Joseph

Found: Genesis chapter 37 - 50

Joseph's Coat and Dreams (Genesis 37v1-11)

Joseph was Jacob's favourite son. He loved him more than his other children, and even made him a special multi-coloured coat. This made Joseph's brothers jealous and angry at him.

Joseph had some dreams, and he told them to his brothers and his parents. He had a dream where the brothers were binding up sheaves in a field. Joseph's sheaves stood up and the other brothers' sheaves bowed down to him. He had another dream where the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. The brothers thought this meant that Joseph would rule over them and they were angry. They plotted to do something nasty to Joseph.

Sold Into Slavery (Genesis 37v12-36)

Joseph was sent out to look for his brothers who were looking after the sheep. He was being sent to check up on them and report back to his father. When the brothers saw him coming, they made a plan. They would kill him and take his bloodstained coat back to their father saying a wild animal had done it. Reuben didn't want to kill Joseph, so they decided to just throw him in a pit instead. When they had done this, they saw a caravan of traders going by. Realising they could make some money as well as get rid of Joseph, they went back and took Joseph to the traders. They sold him, soaked his coat with goat's blood and took it back to their father. Jacob was very sad at his son's death. Now his only memory of his beloved wife Rachel was her other son, Benjamin.

Meanwhile, joseph was taken by the traders to Egypt. There he was sold as a slave to Potipher, captain of the guard.

Tempted and Imprisoned (Genesis 39)

Joseph did well in Potipher's household. God was with him and he rose in position until he was in charge of all Potipher's possessions. Potipher's wife liked the look of Joseph and tried to seduce him. Day after day she did this and Joseph steadfastly refused her advances. Eventually she grabbed him by his clothes, and demanded that he go with her. Joseph ran away, leaving his clothing in her hands. When Potipher came home he believed his wife's lies about what had happened and threw Joseph in jail.

In Jail (Genesis 39v20-40v23)

Again God was with Joseph. He became trusted in the jail and was put in charge of the other prisoners. The butler and baker of the Pharaoh were in the jail as well, and one day they came to Joseph with dreams they had had. The butler had dreamed of a vine with three branches, which he squeezed into Pharaoh's cup. Joseph told him this meant that after three days he would be restored to his former position. The baker had dreamed of three baskets on his head, with birds eating the bread out of the top one. In this case, Joseph said the baker would three days later be killed and hung on a tree for the birds to eat.

The dreams came true as Joseph had said. The baker was killed and the butler restored to his position. God had shown Joseph the meaning of the dreams. But the butler didn't remember Joseph once he was released, as he had promised.

Pharaoh's Dream (Genesis 41)

Two years later, Pharaoh had some strange dreams. He dreamed of seven fat cows, which were eaten up by seven thin cows which came out of the river. He then dreamed of seven fat ears of corn, which were eaten up by seven scrawny ears of corn. None of Pharaoh's wise men could interpret the dream, but his butler remembered joseph, who had interpreted his dream all that time ago. Pharaoh sent for Joseph.

Joseph came before Pharaoh and explained that God would interpret the dream for him. He then went on to say the dream represented two periods of seven years. The first period would be a time of plenty, when the crops would be bountiful. But after that there would be seven years of famine, when the people would go hungry Joseph advised that Pharaoh should appoint someone to be in charge of the crops, to store them up during the plentiful years and deal them out during the years of famine. Pharaoh appointed Joseph to this job, making him the second most powerful man in Egypt.

The Brothers Come to Egypt (Genesis 42-50)

The seven years of plenty came and went and the famine started. The famine spread to Canaan as well, and Jacob and his sons suffered. They had heard there was grain in Egypt, so Jacob sent his sons (except for Benjamin) to buy some. When they got to Egypt Joseph met them and recognised them. He enquired how their father and youngest brother were, but they didn't recognise him. He gave them grain, but said they should not come back without Benjamin.

The grain did for a while, but soon they needed more. The brothers were sent to Egypt and this time Benjamin went with them. Joseph was so happy to see his brother, but still didn't reveal himself to them. He gave them grain and ordered his men to put his silver cup in Benjamin's sack. When the brothers started back they were caught by the guards, who searched their sacks and found the silver cup. The brothers couldn't explain it, but went back to Joseph with heavy hearts. They knew this meant death for Benjamin.

When the brothers returned, Joseph could bear it no longer and revealed his identity to them. The brothers were afraid because of what they had done to him, but Joseph told them not to worry. What had happened had been God's plan.

The brothers went back to Canaan to fetch their father and the rest of their families. They lived in Egypt and brought their families up there. Jacob died in Egypt, and eventually Joseph died at 110 years old. The children of Israel grew in number in Egypt for a further 400 years.