Joseph

Biography

Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob and firstborn of beloved Rachel, lived one of the most remarkable lives in Scripture—a story of rejection, suffering, and exaltation that powerfully prefigures Christ. As Jacob's favorite, Joseph received a special coat and shared dreams of his family bowing to him. His brothers' jealousy led them to sell him to slave traders, telling Jacob he had been killed by a wild animal. In Egypt, Joseph served Potiphar faithfully until falsely accused by Potiphar's wife and imprisoned. Even in prison, Joseph prospered. He interpreted dreams for fellow prisoners, and two years later was brought before Pharaoh to interpret dreams of coming famine. Joseph not only interpreted but proposed a solution, and Pharaoh elevated him to second-in-command over all Egypt. At thirty, the slave became vizier. During seven years of abundance, Joseph stored grain throughout Egypt. When famine struck, his brothers came to buy food, bowing before him without recognition. Joseph tested their character before revealing himself in one of Scripture's most emotional scenes: "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" His forgiveness was complete: "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive." Joseph brought his family to Egypt, cared for them during the famine, and made Jacob's family prosper in Goshen. He lived 110 years, extracting a promise that his bones would be carried to the Promised Land—a faith that looked beyond death to resurrection.