The servants say: ‘The rest of you can go, but Benjamin must come with us.’ What will the 10 half brothers do now? He hid a silver cup in the youngest brother's bag (Benjamin). The family, including the Egyptians, mourned him seventy days. The house of Israel acquired many possessions and multiplied exceedingly during the course of seventeen years, even through the worst of the seven-year famine. Joseph Tests His Brothers, Deliverance From Egypt to Israel’s First King, Israel’s First King to Captivity in Babylon, Captivity in Babylon to Rebuilding of Jerusalem’s Walls, Jesus’ Resurrection to Paul’s Imprisonment, Publication download options Why did God allow Joseph to suffer? In the biblical narrative, Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, and rose to become vizier, the second most powerful man in Egypt next to Pharaoh, where his presence and office caused Israel to leave Canaan and settle in Egypt. We’ll touch on what happened to some of these brothers at the moment. Reuben (meaning He has seen my misery -- because Leah knew she wasn’t Jacob’s true love) Rachel, who was Jacob’s true love, was distraught that she could not give him children. Joseph was then summoned. Jacob sent Joseph to see how they were doing. How Many Brothers Did Joseph Have? A declaration he made just as Israel himself was to his firstborn brother Esau. Rav Huna adds one more sale by concluding that after the Medanites sold him to the Egyptians, a fifth sale occurred when the Egyptians sold him to Potiphar. But without letting them know, he also has his special silver cup put into Benjamin’s bag. Joseph was the 11th and most loved son of Jacob and first son of his beloved second wife, Rachel. Question: How many brothers did Joseph have? (Genesis 50:15–21), Joseph lived to the age of 110, living to see his great-grandchildren. He comforted them and their ties were reconciled. 8. [9] Joseph requested that the cup-bearer mention him to Pharaoh to secure his release from prison,[10] but the cup-bearer, reinstalled in office, forgot Joseph. Pharaoh gave him the name "Zaphnath-Paaneah" (Hebrew צָפְנַת פַּעְנֵחַ Ṣāfnaṯ Paʿnēaḫ, LXX Ψονθομφανήχ (p)sontʰ-(ŏm)pʰanêkʰ; Genesis 41:45). When Joseph’s father, Jacob, heard the news, his entire family left to go visit Joseph in Egypt. (Genesis 46:1–34). When the brothers revealed to the father that a wolf had eaten Joseph, he observed patience. After relaying his prophecies, Israel died. Joseph placed his brothers in prison for three days. Abraham is known as the patriarch of the Israelite people through Isaac, the son born to him and Sarah in their old age and the patriarch of Arabs through his son Ishmael, born to Abraham and Hagar-Sarah's Egyptian servant.. The brothers had been seated at the table, facing Joseph, in the order of their age from the oldest to the youngest. (Genesis 37:36, Genesis 39:1) Later, Joseph became Potiphar's personal servant, and subsequently his household's superintendent. Matthew and Mark mention the sisters, but neither the number nor the names are given. When they met, they embraced each other and wept together for quite a while. Rather, he requested to be carried to the land of Canaan to be buried with his forefathers. No wonder Joseph showed so little concern for his father’s feelings in the demands he made of his brothers. (Genesis 42:29–43:15), Upon their return to Egypt, the brothers were received by the steward of the house of Joseph. During the seven years of abundance, Joseph ensured that the storehouses were full and that all produce was weighed. Joseph interpreted this dream as the cup-bearer being restored as cup-bearer to the Pharaoh within three days. Because Joseph the Dreamer predicts the future by analyzing dreams, alternative Jewish tradition claims that he practiced divination using this silver cup as the steward charged[55] and as Joseph himself claimed in Genesis 44:15.[56]. [41] Others compare the burial of his bones at Shechem, with the disposal of Dionysus's bones at Delphi. My Book of Bible Stories, Audio download options It wouldn’t have been hard! From far away they saw Joseph coming and said to one another: ‘Here comes that dreamer. Abravanel explains that she had accused other servants of the same crime in the past. Joseph is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on 26 July. Joseph now does something to test his 10 half brothers. Before he died, he made the children of Israel swear that when they left the land of Egypt they would take his bones with them, and on his death his body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. When they catch up with them, the servants say: ‘Why have you stolen our master’s silver cup?’, ‘We have not stolen his cup,’ the brothers all say. [34][35] The period of Joseph and Israel in Egypt (Genesis 39:50), where they were in favour at the Egyptian court and Joseph held high administrative positions next to the ruler of the land, would correspond to the time the Hyksos ruled in Egypt, during the Fifteenth Dynasty. Whybray, “The Making of the Pentateuch: A Methodological Study” (Sheffield Academic Press, 1999) pp. He could not control himself any longer and so he sent the Egyptian men out of the house. [20] All three insights are now widely accepted,[21] and the majority of modern biblical scholars date the Joseph story in its current form to the 5th century BCE Persian era at the earliest. According to the Midrash, Joseph would have been immediately executed by the sexual assault charge against him by Potiphar's wife. Mike Bennett is editorial content manager for the Church of God, a … I will not let you take my youngest son Benjamin.’ But when their food begins to run out, Jacob has to let them take Benjamin to Egypt so they can get more food. The favoritism Israel showed Joseph and the plot against him by his brothers were divine means of getting him into Egypt. A fourth group in verse 36 is named in Hebrew as m‘danîm that is properly identified as Medanites. Joseph (/ˈdʒoʊzɪf, -sɪf/; Hebrew: יוֹסֵף‎, lit. Jacob became greatly distressed feeling that they treated him badly. But without letting them know, he also has his special silver cup put into Benjamin’s bag. Since Joseph and Benjamin were born from Rachel, this test was necessary to reveal if they would betray Benjamin as they did with Joseph when he was seventeen. TERMS OF USE In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá'u'lláh states that "from my laws, the sweet-smelling savour of my garment can be smelled" and, in the Four Valleys, states that "the fragrance of his garment blowing from the Egypt of Baha," referring to Joseph. joseph's family would bow down to him. When Joseph was seventeen years old he had two dreams that made his brothers plot his demise. See Family of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. Then Israel laid his left hand on the eldest Mannasseh's head and his right hand on the youngest Ephraim's head and blessed Joseph. Cause me to die as a Muslim and join me with the righteous " (Qur'an 12:101). [g] Then he had their donkeys prepared with grain and sent the other brothers back to Canaan. [70] Similarly, the eldest son of Jacob had decided not to leave the land because of the oath taken to protect Benjamin beforehand. 44-4: Judah offers himself up to Joseph just as Yeshua did for His brothers; 44-3: In Genesis, the tribes of Israel showed little regard for human life; 44-2: Why didn't Joseph's brothers recognize him? When they were brought to Joseph's house, they were apprehensive about the returned money in their money sacks. A few years later, Jacob died and Joseph’s brothers sent a message to Joseph, asking him to “please forgive the terrible things [they] did.” (50:17). [67] Joseph is thrown into a well, and was taken as a slave by a passing caravan. [64] Joseph is said to have been extremely handsome, which attracted his Egyptian master's wife to attempt to seduce him. This mandate lasted until the days of Moses. In icons, he is sometimes depicted wearing the nemes headdress of an Egyptian vizier. This is the story of Joseph and his older half brothers. Because of this gift, he was resented by his brothers, who saw the coat as a sign that Joseph would assume family leadership. In the first dream, Joseph and his brothers gathered bundles of grain, of which those his brothers gathered, bowed to his own. In the second dream… [45] The reworked legends and folklore were probably inserted into the developing textual tradition of the Bible between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, he is known as "Joseph the all-comely", a reference not only to his physical appearance, but more importantly to the beauty of his spiritual life. Joseph wept as they spoke and told them that what had happened was God's purpose to save lives and the lives of his family. 11. (Genesis 45:1–28), Thus, Jacob (also known as Israel) and his entire house of seventy[14] gathered up with all their livestock and began their journey to Egypt. They commemorate him on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before Christmas) and on Holy and Great Monday (Monday of Holy Week). According to the book of Genesis, the12 brothers are the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel that bear their names. After identifying the Hebrew names, Rabbi Judah claims that Joseph was sold four times: First his brothers sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites (Yishma'elîm), then the Ishmaelites sold him to the Midianite traders (ʼnāshîm midyanîm sōĥrîm), the Midianite traders to the Medanites (m‘danîm), and the Medanites into Egypt. The story concludes by Joseph praying " my lord you have indeed bestowed upon me of the sovereignty and taught me something of the interpretation of dreams- the (only) creator of heavens and the earth! Then Israel called all of his sons in and prophesied their blessings or curses to all twelve of them in order of their ages. The next two instances of dream interpretation establish his reputation as a great interpreter of dreams; first, he begins in a low place, interpreting the dreams of prisoners. He withdrew to his chambers and wept. However, Michaela Davey (Mastering Theology) describes the story of Joseph as a novella - a short fictional story. At this time, Joseph's father was 147 years old and bedridden. Here it also is something As they approached Egyptian territory, Judah went ahead to ask Joseph where the caravan should unload. My Book of Bible Stories, Share Why did God bless Joseph? The first mention of Ishmaelites (Yishma'elîm) is in verse 25. So the servants search through all the bags, and they find the cup in Benjamin’s bag, just as you see here. The older brothers were shepherds, and Joseph was sometimes with them. Read more about these events in Genesis chapters 37 to 47. Here, Potiphar's wife (called Zuleika in later tradition) tried to seduce Joseph, which he refused. In analyzing Genesis Chapter 37, there are five different Hebrew names used to describe five different groups of people involved in the transaction of selling Joseph, according to Rabbi Judah and Rav Huna. There are numerous mentions of Joseph in Bahá'í writings. If Joseph died early and Jesus and his brothers and sisters grew up “fatherless” this surely would have had an important psychological and sociological impact on the family. The money they brought was double what they had from the first trip. Joseph interpreted this dream as the baker being hanged within three days and having his flesh eaten by birds. "he will add",[1] Standard: Yosef, Tiberian: Yôsēp̄; Arabic: يوسف‎ Yūsuf or Yūsif; Ancient Greek: Ἰωσήφ Iōsēph) is an important figure in the Bible's Book of Genesis. Most scholars[46] place its composition in a genre that flourished in the Persian period of the Exile. Learn more about the story of Joseph's coat of many colors from our summary and the Bible verses provided … Their entire story is found in Genesis 29-50 . [34] The time of Moses and the migration to Canaan related in The Exodus could also correspond to the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt. Joseph understood what they were saying and removed himself from their presence because he was caught in emotion. The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. Muhammad is believed to have once said, "One half of all the beauty God apportioned for mankind went to Joseph and his mother; the other one half went to the rest of mankind. (Genesis Rabbah 84:22). He brought them closer and relayed to them the events that had happened and told them not to fear, that what they had meant for evil, God had meant for good. This tendency, although greatly diminished, was followed throughout late antiquity, the Medieval Era, and into the Reformation. (Genesis 37:12–35), Ultimately, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard. He has his servants fill up all their bags with food. The exposition contains Joseph's beginnings as a dreamer; this leads him into trouble as, out of jealousy, his brothers sell him into slavery. The children of Israel remembered their oath, and when they left Egypt during the Exodus, Moses took Joseph's bones with him. However, they agreed to be escorted back to Egypt. Then there’s the nature of Joseph’s treatment of his brothers. how many brothers did joseph have? Afterward, Joseph's family personally met the Pharaoh of Egypt. [54], Jewish tradition holds that Joseph had his steward plant his personal silver cup in Benjamin's sack to test his brothers. Joseph’s shrewdness had the intended effect of testing his brothers’ integrity, and they returned the silver Joseph had secretly packed in the baggage (Gen. 43:20-21). Joseph’s brothers think that their current predicament, including one of their brothers being imprisoned (42:19), is God repaying them for what they did to Joseph (42:21-22). The steward put them at ease, telling them not to worry about the money, and brought out their brother Simeon. [69] But in Islam they returned leaving behind Benjamin because the mizzen bowl of the king was found in his bag. [2], In rabbinic tradition, Joseph is considered the ancestor of another Messiah called "Mashiach ben Yosef", according to which he will wage war against the evil forces alongside Mashiach ben David and die in combat with the enemies of God and Israel. what was the recurring theme in joseph's dream? [13] After questioning them, he accused them of being spies. 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