Joseph (Hebrew Bible)

For the New Testament Joseph, see Saint Joseph.

Joseph (Hebrew: יוֹסֵף ‎, Standard Yosef Tiberian Yôsēp̄; "May Yahweh add";[1] Arabic: يوسف‎, Yūsuf ) is an important person in the Hebrew Bible and in the Quran, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

The Book of Genesis tells that Joseph was the 11th of Jacob's 12 sons and Rachel's firstborn,[2] and tells how Joseph came to be sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, and rose to become the second most powerful man in Egypt next to Pharaoh. When famine struck Egypt, Jacob (Joseph's father) and Joseph's brothers came to the Land of Goshen in Egypt.




Text analysis

19th century source criticism divided the Joseph story between the Jahwist, Elohist and Priestly sources of the documentary hypothesis.[4] In the early 20th century Hermann Gunkel demonstrated that, unlike the Abraham-Isaac-Jacob stories, the Joseph story formed a single unitary story with literary rather than oral origins.[4] In 1953 Gerhard von Rad made a detailed assessment of its literary artistry and drew attention to its identity as a Wisdom novella,[5] and in 1968 R.N. Whybray argued that unity and artistry implied a single author.[6] All three insights are now widely accepted,[7] and the majority of modern biblical scholars date the Joseph story in its current form to the 5th century BCE Persian era at the earliest.[8] There have been many attempts to trace the story's redaction history including work by Donald Redford. His theory states that a first "Reuben version" of the story originated in the northern kingdom of Israel and was intended to justify the domination of the “house of Joseph” over the other tribes; this was followed by a later “Judah-expansion” (chapters 38 and 49) elevating Judah as the rightful successor to Jacob; and finally various embellishments were added so that the novella would function as the bridge between the Abraham-Isaac-Jacob material in Genesis and the following story of Moses and the Exodus.[9]


Modern day scholars believe the historicity of the events in the Joseph narrative cannot be demonstrated.[10][11] Hermann Gunkel, Hugo Gressmann and Gerhard von Rad identified the story of Joseph as a literary composition,[12] in the genre of romance,[13][14] or the novella.[15][16][17] As a novella, it is read as reworking legends and myths, in particular the motifs of his reburial in Canaan, associated with the Egyptian god Osiris.[18] Others compare the burial of his bones at Shechem, with the disposal of Dionysus’s bones at Delphi.[19][20][21] For Schenke, the tradition of Joseph's burial at Shechem is understood as a secondary, Israelitic historical interpretation woven around a more ancient Canaanite shrine in that area.[22] The reworked legends and folklore were probably inserted into the developing textual tradition of the Bible between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. Most scholars[23] place its composition in a genre that flourished in the Persian period of the Exile.[24][25][26][27][28]




Joseph, son of Israel (Genesis 37:1-11)

Plot against Joseph

Joseph's half-brothers were jealous of him. They called him this dreamer.(Genesis 37:12-35)

Potiphar's house

The text of the biblical story is muddled over who sold Joseph into slavery - which of the brothers, Reuben or Judah, and whether he was sold to Genesis 39:1-20)

Joseph in prison

The warden put Joseph in charge of the other prisoners,[37] and soon afterward Pharaoh's chief cup-bearer and chief baker, who had offended the Pharaoh, were thrown into the prison.[38] They both had dreams, and Joseph offered to interpret them. The chief cup-bearer had held a vine in his hand, with three branches that brought forth grapes; he took them to Pharaoh and put them in his cup. The chief baker had three baskets of bread on his head, intended for Pharaoh, but some birds came along and ate the bread. Joseph told them that within three days the chief cup-bearer would be reinstated but the chief baker would be hanged.[39] Joseph requested the cup-bearer to mention him to Pharaoh and secure his release from prison,[40] but the cup-bearer, reinstalled in office, forgot Joseph.[41] After Joseph was in prison for two more years, Pharaoh had two dreams which disturbed him. He dreamt of seven lean cows which rose out of the river and devoured seven fat cows; and, of seven withered ears of grain which devoured seven fat ears. Pharaoh's wise men were unable to interpret these dreams, but the chief cup-bearer remembered Joseph and spoke of his skill to Pharaoh. Joseph was called for, and interpreted the dreams as foretelling that seven years of abundance would be followed by seven years of famine, and advised Pharaoh to store surplus grain during the years of abundance

Vizier of Egypt

Pharaoh acknowledged that Joseph's proposal to store grain during the abundant period was very wise. Pharaoh then released him from prison and put him in charge over "all the land of Egypt" as Genesis 41:37-57)

The seven-year famine became so severe that toward the later period, even Egypt was feeling the effects. Because the Egyptians had used up all of their money to buy grain in the previous years, they began to pay with their livestock. As a last resort, all of the inhabitants of Egypt, less the Egyptian priestly class, sold their properties to Joseph for seed. As this land now belonged to Pharaoh, Joseph set a mandate that because the people would be sowing and harvesting seed on government property, a fifth of the produce should go to the Pharaoh. This mandate continued down to the days of Genesis 47:20-31)

Brothers sent to Egypt

In the second year of famine,Genesis 42:1-28)

The silver cup


Upon their return to Egypt, the brothers were received by the steward of the house of Joseph. When they were brought to Joseph's house, they became afraid because of the returned money in their money sacks. They thought that the missed transaction would somehow be used against them as way to induct them as slaves and confiscate their possessions. So they immediately informed the steward of what had transpired to get a feel of the situation. On the contrary, the Steward put them at ease telling them not to worry of the money, and then he brought out their brother Simeon. They all went into the house of Joseph and were received with hospitality. When the Vizier (Joseph) appeared, they gave him gifts from their father. Joseph saw and inquired of Benjamin and was overcome by emotion but did not show it. He retreated to his chambers and wept. When he gained control of himself, he returned and brought out the feast. Now as it was at that time, Egyptians did not allow Hebrews to eat with them at the same table, as that was considered loathsome. So when the Vizier (Joseph) brought food over to the table of the sons of Israel, they were astonished. (Genesis 43:16-44:34)


Family reunited


Thus, Israel and his entire house of seventy,Genesis 46:1-34)

Afterward, Joseph’s family personally met the Genesis 47:1-47:12) The family was then settled in Goshen.

Father’s blessing and passing

Main article: Blessing of Jacob





After relaying his prophecies, Israel died. The family, including the Egyptians, mourned him seventy days. Joseph had his father Genesis 49:33-50:14)


Joseph's burial

Joseph lived to the age of 110, living to see his great-grandchildren. Before he died, he made the Genesis 50:22-26)

The children of Israel remembered their oath, and when they left Egypt during conquest of Canaan.

Dreams as motif and contribution to narrative


Jewish tradition


Selling Joseph

In the midrash, the selling of Joseph was part of God's divine plan for him to save his tribes. The favoritism Israel showed Joseph and the plot against him by his brothers were divine means of getting him into Egypt.[53] Maimonides comments that even the villager in Shechem, whom Joseph inquired about his brother's whereabouts, was a "divine messenger" working behind the scene.[54]



Potiphar’s wife

The reasons why Joseph did not have an affair with Potiphar’s wife was because he did not want to abuse his Master’s trust, he believed in the sanctity of marriage, and it went against his ethical, moral and religious principles taught by his father Jacob. According to the midrash, Joseph would have been immediately executed by the sexual assault charge against him by Potiphar’s wife. Arbarbanel explains that she had accused other servants of the same crime in the past. Potiphar believed that Joseph was incapable of such an act and petitioned Pharaoh to spare his life.[55] However, punishment could not have been avoided because of her class status and limited public knowledge when she screamed.

Silver cup for divination


Raising Joseph


Christian tradition



Typological interpretation

In addition to honoring him, there was a strong tendency in the patristic period to view his life as a typological precursor to Christ.[58] This tendency is represented in John Chrysostom who said that Joseph's suffering was "a type of things to come,"[59] Caesarius of Arles who interpreted Joseph's famous coat as representative of the diverse nations who would follow Christ,[60] Ambrose of Milan who interpreted the standing sheaf as prefiguring the resurrection of Christ,[61] and others.

This tendency, although greatly diminished, was followed throughout late antiquity, the Medieval Era, and into the Reformation. Even John Calvin, sometimes hailed as the father of modern grammatico-historical exegesis,[62] writes "in the person of Joseph, a lively image of Christ is presented."[63]


Islamic tradition

Main article: Joseph in Islam

Joseph ("Yusuf") is regarded by Muslims as a prophet (Qur'an, suras vi. 84, xl. 34), and a whole chapter (sura xii.) is devoted to him, it is the only instance in the Qur'an in which an entire chapter is devoted to a complete story of a prophet. It is described as the 'best of stories'.[65] Joseph is said to have been extremely handsome, which attracted his Egyptian master's wife to attempt to seduce him. Muhammad is believed to have once said, "One half of all the beauty God apportioned for mankind went to Joseph and his mother; the other one half went to the rest of mankind."[66] The story has the same general outlines as the Biblical narrative, but with certain differences [67] In the Qur'an the brothers ask Jacob ("Yacub") to let Joseph go with them.[68] The pit into which Joseph is thrown in a well,[69] and Joseph was taken as a slave by passing caravan (Qur'an 12:19).

In the Bible, Joseph discloses himself to his brethren before they return to their father the second time after buying grain.[70] The same is true in the Islamic story but they are compelled to return to Jacob without Benjamin, and the former weeps himself blind.[70] He remains so until the sons have returned from Egypt, bringing with them Joseph's garment which healed the patriarch's eyes as soon as he put it to his face (Qur'an 12:96).[70]

Baha'i tradition


Literature and culture

See also



External links

  • BBC - Joseph
