Introduction
Joseph is a son of Jacob and Rachel, his father's favourite, whose brothers' jealousy over this favouritism and over Joseph's own dreams of ruling over them led them to sell him into slavery in Egypt. There, through a remarkable rise from slave and prisoner to Pharaoh's chief administrator, Joseph preserved Egypt and the surrounding region, including his own family, through a severe famine, and his eventual, emotional reconciliation with his brothers closes the book of Genesis.
This article follows the biblical account in Genesis. Where later Jewish, Christian or Islamic tradition adds detail not found in the text itself, the article identifies it as such.
Family
- Father: Jacob
- Mother: Rachel
- Wife: Asenath
- Sons: Manasseh, Ephraim
- Siblings: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dinah
Favouritism and the coat of many colours
Jacob's evident favouritism toward Joseph, expressed through the famous gift of an ornate robe, and Joseph's own dreams suggesting his family would one day bow to him, provoked deep jealousy in his older brothers.
Sold into slavery
The brothers seized Joseph, threw him into a pit, and, rather than killing him outright, sold him to passing traders, who took him to Egypt; they then deceived Jacob into believing Joseph had been killed by a wild animal, using his blood-stained robe as evidence.
Rise in Egypt
In Egypt, Joseph, sold to an official named Potiphar, rose to a position of trust before being falsely accused by Potiphar's wife and imprisoned. In prison, his skill at interpreting dreams eventually brought him to Pharaoh's attention, where his interpretation of Pharaoh's own dreams, predicting seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine, led to his appointment as administrator over all Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself.
Reconciliation
When famine struck the wider region, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to buy grain, not recognising him. After a series of tests, Joseph revealed his identity, forgave his brothers (telling them "you intended to do harm to me, but God intended it for good"), and brought his entire family, including his aged father Jacob, to settle in Egypt in the land of Goshen, where they prospered.
Marriage and death
In Egypt, Joseph married Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, and had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Jacob later formally adopted as his own before his death. Genesis records Joseph's own death at age 110, and his request that his bones eventually be carried back to Canaan, a request fulfilled generations later according to the book of Exodus.