Joseph was the patriarch Jacob's eleventh son and the first from his mother, Rachel. After being sold into Egypt as a slave by his brothers, he became a master dream interpreter and adviser to Pharaoh. Thanks to Joseph, his father, his brothers, and their families were all able to move to Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan.
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The Joyous Birth of JosephTANAKH
The Joyous Birth of Joseph
TANAKH
The birth of Joseph — Jacob’s eleventh son but the firstborn son of Jacob’s wife, Rachel — is a story of divine intervention, as Rachel had struggled with infertility. The book of Genesis recounts the birth of Joseph as well as the significance of his name.
The Seeds of JealousyMIDRASH
The Seeds of Jealousy
MIDRASH
The story of Joseph and his brothers is a classic tale of sibling rivalry, and it begins with Jacob, their father, choosing Joseph as his favorite son. The early medieval Midrash Tanchuma warns of the dangers of favoritism and jealousy, highlighting Jacob’s own role in causing the rivalry.
Joseph’s Rise to PowerCOMMENTARY
Joseph’s Rise to Power
COMMENTARY
After Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams and warns of an economic disaster, Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of the Egyptian economy. The fifteenth-century Spanish biblical commentator Abarbanel — who, like the biblical Joseph, served as an advisor to kings — describes how challenging it was for Pharaoh to put Joseph in such a distinguished role and how Pharaoh established Joseph’s credibility.
A Dreamer and a ProphetCOMMENTARY
A Dreamer and a Prophet
COMMENTARY
Joseph was both a dreamer and an interpreter of dreams, and each dream that he encountered held important insight about the future. In her contemporary collection of essays on the weekly Torah portion, Rabbanit Michal Tikochinsky explores the prophetic dimension of dreams.
Joseph, Sustainer of EgyptKABBALAH
Joseph, Sustainer of Egypt
KABBALAH
While Joseph was in Egypt, he helped to make sure that the people in Egypt and the surrounding lands had enough to eat during the years of famine. The Zohar, the foundational work of Jewish mysticism, likens Joseph to natural and celestial bodies, which, according to the mystical tradition, nourish the earth.
Joseph’s Careful Way with WordsMUSAR
Joseph’s Careful Way with Words
MUSAR
Joseph does not punish his brothers for their mistreatment of him as a boy and instead chooses a path of forgiveness and reconciliation. Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan, a nineteenth-century halakhic writer known as the Chafetz Chaim, uses Joseph's interactions with his brothers to illustrate the importance of ethical speech and behavior.
Joseph’s Moral StrengthTALMUD
Joseph’s Moral Strength
TALMUD
While a house-servant in the home of an Egyptian official, Joseph resists the advances of his master’s wife. The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Sotah offers an account of Joseph’s struggle against his desires and the reward he ultimately receives.
Joseph, Ancestor of the MessiahJEWISH THOUGHT
Joseph, Ancestor of the Messiah
JEWISH THOUGHT
The figure of Joseph is not just a biblical character — he also inspires elements of Jewish eschatology. In his nineteenth-century work, Hillel Rivlin explores the role of a messianic figure known as the “son of Joseph,” who will pave the way for the ingathering of the exiles and the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
Carrying Joseph’s LegacyMIDRASH
Carrying Joseph’s Legacy
MIDRASH
Joseph dies in Egypt, but centuries later, the Israelites carry his remains with them to the land of Israel. The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, a third-century midrashic commentary on the book of Exodus from the land of Israel, compares the ark carrying Joseph’s bones to the ark of the covenant, emphasizing the importance of Joseph’s legacy.
The Firstborn OxCOMMENTARY
The Firstborn Ox
COMMENTARY
In his blessing to Joseph’s descendants at the end of the Torah, Moses refers to Joseph as a “firstborn ox.” In his nineteenth-century commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin understands this metaphor as speaking to Joseph’s powerful influence on the world around him.
Joseph’s Final Resting PlaceTANAKH
Joseph’s Final Resting Place
TANAKH
The Israelites bring Joseph’s bones with them when they leave Egypt and enter the land of Israel, in accordance with Joseph’s final wishes. In the book of Joshua, the Israelites bury Joseph’s bones in Shechem, a plot of land earlier purchased by his father Jacob.
The Echoes of Joseph’s StoryLITURGY
The Echoes of Joseph’s Story
LITURGY
The brothers’ kidnapping and selling of Joseph into slavery reverberates through later Jewish tradition. The story of the Ten Martyrs, recited as part of the Yom Kippur liturgy, describes the sale of Joseph as a pretext for the execution of ten Jewish leaders many centuries later, during the Roman period.
