Patriarch, Dream Interpreter, Vizier of Egypt
c. 1900–1800 BC · Old Testament
The favored son of Jacob — sold into slavery by his brothers, rose to second-in-command in Egypt, and saved his family from famine.
Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob (renamed Israel) and the first son of Rachel — making him the favored son of his father's favored wife. His story (Genesis 37-50) occupies more chapters than any other patriarch's, marking him as one of the most theologically important figures of the Old Testament. Jacob gave Joseph a richly ornamented robe (the famous 'coat of many colors') and openly favored him over his brothers, generating intense jealousy. Joseph also had dreams of his family bowing down to him (Genesis 37:5-11). The brothers' jealousy boiled over when they sold seventeen-year-old Joseph to Ishmaelite traders who took him to Egypt, then deceived their father into thinking Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. In Egypt, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard. He rose quickly through trustworthy service, but Potiphar's wife falsely accused him of attempted rape after he refused her advances, and he was imprisoned. Even in prison, his integrity and God's favor caused him to rise — he was put in charge of the other prisoners. He interpreted dreams for two of Pharaoh's fellow prisoners (the chief butler and chief baker, Genesis 40) — accurately predicting the butler's restoration and the baker's execution. Two years later, when Pharaoh had disturbing dreams no one could interpret, the butler remembered Joseph. Joseph was brought from prison, interpreted Pharaoh's dreams as predicting seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine, and was elevated to second-in-command in Egypt at age thirty (Genesis 41). When the famine came, it spread to Canaan, and Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to buy grain — not recognizing the powerful Egyptian official before whom they bowed (fulfilling his teenage dream). After several tests of their character, Joseph revealed himself: 'I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt' (Genesis 45:4). He brought his entire family — including his father Jacob — to live in Egypt, where they prospered through the famine and grew into the nation of Israel. Joseph died at 110, having lived to see his great-grandchildren (Genesis 50:23). His final words: 'I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob' (Genesis 50:24) — anticipating the Exodus over four hundred years later.
Dreams of his family bowing down — sparks his brothers' jealousy
Brothers sell him to Ishmaelite traders; faked death to Jacob
Refuses adultery; falsely accused; imprisoned
The butler and baker; the butler forgets him for two years
Seven years plenty, seven years famine; made vizier at 30
Tests their character before revealing himself
"I am Joseph your brother... God sent me before you to preserve life"
"You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good"
Joseph's significance is fivefold. First, he is the model of integrity under adversity — faithful as a slave, faithful in prison, faithful as a powerful ruler. Second, his statement 'You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good' (Genesis 50:20) is one of the Bible's foundational statements on divine providence in human suffering — applied by the church to Christ's crucifixion (Acts 2:23). Third, he was the deliverer who preserved the chosen family through famine — without Joseph, Israel might have starved out of existence before becoming a nation. Fourth, he is a type of Christ in many ways: rejected by his brothers, sold for silver, presumed dead, raised to a position of authority over a Gentile nation, and used to reconcile the brothers who had betrayed him. Fifth, his death anticipating the Exodus (Genesis 50:24) bridges Genesis to Exodus and establishes the great deliverance pattern that would shape the rest of the Old Testament.
“How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”— Genesis 39:9 — refusing Potiphar's wife
“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.”— Genesis 50:20
Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob (Israel) and the first son of Rachel — Jacob's favorite wife. His brothers sold him into slavery at seventeen, but he rose through Potiphar's household, was imprisoned for resisting Potiphar's wife, interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, and became second-in-command in Egypt at thirty. He saved his family from famine, brought them to Egypt, and his line became the tribes of Israel. He is distinct from Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary in the New Testament.
The 'coat of many colors' (Genesis 37:3) is the richly ornamented robe Jacob gave to Joseph as a sign of his favoritism. The Hebrew phrase (ketonet passim) is uncertain in meaning — it could mean 'long-sleeved tunic,' 'tunic with sleeves to the wrists,' or 'tunic with colored stripes.' Whatever its exact appearance, the robe marked Joseph as the favored son and triggered his brothers' jealousy: 'they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him' (Genesis 37:4). When they sold him into slavery, they dipped the coat in goat's blood and showed it to Jacob as evidence Joseph had been killed.
Three reasons compounded into the act. First, jealousy over Jacob's favoritism — the coat of many colors made the favoritism visible (Genesis 37:3-4). Second, Joseph's dreams — he had two dreams in which his family bowed to him, and he told them tactlessly, deepening their hatred (Genesis 37:5-11). Third, opportunity — when Joseph came to check on them in Dothan, they were far from Jacob and had control over him. They initially plotted to kill him; Reuben tried to save him; Judah suggested selling him to passing Ishmaelite traders for twenty pieces of silver instead. They told Jacob a wild animal had killed Joseph, using the bloodied coat as evidence.
Christian interpretation has long seen Joseph as a type — a foreshadowing — of Christ. The parallels: rejected by his brothers; sold for silver; presumed dead but living; raised to a position of authority over a Gentile nation; using his power to save those who had betrayed him; brought his family to a place of rescue; spoke words of forgiveness over those who had sinned against him. Christ's parallel: rejected by his own (John 1:11); sold for thirty silver pieces (Matthew 26:15); presumed dead but raised; exalted to God's right hand over all nations; saving those who crucified him; bringing his people to eternal rescue; speaking from the cross 'Father, forgive them.'