheat in the field. However, the brothers’ sheaves bowed down to Joseph’s sheaf (Genesis 37:5-7). In the second dream, he saw that the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed before him (Genesis 37:9-10).
For all the brothers, this was an affront, how could a son so young be bigger than the others? How would a young man reign over his own parents? Everything was a mystery, which made even Jacob think about such things.
Joseph is sold as a slave to Egyptians
Carrying with him the disaffection of his various brothers, José was in danger. Once, his brothers were working in the field and his father, Jacob, asked him to meet them. Having been seen on the way, his brothers planned to kill him, mocking his visions.
The only brother who still worried about him was Reuben, who advised the brothers not to kill him, but to just leave him thrown in a well.
So they did, they waited for him to arrive, grabbed him and ripped off the beautiful tunic his father gave him, then threw him into an empty well. Joseph remained at the well for some time, as his brothers still sat down to eat.
When the group saw a caravan of Ishmaelites, Judah thought it would be better to sell his brother than to kill him, as they would still make money off of him. And in this way, they sold their brother to the Ishmaelites, who in turn sold Joseph to Potiphar, the Pharaoh of Egypt’s officer and captain of the guard.
Rúben, who saved José’s life, was far from the group when they sold his little brother. When he went back to the well to rescue him, he saw that he came back very late and he was no longer there. He mourned deeply (Genesis 37:29-30).
The brothers even made a big excuse, took Joseph’s tunic, stained it with animal blood and returned it to Jacob. When the father saw that it was the tunic of his beloved son Joseph, he went into deep mourning, to the point that no one could console him. it.
The blessing on Joseph and the harassment of Potiphar’s wife
After Potiphar bought Joseph, he put him to work in his house. Everything Joseph did prospered, so he went to live in Potiphar’s house, granting the administration of the entire house, later granting the administration of all his land.
As Joseph was blessed by God, and was handsome and good-looking, over time Potiphar’s wife found herself attracted to the young man. One day, she invited him to sleep with her, but José replied:
My master does not care about anything in his house, and everything he has he has left in my care. No one in this house is above me. He denied me nothing, except you, because she is his wife. How could I, then, commit something so wicked and sin against God?
– Genesis 39-8-9
And although the girl sought him out and insisted on this sin, Joseph still refused and avoided the woman wherever he went.
Until one day, seeing that no other servant besides Joseph was at home, Potiphar’s wife approached Joseph, grabbed him and insisted once again that they stay together. At that moment, José escapes from his wife and runs away from home, leaving his cloak behind. The woman then takes the cloak and tells the employees and her husband that José had harassed her.
After that, Potiphar ordered Joseph to be arrested. In prison, however, God continued to bless him, granting him the jailer’s sympathy. This jailer, upon seeing that José was special, gave him the position of head of the prisoners, with him being responsible for everything that happened there.
José interprets the dreams of two prisoners
While Joseph was still in prison, two new prisoners were sent there by Pharaoh himself. They were the chief butler and the chief baker.
The two new prisoners had mysterious dreams that they could not understand. José, upon seeing this situation, told them to tell their dreams. Joseph listened to them, and gave them the interpretation of each dream, showing that the chief cupbearer would return to his position of honor, next to the king. On the other hand, he foreshadowed that the chief baker would be hanged from a tree.
The only thing that Joseph asked in favor of the chief cupbearer was to remember him and defend him before Pharaoh, since he was innocent. In addition to being forcibly taken to Egypt, he was also falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife. And despite this request, the chief butler forgot about José.
Joseph meets the pharaoh and interprets his dream
Later on, the pharaoh began to have strange dreams. He called all the magicians and wise men in Egypt, but no one could tell him what his dreams meant. It was at that moment that the chief cupbearer remembered Joseph, called in the presence of Pharaoh.
Joseph soon got ready to see the king of Egypt and hear his dreams. The Bible says, in Genesis 47, that the pharaoh was amazed at the ability of Joseph, who gave an exact interpretation of his dreams. It turns out that Egypt would go through a great period of famine, that’s what the dreams said.
Joseph advised Pharaoh to elect a governor, someone who could coordinate and supervise the production of the land, so that Egypt would have a large stockpile, so that they would not go hungry in the future.
Given such good advice and seeing that the Lord was with Joseph, Pharaoh placed him in the position of governor of Egypt, the most powerful man in that place, second only to Pharaoh himself.
Joseph’s life changed completely from that moment on, living in luxury, wearing fine linen, a chain and the Pharaoh’s signet ring. He also received from the king a woman, the priest’s daughter.
José meets his brothers again
Faced with the famine predicted by Joseph, Jacob sent ten of his sons to go down to Egypt to buy wheat to survive. Benjamin, however, stayed with his father.
When Jacob’s sons arrived in Egypt, Joseph met them. The new governor recognized them, but the brothers did not recognize Joseph. Thus, Joseph manipulated them, so that they went to get Benjamin so that one of them could be released from prison (Genesis 42:15-16).
On the way back to Canaan, Joseph ordered the donkeys to be filled with wheat and gave them back the silver they used to pay. Faced with this, the brothers thought they would be accused, again, of causing problems in Egypt. Therefore, they returned to Egypt with Benjamin, gifts, all the silver they received back and double it, in fear of Joseph.
But when they arrived in Egypt again, they were very well received, receiving a great lunch at Joseph’s house. Joseph, in turn, was very emotional when he met his younger brother, Benjamin, and had to leave where they were to cry. Until then, none of the brothers recognized Joseph.
José reveals his identity
After yet another trick to deceive his brothers, making them promise Benjamin as a slave, Joseph reveals the truth to his brothers! They were perplexed by this news, and by what God did through Joseph’s life.
Thus, Joseph instructs Jacob to live in Egypt, away from hunger. Pharaoh himself intervenes in Joseph’s action, helping them to immigrate from Canaan to Egypt. Carriages, supplies and land on which to settle were provided. Jacob heard the whole story and his spirit was reinvigorated.
When Jacob arrives in Egypt, Joseph runs towards him, hugs him and cries with joy. Jacob also rejoices greatly, to the point of saying that he could die in peace. Jacob was taken to meet Pharaoh and then received the best lands in Egypt.
The famine spread greatly and Joseph was shrewd in his administration of Egypt. He sold the stored wheat in exchange for all the silver, all the cattle, all the land and all the people, making the pharaoh even more powerful than he already was.
Joseph’s death
Time passed, Jacob was about to die, he blessed all his children by being buried, embalmed and placed in a sarcophagus in Egypt (just as was done with the Egyptian leaders). Before, the governor of Egypt said his last words to his brothers:
Before he died, Joseph said to his brothers: “I am on the verge of death. But God will certainly come to your aid and take you out of this land, taking you to the land he promised with an oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
And Joseph made the children of Israel swear an oath to him, saying to them, “When God intervenes on your behalf, take my bones from here.”
– Genesis 50:24-25
Joseph died peacefully at the age of 110.
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