Joseph - Part I

The Sojourn in Egypt

Joseph was the long-awaited answer to the prayers of his parents, Jacob and Rachel. Though they were smitten with love at first sight, their marriage was subjected to repeated frustrations.

First, Rachel's father, Laban, substituted her older sister, Leah, on the wedding night, forcing Jacob to marry and pay for two wives instead of just the one he loved. Then Rachel experienced 13 years of infertility, while her older sister Leah bore multiple children.

In the fourteenth year, Rachel finally conceived a child. He would be named Joseph. Because Jacob loved Rachel, he doubtless would have wanted to recognize Joseph as his firstborn son. But the law of God required him to recognize Leah’s son Reuben. However, as the events of their lives unfolded, Joseph would prove himself to be worthy of the double portion.

Rachel died in childbirth about the 21st year of her marriage, when Joseph was about seven years old. Raising Joseph and his baby brother Benjamin on his own, Jacob heavily favored Rachel’s sons above the others. He gave Joseph the coat of many colors (which was probably a plaid tartan) as a sign of that favor. This made Joseph's older brothers jealous of him.

When Joseph began having dreams portending that he would become a ruler over his family, this was too much for his brothers to bear. They threw him into a pit with the intention of killing him. However, Judah persuaded his brothers to sell Joseph into slavery instead of shedding his blood.

Thus, at the age of 17, Joseph found himself sold to a caravan of Arabs on the way to Egypt. There he was sold to a man named Potiphar, who was the captain of the King's guard. The year was 1728 BC.

One year earlier, Amenemhat I, the King of Thebes, had established a new capital in the far North, probably in Zoan, now called Tanis. Egypt at that time had four royal cities, each with its own king: Thinis, Memphis, Thebes, and Heracleopolis.

After a civil war that had lasted 56 years, Amenemhat had unified the country and created a new federal government. He was the High King of Dynasty 12, and as his right-hand man, he established the 13th Dynasty as his “cabinet king”. The kings of Memphis, Heracleopolis, and Thebes were subordinate to him, and to his Dynasty 13 protégé.

Amenemhat appears to have ended the Thinis Dynasty, perhaps because he viewed himself as the heir to Egypt's oldest royal line. His propaganda stated that he was the fulfillment of the “repetition of births,” which was an Egyptian idea similar to reincarnation. Thus, Amenemhat presented himself as a reincarnation of Osiris, the founder king of Egypt whose mythology was based on the biblical Nimrod.

Amenemhat's new capital was named Itj-Tawy, meaning “seizer of the two lands” in reference to the fact that Amenemhat was a vizier who had seized the throne of Upper and Lower Egypt.

The fact that Amenemhat was a competent man of merit who ascended to the throne may explain why he created Dynasty 13 as a line of kings appointed from the nobility to serve him. He was creating a meritocracy ruled by men like himself. And by doing so, he was creating a class of kings in Egypt who were appointed based on their merit, not their descent from a royal house. The interests of such men were aligned with his own because their power and prestige depended on the continuation of this new chapter of Egyptian government. This created the conditions for Joseph to be raised to the throne thirteen years later. And it also meant that Amenemhat had made enemies in the powerful families, enemies who had much to gain if the government of Egypt stayed as it was before.

Bust of Amenemhat I

Joseph in Prison

We know from the biblical account that Joseph prospered in Potiphar's house until he was promoted to foreman because of his competence and reliability. However, Joseph also caught the eye of Potipher's wife. She unsuccessfully attempted to seduce Joseph. As hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned, when he rebuffed her advances, she falsely accused him of assaulting her. Taking her word at face value, Potiphar threw Joseph into the prison with the King's political prisoners.

We don't know how old Joseph was when he was cast into prison. We only know that he was 17 when he was sold into slavery, and that he spent at least two years in prison, and probably double that.

Despite his life seemingly to be over and his hopes of ever marrying nonexistent, God had positioned Joseph exactly where He wanted him to be. In the next episode, we will look at the incredible and unlikely chain of events that redeemed Joseph’s life from the pit.