What is the biblical account of Joseph?

from the old testament

• The story of Joseph is found in Genesis 37—50.
• Joseph was born to Jacob (son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham) and Rachel. Joseph was the eleventh of twelve sons born to Jacob, and the first of two born to Rachel. Rachel was the favorite of Jacob's four wives/concubines, and Joseph was his favorite son.
• As a teen, Jacob made Joseph a special coat — the famous "coat of many colors" — as a special honor. Joseph’s brothers knew their father loved Joseph more than them, and this caused them to hate him (Genesis 37:4).
• Jacob had two dreams, one of sheaves of grain and one of the sun, moon, and stars, that prophesied his family would one day honor him as their lord (Genesis 37:1–11). These prophetic dreams came true.
• When Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers who were out with their sheep, his brothers plotted to kill him. Reuben, the eldest, convinced them to just throw him into a pit without killing him. His plan was to rescue Joseph, but before he could, the other brothers sold Joseph to Midianite traders who took him to Egypt. The brothers took the many-colored coat, smeared animal blood on it, and told Jacob that Joseph had been killed (Genesis 37:12–36).
• Joseph was sold as a slave to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard. God showed Joseph favor and blessed everything he did. Potiphar noticed this and his work and “made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had” (Genesis 39:4).
• Potiphar's wife repeatedly attempted to seduce Joseph, and he repeatedly refused her. He said it was a "great wickedness and sin against God" to give into Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:9). One day Potiphar’s wife grabbed Joseph by the cloak and again tried to seduce him, but Joseph fled, leaving his cloak in her hand. She falsely accused Joseph of seducing her, and Potiphar put him in prison (Genesis 39:7–20).
• While in prison, Joseph was put in charge of the other prisoners, including Pharaoh's baker and cup-bearer. Both of the men had dreams, and Joseph interpreted them, saying that interpretations belong to God (Genesis 40:8). As their dreams revealed, the cup-bearer was released from prison while the baker was executed. But the cup-bearer failed to mention Joseph to Pharaoh as Joseph had requested (Genesis 40:14–15, 23).
• Two years later, Pharaoh dreamed about seven skinny cows eating seven fat cows, but none of the wise men of Egypt could interpret the dream. The cup-bearer remembered Joseph correctly interpreting his dream and told Pharaoh. Joseph was brought to interpret Pharaoh's dream. Joseph prophesied that Egypt would see seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. He then suggested Pharaoh prepare by stocking up on grain during the good years so they could survive the famine (Genesis 41:1–36).
• Pharaoh took Joseph's advice and gave Joseph authority over all Egypt. Joseph married the daughter of an Egyptian priest and had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. When the famine came, Egypt was prepared and the surrounding nations came to Joseph for grain (Genesis 41:37–57).
• Jacob sent his ten older sons to Egypt to buy grain, but they did not recognize their brother (Genesis 42). In a sequence of events, Joseph used his wisdom to test his brothers’ care for their father and youngest brother Benjamin, also a son of Rachel (Genesis 43—44). Convinced of their loyalty, Joseph revealed himself, which terrified his brothers. Joseph explained that what they had done was part of God's plan (Genesis 45:5–8); what they meant for evil, God intended for good (Genesis 50:20). Joseph’s brothers’ wrongdoing had led to the survival of the entire region and of their family.
• Pharaoh heard of the arrival of Joseph's brothers and invited the entire tribe to move to Egypt. After a dream of reassurance, Jacob moved his family to Goshen in Egypt and had a joyful reunion with Joseph. After meeting with Pharaoh, Jacob settled to a much easier life (Genesis 42:1—49:27).
• Joseph continued in his work. The Egyptians and Canaanites had already spent all their gold to buy grain. When the gold was gone, Joseph started accumulating livestock and land. Before the end of the famine, Pharaoh owned everything in Egypt — including the people — except for the priests. The people worked the land they had owned, giving Pharaoh a fifth of what they harvested (Genesis 47:13–26). Pharaoh was provided for by Joseph’s wisdom and hard work.
• As Jacob lay dying, he had Joseph promise to take his bones and bury them in Canaan. He took Joseph's two sons (Ephraim and Manasseh) as his own and blessed them, giving Joseph a double-portion (Genesis 48). When Jacob died, Joseph had him embalmed and mourned. After receiving permission from Pharaoh, Joseph took Jacob's body and buried him in the family tomb east of Mamre (Genesis 49:28—50:14).
• Upon their return to Egypt, Joseph’s brothers were worried that Joseph would seek revenge. He reassured them that they were safe (Genesis 50:15–21).
• Joseph died at the age of 110 and was embalmed in an Egyptian coffin. Over four hundred years later, when Joshua led the Israelites back to Canaan, Joseph's bones were buried in Shechem, in the land Jacob had purchased when he had returned to Canaan from Laban (Genesis 50:22–26; Joshua 24:32).

from the new testament

• Joseph is mentioned in Hebrews 11:21–22: “By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.” Joseph trusted in God’s Word and provision to bring the Israelites to the Promised Land.

implications for today

Joseph’s life reveals that the way God calls us to live is for our good and His glory. Whereas sin brings destruction to ourselves and to others, living His way brings goodness to ourselves and to others. Whereas Jacob’s favoritism led to jealousy and hatred in Joseph’s brothers, Joseph’s integrity and following God’s ways benefitted Potiphar, Pharaoh, the cupbearer, the baker, his brothers, and many others. Whereas Potiphar’s wife’s lust led to wrongly accusing Joseph and throwing him into prison, Joseph endured the injustice and found purpose in his suffering. Joseph continued working with integrity and all could see that the hand of the Lord was upon him.

Joseph persevered through injustice and difficulty because of his trust in God. Regardless of our circumstances, we can trust that God is with us just as “the LORD was with Joseph” (Genesis 39:3, 5, 21, 23; Hebrews 13:5–6). We can also trust that God is at work and like Joseph said: “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). Joseph’s life is a reminder that God can and will restore and work all things for good (Romans 8:28–30). When we trust in God, we can find purpose and His goodness even in difficulty. We can extend mercy and forgiveness because God is merciful and forgiving and calls us to be the same (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 103:8; Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13).