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“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
(Romans
8:2)
Joseph
– Britannica
Joseph
biblical figure
Charles Preston
Britannica Editors
July 9, 2026 •History
Joseph, in the Hebrew Bible, son of the patriarch Jacob and
his wife Rachel. As Jacob’s name became synonymous with all Israel, Joseph’s
was eventually equated with all the tribes that made up the northern kingdom of
the Israelites. Although Joseph is an important figure in the Bible, he is not
accorded the position of patriarch, unlike his forefathers Jacob, Isaac, and
Abraham. According to tradition, his bones were buried at Shechem (located near
modern Nablus), oldest of the northern shrines (Joshua 24:32). His story, told
in Genesis (37–50), relates his enslavement and rise to prominence in Egypt. In
the text Joseph is notable for his multicolored coat, his prophetic dreams, his
skill at dream interpretation, as well as his divinely provided success at
every turn.
Dreams, brothers, and a colorful coat
Since Joseph is the first son of Jacob’s favored wife Rachel,
he is the favorite of Jacob’s 13 children. To show his favor, Jacob makes
Joseph an ornate coat of many colors. Joseph’s 11 brothers, however, despise
him and are jealous of his favored position. The brothers’ animosity worsens
when Joseph relates to them a dream in which the brothers, represented by
sheaves of grain they were binding, all bowed down to his sheaf of grain.
Another dream of Joseph’s, in which the Sun, the Moon, and 11 stars bowed to
him, further exacerbates their jealousy and contempt.
Later in the account Jacob sends Joseph to check on his
brothers, who are grazing their flocks near Shechem. The jealous brothers see
him and plot to kill him, although Reuben, the first son of Jacob’s wife Leah,
tempers their plans. They instead throw Joseph into a dry well and take his
special colorful coat. When a caravan of Midianites, also identified in the
text as Ishmaelites, passes by, the brothers sell Joseph into slavery, and the
caravan transfers him to Egypt. The brothers slaughter a goat, dip Joseph’s
coat in the goat’s blood, and bring the coat to Jacob, who becomes distraught
over the supposed violent death of his beloved son—assumed to be a wild
animal’s doing.
Life in Egypt
The Ishmaelites sell Joseph to Potiphar, the captain of the
Pharaoh’s guard in Egypt. Potiphar observes that Joseph is successful in his
endeavors and favored by God, so the Egyptian gives the Israelite additional
responsibilities that result in still further flourishing. Potiphar’s wife,
however, attempts to seduce Joseph, and he refuses her advances. She falsely
accuses the enslaved Hebrew of trying to force himself on her.
Falsely imprisoned in Egypt for attempting to sexually
assault Potiphar’s wife, Joseph nevertheless retains his divine favor, is given
responsibilities in the jail, and becomes recognized for his knack for dream
interpretation. Two years later Pharaoh begins to have incomprehensible dreams
and learns that the imprisoned Joseph is gifted at dream interpretation. Joseph
reads Pharaoh’s dreams as foretelling that God will send Egypt—and surrounding
regions including Joseph’s native Canaan—seven years of abundance followed by
seven years of famine. Joseph advises Pharaoh to store grain during the time of
abundance in order to feed everyone during the time of famine. Impressed by
this counsel, Pharaoh elevates Joseph to second-in-command.
During the time of famine, Joseph’s brothers—excluding the
youngest Benjamin, Rachel’s other son and Joseph’s only full brother—come to
Egypt desperate to buy food, and they indeed bow before him, as Joseph’s dream
had predicted. Joseph recognizes them, but they do not recognize him, and he
speaks to them through a translator. He accuses them of being spies, orders
them to return with their youngest brother, and holds Simeon in jail until they
return. After a trip back to Canaan, the brothers return again to Egypt with
Benjamin, reluctantly sent by Jacob. After multiple emotional interactions,
during which he often hides his weeping, Joseph finally reveals himself to his
brothers. Jacob eventually joins them, and the Israelites settle in Goshen in
Egypt. Jacob’s family remains in Egypt, where they grow and prosper. Later in
life Joseph forgives his brothers for their mistreatment of him. Nearing death
at age 110, Joseph foresees that his descendants will eventually return to
Canaan, the land promised by God to his forefathers. As the Book of Exodus
continues the story, a subsequent pharaoh oppresses the Israelites. As the
Israelites escape enslavement in Egypt, Moses takes Joseph’s bones with him to
bury at Shechem in Canaan, which the Israelites do only at the very end of the
Book of Joshua.
Reception and legacy
The story of Joseph, often called a novella, is a carefully
wrought piece of literary craftsmanship. Though it features the personality of
Joseph, it is introduced (Genesis 37:2) as the “history of the family of
Jacob.” Throughout the narrative, Joseph’s emotions are described as he
journeys from egotism to sadness to forgiveness while navigating interpersonal
situations, thus giving the story, according to some interpreters, a strong
psychological dimension. Authorities agree that parts of the story show
dependence upon the ancient Egyptian “Tale of Two Brothers,” but in
characteristically Hebrew style, the narrator in Genesis has ignored the
mythical and magical motifs in the Egyptian tale, and the focus of the outcome
is placed on its meaning for the whole house of Jacob (Israel).
The purpose of the story, on one level, is to relate the
preservation of the lineage of Israel. Its people survive despite their own
foolishness and wickedness, indeed, ironically, in part because of these. The
story is told as a testimony to the operation of divine providence. Joseph’s
comment to his brothers in Genesis 50:20 sums up its religious moral: “Even
though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to
preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.” But while God turns the
provocations of the spoiled son and the jealousy and deceptions of his brothers
to good account, the final positive outcome is due to the faithfulness of
Joseph, true to Israel’s ideals under all circumstances and ever mindful of his
obligations to his people.
In addition to the themes of divine favor and lineage, some
interpreters have read other messages in Joseph’s account. According to some
commentators, Joseph serves as a model for the “court Jew,” the Jewish
assistant or counselor to royalty who finds a place of importance within a
political structure while also acting to rescue and help his people. For some
Christian readers, however, Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers at the end of
the narrative (Genesis 50, the last chapter of Genesis) is the paramount
takeaway message.
Quick Facts
Notable Family Members: father Jacob
Over the centuries, the story of Joseph has been retold in
literary and dramatic forms. George Frideric Handel wrote an oratorio titled
Joseph and his Brethren, which was first performed in 1744. In the 1930s German
novelist Thomas Mann wrote a series of four books called Joseph and His
Brothers (German: Joseph und seine Brüder) that adapt the biblical narrative
into a novelistic bildungsroman. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim
Rice teamed up in the 1960s to produce the popular musical adaptation of the
story, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which opened in the West
End in 1973 and on Broadway in 1982. A direct-to-video version of the musical
was released in 1999 starring Donny Osmond as Joseph and Richard Attenborough
as Jacob. Noted poet and translator Stephen Mitchell retold the story as a
modern novel in Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness (2019), which fills out the
story with psychological depth and emphasizes the theme of forgiveness.
Charles Preston The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica