Joseph was a spoiled child. He was the most handsome of his siblings. His father favored him over his other sons. Joseph felt privileged and he acted so. That brought out his brothers’ ill feelings towards him; they resented his grandstanding, his showing off of his “superior” looks and intelligence.
They despised him and planned to get rid of him. Some wanted him killed. Others just wanted to sell him into slavery, which they ultimately did. Joseph ended up in Egypt as the slave to an influential couple with a large household. His beauty caught the eyes of the wife, and she desired him. He refused and she claimed he had made advances towards her. He proclaimed his innocence, but he was thrown in jail on her testimony.
Meanwhile, his father had been informed of his death that his brothers had staged, with blood on his coat to prove that he had been killed by a wild beast. The father never gave up hope that Joseph was still alive somewhere.
While in prison, Joseph correctly interpreted a prophetic dream by the pharaoh. This brought him into the graces of the pharaoh, who rewarded him with an appointment to a high office.
During the next famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to purchase grains. Joseph was in charge of Egypt’s food supplies at that time. He recognized his brothers whom he had forgiven, but they did not know him. He revealed his identity and eventually his whole family came to Egypt and began living there. His father’s name had been changed from Jakob to Israel, and Joseph and his elven brothers became the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel.
And then the whole episode of the Exodus from Egypt with Moses occurred to one of the next generations.
No comments:
Post a Comment