Joseph
Also identified as Joseph son of Jacob
Joseph moves from favored son to enslaved prisoner and then to a position of power in Egypt. The carefully structured story turns on dreams, recognition and the slow testing of his brothers.
Joseph in the larger story
Joseph’s position preserves the family during famine and explains the transition from the ancestral narratives in Canaan to Israel’s presence in Egypt at the opening of Exodus.
Key moments and where to read them
Sold by his brothers
Family jealousy turns into trafficking and a false report of death.
Genesis 37Interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams
Joseph reads the dreams as seven years of abundance followed by famine.
Genesis 41Reconciliation
Joseph reveals his identity after a series of encounters with his brothers.
Genesis 42–45
Primary reference trail
Genesis 30:22–24 · Genesis 37–50 · Psalm 105:16–23 · Acts 7:9–16
The references above locate the profile’s central claims. They are not a concordance of every possible allusion or later tradition concerning Joseph.