PERSON · PATRIARCH
Joseph
Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers for twenty pieces of silver (Genesis 37:28) and rose to become second-in-command over all Egypt under Pharaoh, overseeing a plan to store grain during seven years of abundance in preparation for seven years of famine (Genesis 41:40–57). His position enabled him to preserve his father Jacob's household and a great multitude of people from starvation (Genesis 45:7; Genesis 50:20). Through him, the family of Israel descended into Egypt, setting the stage for the later Exodus narrative.
Genesis 37:1–36
The Story
He was his father's favourite, the son of Jacob's old age, and the coat of many colours that Jacob gave him was visible enough that his brothers could see it coming from a distance. That visible favour curdled into something dangerous. Scripture records plainly that his brothers hated him, that they could not speak peaceably to him, and that the dreams Joseph recounted — sheaves bowing, stars bowing — only deepened the wound. One senses, from the shape of the narrative, that the household of Jacob was a place of long-simmering grief before the day his brothers stripped that coat from him.
They had gone to feed their father's flocks near Dothan, and Jacob sent Joseph after them. When the brothers saw him coming across the distance, they conspired against him. The pit into which they threw him was empty, Scripture notes, with no water in it — a detail that carries its own weight without elaboration. They sat down to eat. And when a company of Ishmaelite traders appeared, moving toward Egypt, the price they settled on for the son of Jacob was twenty pieces of silver.
28Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
Genesis 37:28·KJV
He was taken down into Egypt, and his father was shown the coat dipped in goat's blood.
In Egypt, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's house and captain of the guard. What follows in the text is one of the quieter theological statements in all of Genesis: whatever Potiphar put in Joseph's hand, God caused it to prosper.
2And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
Genesis 39:2–3·KJV
The LORD was with him — not in a palace, not in freedom, but in a foreign household as another man's purchased property. That presence did not insulate Joseph from further suffering. When Potiphar's wife pressed him, day after day, Joseph refused on the explicit grounds that such a thing would be sin against God.
9There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
Genesis 39:9·KJV
His refusal cost him. She accused him falsely, and he was cast into prison.
Life & Legacy
Death
ScriptureJoseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years in Egypt; he was embalmed and placed in a coffin there. He had previously extracted an oath from the Israelites that they would carry his bones up from Egypt when God visited them (Genesis 50:24–26). Moses later fulfilled this oath by taking Joseph's bones out of Egypt during the Exodus (Exodus 13:19).
Genesis 50:26; Exodus 13:19
Legacy
ScriptureJoseph's bones were eventually buried at Shechem in the plot of ground that Jacob had bought, fulfilling the oath sworn to him (Joshua 24:32). He is listed among those commended for faith in Hebrews 11, specifically for giving instructions about his bones at the end of his life (Hebrews 11:22). Stephen's speech in Acts 7:9–16 recounts Joseph's sale into Egypt and his subsequent rise to authority as a key episode in Israel's history.
Joshua 24:32; Hebrews 11:22; Acts 7:9–16
Character
ScriptureJoseph is recorded as having found favor in the sight of his masters and of the LORD while a slave and while imprisoned, with Scripture noting that the LORD was with him and made whatever he did to prosper (Genesis 39:2–3, 21–23). He resisted the repeated advances of Potiphar's wife, stating he would not sin against God (Genesis 39:9). When he revealed himself to his brothers, he told them not to be distressed at having sold him, stating that God had sent him ahead to preserve life (Genesis 45:5).
Genesis 39:2–3, 9, 21–23; Genesis 45:5
Significance
ScriptureJoseph was sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers for twenty pieces of silver (Genesis 37:28) and rose to become second-in-command over all Egypt under Pharaoh, overseeing a plan to store grain during seven years of abundance in preparation for seven years of famine (Genesis 41:40–57). His position enabled him to preserve his father Jacob's household and a great multitude of people from starvation (Genesis 45:7; Genesis 50:20). Through him, the family of Israel descended into Egypt, setting the stage for the later Exodus narrative.
Genesis 37:28; Genesis 41:40–57; Genesis 45:7; Genesis 50:20
DeathScripture
Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years in Egypt; he was embalmed and placed in a coffin there. He had previously extracted an oath from the Israelites that they would carry his bones up from Egypt when God visited them (Genesis 50:24–26). Moses later fulfilled this oath by taking Joseph's bones out of Egypt during the Exodus (Exodus 13:19).
Genesis 50:26; Exodus 13:19
LegacyScripture
Joseph's bones were eventually buried at Shechem in the plot of ground that Jacob had bought, fulfilling the oath sworn to him (Joshua 24:32). He is listed among those commended for faith in Hebrews 11, specifically for giving instructions about his bones at the end of his life (Hebrews 11:22). Stephen's speech in Acts 7:9–16 recounts Joseph's sale into Egypt and his subsequent rise to authority as a key episode in Israel's history.
Joshua 24:32; Hebrews 11:22; Acts 7:9–16
CharacterScripture
Joseph is recorded as having found favor in the sight of his masters and of the LORD while a slave and while imprisoned, with Scripture noting that the LORD was with him and made whatever he did to prosper (Genesis 39:2–3, 21–23). He resisted the repeated advances of Potiphar's wife, stating he would not sin against God (Genesis 39:9). When he revealed himself to his brothers, he told them not to be distressed at having sold him, stating that God had sent him ahead to preserve life (Genesis 45:5).
Genesis 39:2–3, 9, 21–23; Genesis 45:5
SignificanceScripture
Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers for twenty pieces of silver (Genesis 37:28) and rose to become second-in-command over all Egypt under Pharaoh, overseeing a plan to store grain during seven years of abundance in preparation for seven years of famine (Genesis 41:40–57). His position enabled him to preserve his father Jacob's household and a great multitude of people from starvation (Genesis 45:7; Genesis 50:20). Through him, the family of Israel descended into Egypt, setting the stage for the later Exodus narrative.
Genesis 37:28; Genesis 41:40–57; Genesis 45:7; Genesis 50:20
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