Joseph, son of Jacob

Joseph interprets the dream of the Pharaoh. Painting by Peter von Cornelius.

Joseph or Yosef (Hebrew: יוֹסֵף, Arabic: يوسف, Yusuf ; "He (The Lord) increases/may add"), is a major figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). He was Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first.

Famous for his coat of "many colors" and his God-given ability to interpret dreams, Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. He worked under the Egyptian official Potiphar but was freed and became the chief adviser (vizier) to the Egyptian Pharaoh, probably around either the Hyksos Era or the Middle Kingdom of Egypt period.

The shrine called Joseph's Tomb in Nablus/Shechem is traditionally considered to be his tomb.

The Genesis story of Joseph

According to the biblical account, Joseph was the son of Jacob by Rachel, the patriarch's favorite wife (Gen. 30:23, 24), who, on the occasion of Jospeh's birth, said, "The Lord shall add [Heb. yosef] to me another son." (Gen. 30:24) He was born in Padan-aram when Jacob was about 90 years old. Joseph would have been approximately six years old when his family returned from Haran to Canaan. He was present at Jacob's famous reconciliation with his brother Esau. Soon, the family took up residence in the town of Bethel and later moved to Hebron. In the interrim, Joseph's mother died giving birth to his brother, Benjamin.

Joseph was the favorite son of his father, who made him a richly ornamented coat. popularly refered to as a "coat of many colors." As a result, he was envied by his half-brothers. His brothers' jealousy grew when Joseph told them of his two dreams (Gen. 37:11) in which all the brothers, as well as his parents, bowed down to him.

After this, his brothers plotted against him and would have killed him had not his brother Reuben interposed. He persuaded them instead to throw Joseph into a pit and secretly planned to rescue him later. Judah, too, counselled against violence but, while Reuben was absent, convinced the brothers to sell Joseph to a company of Ishmaelite merchants, who bought him in exchange for 20 shekels of silver. The brothers then dipped Joseph's coat in goat's blood and showed it to their father, who concluded that Joseph had been torn apart by a wild beast.

Joseph in Egypt

The merchants, meanwhile, brought Joseph to Egypt, where he was sold to Potiphar, an "officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard" (Gen. 37:36). Joseph prospered in Potiphar's household and was eventually made head of the servants.

After Joseph rejected the attempts of Potiphar's wife to seduce him, she accused him of attempted rape, and he was cast into the state prison (Gen. 39:40), where he became the most trusted inmate and remained for at least two years. The story tells of two servants of Pharaoh's household who were in jail with Joseph and asked him to interpret their dreams. Joseph correctly predicted the future based on their dreams: one would be reinstated in his post while the other would be executed. Joseph urged the first, a royal cupbearer, to get him out of prison once he was reinstated, but the cupbearer took no action on his behalf for two more years.

At the end of that period, the Pharaoh had a strange dream which none of his advisors could interpret. The chief cupbearer took this opportunity to inform the king of Joseph's gift and recommend his services. Joseph was brought from prison to interpret the ruler's dreams. Joseph predicted seven years of plenty to be followed by seven years of famine and advised the Pharaoh to appoint someone to store up surplus grain. Pharaoh was pleased with Joseph's interpretation and gave him authority to carry out the suggested policy (Gen.41:46). At the age 30, Joseph married Asenath, the daughter of the priest of Heliopolis.

As Joseph had foreseen, seven years of plenty came, during which he stored up a great abundance of grain in granaries built for the purpose. These years were followed by seven years of famine "over all the face of the earth," when "all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain" (Gen. 41:56, 57; 47:13,14). Thus, "Joseph gathered up all the money that was in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought." Joseph was reportedly second only to the Pharaoh himself in authority during this time.

A strange reunion

During this period of famine, Joseph's brothers, except for Benjamin, also came down to Egypt to buy grain. At their first meeting, the brothers did not recognize him. Seeing only the powerful minister who controlled their lives and fortunes, they "bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground" (Gen. 42:6), thus fulfilling in part his earlier prophetic dream. Joseph disguised his identity and devised a plot to bring the rest of the family to him: He accused them of being spies and imprisoned them for three days. He then sent them away with grain, retaining Simeon as a hostage (Gen. 42:1-25), while ordering them not to return without Benjamin.

Upon their return to Egypt with Benjamin, Joseph received them kindly and threw a feast for them. He then tested them further, by accusing Benjamin of theft. But Judah pleaded for Benjamin, offering himself as a slave instead. Convinced of his brothers' repentance and overcome with emotion, Joseph finally revealed himself to them. He forgave them and sent for Jacob and the entire household to come to Egypt. Joseph settled Jacob's growing clan with Pharaoh's blessing in Land of Goshen (Gen. 47:29).

Joseph and his Egyptian wife had two son, Ephraim and Manasseh. In time these would become two separate tribes of Israel, taking not only the place of Joseph's tribe but also that of Levi, which would become a priestly clan scattered throughout the land of Israel. The reunion of these two sons of Joseph with their grandfather, Jacob (Israel), is one of the most touching in the Bible. Old and nearly blind, Jacob is overwhelmed with joy, saying: "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too." (Gen 48:11) The scene is a fitting resolution to Jacob's own story, in which his own father, Isaac, was old and blind and Jacob himself deceived deceived him in order to obtain his blessing, meant of Esau.

After Jacob's death, Joseph received the Pharaoh's permission to travel with a great caravan to Canaan in order to bury the patriarch. "All Pharaoh's officials accompanied him—-the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt- 8 besides all the members of Joseph's household and his brothers and those belonging to his father's household. Chariots and horsemen [a] also went up with him. It was a very large company." (Gen 50:7-9)

Joseph's remains were reportedly taken by Moses with the Israelites during the Exodus (Exodus 13:19) and later buried at Shechem (Joshua 24:32).

Legacy

Jacob, before he died, blessed all his sons and two of his grandsons, the two sons of Joseph. Indeed, he blessed Joseph's sons before all the rest. Though Manasseh was the older brother, Jacob placed his right hand on Ephraim, the younger, and gave him the greater blessing. He then gave his blessing upon all his sons, and the blessing he gave to Joseph was greater than the others:

Joseph is a fruitful tree by a spring

whose branches climb over the wall.

The archers savagely attacked him

shooting and assailing him fiercely,

but Joseph's bow remained unfailing

and his arms were tireless

by the power of the Strong One of Jacob

by the name of the Shepherd of Israel,

by the God of your father—so may he help you!

By God Almighty—so may he bless you

with the blessings of heaven above

and the blessings of the deep that lies below!

The blessings of breast and womb

and the blessings of your father are stronger

than the blessings of the eternal mountains

and the bounty of the everlasting hills.

May they rest on the head of Joseph

on the brow of him who was prince among his brother.' (Genesis 49:22-26)

Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh multiplied to become two separate tribes of Israel. Ephraim was one of the major northern tribes, just north of the territory of Judah. Half of Manasseh's tribe settled east of the Jordan, while the other half settled west of it. The two halves of Manasseh were often treated as two separate units in the biblical account. Both the term "Joseph" and the term "Ephraim" were also frequently used by the biblical writers to refer to the norther tribes generally or to the later northern kingdom, usually called Israel.

Joseph in rabbinical literature

Joseph occupies a very important place in Rabbinical literature, and no patriarch was the subject of so many Midrashic traditional narratives.

Joseph is represented as a perfectly righteous man (tzadik gamur) and as the counterpart of his father Jacob. Not only did Joseph resemble his father in appearance, but the main incidents of their lives were parallel. Both were born after their mothers had been barren for a long time. Both were hated by their brothers. Both were met by angels at various times (Gen. R. lxxxiv. 6; Num. R. xiv. 16). Joseph is extolled by the rabbis for being well versed in the Torah, for being a prophet, and for supporting his brothers. One opinion holds that the Holy Spirit dwelt in Joseph from his childhood until his death (Pirke R. El. xxxviii.).

One tradition holds that Jacob's other children came into the world only for Joseph's sake. The Red Sea and the Jordan were passed dry-shod by the children of Israel through the virtue of Joseph (Gen. R. lxxxiv). When Joseph and his mother bowed to Esau (Gen. 33:7), Joseph shielded his mother with his body (Targ. pseudo-Jonathan), protecting her from the lustful eyes of Esau (Gen. R. lxxviii. 13).

Joseph is represented as an exemplar of filial respect, for when his father requested him to go and see how his brothers fared, he went promptly and with gladness of heart, although he knew that they hated him (Mek., Beshalla?, Wayehi, 1; Gen. R. lxxxiv. 12, 15). When he went to his brothers, he was accompanied to Dothan by three angels (ib. lxxxiv. 13; comp. Targ. pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. xxxvii. 15, and Sefer ha-Yashar, section Wayesheb). When the brothers saw Joseph approaching from a distance, they decided to set the dogs upon him (l.c.). After being beaten by his brethren, Joseph was thrown by Simeon into a pit, among serpents and scorpions; but Joseph prayed to God and the reptiles retired to their holes (ib. lxxxiv. 15; Targ. pseudo-Jonathan, ad loc.). Afterward, Simeon ordered stones thrown into the pit (Tan., Wayesheb, 13; Yal?., Gen. 142).

The brothers encamped at a distance from the pit that they might not hear Joseph's cries, and while they were eating, a company of Midianites passed by the pit, heard Joseph calling for help, and drew him up. A struggle then ensued between the brothers and the Midianites. The former declared that Joseph was their rebellious slave; the latter regarded their statements with suspicion; but the difference was settled by the sale of Joseph to the Midianites (Sefer ha-Yashar, l.c.). The brothers then divided among themselves the purchase-money: twenty pieces of silver (Gen. xxxvii. 28), each taking two pieces, with which they bought shoes (Pirke R. El. xxxviii.).

As Joseph had been thrown naked into the pit, the Midianites would have compelled him to accompany them so, but God, not willing that so righteous a man should travel in an unseemly manner, sent Gabriel to transform into a long garment the amulet Joseph wore on his neck. The brothers, however, on seeing the garment, demanded it of the Midianites, saying that they had sold them a naked slave, but, after some altercation, consented to take four pairs of shoes in exchange. Joseph wore the same garment when he was Potiphar's slave, when he was in prison, and when he became the Viceroy of Egypt (Jellinek, "B. H." v. 157, vi. 120).

When Joseph's half-brothers reached home after selling him, Jacob ordered them to arm themselves and capture the beast that had killed Joseph. They returned with a wolf, but when Jacob began to reproach the beast for its cruelty, the wolf answered, in human language, that she had not committed the crime, and that she herself was searching for her lost cub. Jacob therefore let the wolf go. Jacob did not wholly believe that Joseph was dead, because he could not forget him, while the dead are soon forgotten.

Joseph and the Wife of Potiphar, by Philipp Veit

In Egtyp, Joseph's character was antithetical to that of all the other slaves. They were rapacious, while Joseph never enjoyed anything that was not his (Zeb. 118b); thy were given to lust, while Joseph was chaste and resisted temptation.

Some rabbis, however, charged Joseph with vanity, saying that, even before being sold, he took too much pains with his personal appearance (Gen. R. lxxxiv. 7), and that he continued to do so as ruler over Potiphar's house, forgetting his father, who was mourning over his disappearance. God punished him, therefore, by setting against him Potiphar's wife (Gen. R. lxxxvii. 3). Certain rabbis declared that Joseph was ready to yield to his mistress, but that his father's image suddenly appeared to him and called him to his duty (Sotah 36b; Gen. R. lxxxvii. 9; comp. Pirke R. El. xxxix.).

Joseph was released from prison on Rosh ha-Shanah (R. H. 10b). When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, the king asked him for a sign by which he might know that his interpretation was true. Joseph then told him that the queen, who was about to be delivered of a child, would give birth to a son, but that at the same time another of the king's sons, two years of age, would die—all of which came to pass exactly as Joseph predicted.

As the king's appointed viceroy, Joseph built himself a magnificent palace, placing in it a great number of slaves. He equipped also a considerable army, with which he marched to help the Ishmaelites against the Tarshishites. (Gen. R. xc. 5). When the famine grew more intense and the Egyptians went to Joseph for grain, he compelled them to undergo circumcision, refusing food to uncircumcised people (ib. xc. 6, xci. 5). He stored up in Egypt all the gold and silver of the world, and it was carried away by the Israelites when they left Egypt. According to another tradition, Joseph placed the gold and silver in three hidden treasuries, of which one was discovered by the Israelite villainKorah; one by the Roman Antoninus, son of Severus; and one yet undiscovered, which is being kept for the righteous in the future world (Pes. 119a; comp. Sefer ha-Yashar, section Wayiggash).

File:Peter von Cornelius 004.jpg

Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, by Peter von Cornelius

The majority opinion of the rabbis is that Joseph always kept in mind his father and brothers. Some declare that during the 22 years he was away from home he drank no wine (Shab. 139a; Gen. R. xciv. 25; Test. Patr., Joseph, 3). It is said also that Joseph wore sackcloth and fasted a great deal (Gen. R. lxxxv. 2; Test. Patr. l.c.). He is represented as very modest, and was not vain of his power (Ex. R. i. 7). Knowing that his brothers would come to buy grain, Joseph gave orders that nobody should be permitted to enter until he had given in writing his own and his father's names.

According to most rabbinical authorities, Joseph's coffin was sunk in the Nile (Targ. Pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. 1. 26; Mek., Beshalla?, Wayyehi, 1; Ex. R. xx. 17); but according to R. Nathan, Joseph was buried in the royal palace. In the time of the Exodus, Serah, daughter of Asher, showed Moses where the coffin was sunk. Moses threw a pebble into the water there and cried out: "Joseph! Joseph! the time has come for the Israelites to be rescued from their oppressors; come up and do not cause us any further delay!" The coffin thereupon floated up (Mek., l.c. ; Ex. R. l.c.).

Critical view

According to the Documentary Hyothesis Joseph's toy is a comination of two or more versions which were later comined into the current narrative. The two principle sources are the Yahwist source and an Elohist version, with a few details included as well from the Priestly source. In the Elohist version it is Rueben rather than Judah who intervenes on Joseph's behalf. In the Yahwist (J) version Joseph is sold to Ismaelites, while in the Elohist (E) narritive it is Midianites who buy him. Similar theories are propounded to explain confusion in the narrative's account of his slavery, imprisonment, rise to power, and reunion with his brothers. The Priestly source adds some statistics and gives a list of the people who went down to Egypt.

Modern critics have made various estimates of the historical worth of these narratives of Joseph. As the reputed ancestor of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, he is regarded by some as altogether legendary or even mythical. Others consider the story a semi-independent novella, which has been independently added to the biblical record. The story of Joseph's near seduction by his master's wife bears a marked similarity to the Egyptian story of the Tale of Two Brothers, which was popular at the time of Pharaoh Seti II. It has also been suggested that there are similarities between the rise to power of Joseph, and Manethos' tale of Osarseph, and possibly of Irsu or Chancellor Bay, who was Syrian born, and rose to be Vizier of Egypt, beginning his career under Pharaoh Merenptah and his son Seti II. Indeed the name Potiphar may be version of Merenptah's name (Poti = Ptah, Phar = Pharaoh). The "seven lean years" has been taken to refer to a Middle Eastern famine documented at that time.

Joseph in Christianity and Islam

Joseph's story is recounted in some detail in the New Testament, during Saint Stephen's speak before the Sandhedrin in Acts 7. His prophetic powers are sited as an example of "faith" in Hebrews 11:22. Joseph is regarded as a saint by several Christian churches, including the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, which commemorates him as a patriarch on March 31.

Islamic view

The story of Joseph or Yusuf as it is told in Arabic literature has the same general outlines as the Biblical narrative; but in the Arabic account there is a wealth of accessory detail and incident. Some of these amplifications have been borrowed by Jewish writers (as in the Sefer ha-Yashar; see Grünbaum, "Zu 'Yussuf und Suleicha,'" in "Z. D. M. G." xliii. 1 et seq.). One significant departure in the Qur'anic account of the Joseph story is the use of an unspecified King in place of the Biblical Pharaoh. This alteration places Joseph squarely within the Hyksos period. Joseph is regarded by Muslims as a prophet (Qur'an, suras vi. 84, xl. 36). He is also a type of manly beauty; so that one often finds the expression "a second Joseph," meaning one extraordinarily beautiful. He is likewise called the "Moon of Canaan." A great many public works in Egypt have been attributed to him. Some believe that he built the city of Memphis, and that he was instrumental in building the obelisks and pyramids. He also instructed the Egyptians in science. In the Qur'an a whole chapter (sura xii.) is devoted to Joseph; and the commentators add many details to this "best of stories" (sura xii. 3).

Joseph and Zulaikha

The story of Yusuf and Zulaikha is a favorite love-song in the East, and the Persian poet Firdowsi has written on the subject an epic which begins with Jacob's suit for Rachel. The narrative, however, among the Muslims is more than a simple love-tale. Their theologians use it to symbolize the spiritual love between God and the soul (D'Herbelot, "Bibliothèque Orientale," iii. 371). Zulaikha or Ra'il is the wife of Kitfir or Itfir (the Biblical Potiphar), through whose accusations, although they are proved to be false, Yusuf is thrown into prison. After his phenomenal rise to power, as he is passing through the street one day his attention is attracted by a beggar woman whose bearing shows traces of former greatness. Upon stopping to speak to her he discovers Zulaikha, who has been left in misery at the death of her husband. Yusuf causes her to be taken to the house of a relative of the king, and soon obtains permission to marry her, she having lost none of her former beauty nor any of her first love for him.

Other features in the Arabic history of Yusuf which are lacking in the Old Testament narrative, are the stories of Jacob and the wolf and of Joseph at his mother's tomb (contained in a manuscript at Madrid). After Joseph's brothers had returned to their father with the coat dipped in blood, Jacob was so prostrated that for several days he was as one dead. Then he began to wonder that the garment had no rents or marks of claws and teeth, and suspicions of the truth arose in his mind. To allay his doubts the brothers scoured the country and caught in a net a wolf, which they brought alive to their father. Jacob, after reproaching the wolf for its cruelty, asked it to relate how it came to commit so wicked a deed; whereupon Allah opened the mouth of the dumb beast and it talked, disclaiming any connection with the death of Yusuf. It even expressed sympathy for the grieving father, saying that it had itself lost its own dear child. The patriarch was much affected by this tale, and entertained the wolf hospitably before sending it on its way with his blessing.

The story of Yusuf at his mother's tomb shows the boy's piety and forgiving nature. As the caravan bearing him to Egypt passed near his mother's grave Yusuf slipped away unnoticed and fell upon the tomb in an agony of tears and prayer. For this he was severely abused, whereupon a storm suddenly arose, making further progress impossible. Only when Yusuf had forgiven the offender did the storm disappear. This Poema de José was written in Spanish with Arabic characters by a Morisco, who had forgotten the language of his forefathers, but still remembered their traditions. These stories are found in the Sefer ha-Yashar also; but their origin is certainly Arabic (see Grünbaum, l.c.).

Differences of tradition

There are certain minor points in which the Islamic story differs from the Biblical. In the Qur'an the brothers ask Jacob to let Joseph go with them. The pit into which Joseph is thrown is a well with water in it, and Joseph was taken as a slave by passing-by travellers (Qur'an 12:19).

In one account, Joseph's face possessed such a peculiar brilliancy that his brothers noticed the different light in the sky as soon as he appeared above the edge of the well, and they came back to claim him as their slave. This same peculiarity was noticeable when they went to Egypt: although it was evening when they entered the city, his face diffused such a light that the astonished inhabitants came out to see the cause of it.

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

In one Talmudic story, Joseph was buried in the Nile, as there was some dispute as to which province should be honored by having his tomb within its boundaries. Moses, led there by an ancient holy woman named Serach, was able by a miracle to raise the sarcophagus and to take it with him at the time of the Exodus. There is no mention of that in the Bible or the Qur'an.

Other versions

The story of Joseph (Arabic يوسف Yūsuf) is also told in chapter 12 of the Qur'an. This is the Muslim version. Another source is Sefer ha-Yashar

The "Story of the Two Brothers," an Egyptian romance written for the son of a 12th century B.C.E. Pharaoh, contains an episode somewhat similar to the Biblical account of Joseph's treatment by Potiphar's wife. Scholars disagree as to whether the two stories shared a common source.

Joseph in literature and culture

Thomas Mann retells the Genesis stories surrounding Joseph in his four novel omnibus, Joseph and His Brothers, identifying Joseph with the figure of Osarseph known from Josephus, and the pharaoh with Akhenaten.

Joseph figures prominently in Anita Diamant's novel The Red Tent, which retells the story of Dinah, his sister.

The musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is about Joseph's story.

Children of Jacob by wife in order of birth (D = Daughter)

Leah

Reuben (1)

Simeon (2)

Levi (3)

Judah (4)

Issachar (9)

Zebulun (10)

Dinah (D)

Rachel

Joseph (11)

Benjamin (12)

Bilhah (Rachel's servant)

Dan (5)

Naphtali (6)

Zilpah (Leah's servant)

Gad (7)

Asher (8)

See also

• Similarities between Jesus and Joseph
• Genesis
• Torah portions on Joseph: Vayeshev, Miketz, Vayigash, and Vayechi.

Prophets of Islam in the Qur'an
Adam	Idris	Nuh	Hud	Saleh	Ibrahim	Lut	Ismail	Is'haq	Yaqub	Yusuf	Ayub
آدم	ادريس	نوح	هود	صالح	إبراهيم	لوط	اسماعيل	اسحاق	يعقوب	يوسف	أيوب
Adam	Enoch	Noah	Eber	Shelah	Abraham	Lot	Ishmael	Isaac	Jacob	Joseph	Job
Shoaib	Musa	Harun	Dhul-Kifl	Daud	Sulayman	Ilyas	Al-Yasa	Yunus	Zakariya	Yahya	Isa	Muhammad
شعيب	موسى	هارون	ذو الكفل	داود	سليمان	إلياس	اليسع	يونس	زكريا	يحيى	عيسى	محمد
Jethro	Moses	Aaron	Ezekiel	David	Solomon	Elijah	Elisha	Jonah	Zechariah	John	Jesus	Paraclete

References

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