JOSEPH

Jacob, also known as Israel, the third patriarch of the Jewish people and the ancestor of the 12 tribes of Israel, was forced to flee from his native city to his mother’s brother, Laban. He fell in love with Laban’s youngest daughter, Rachel, and worked hard for seven years to earn her hand in marriage. Laban, however, under false pretenses, gave Jacob his less beautiful eldest daughter, Leah, instead of Rachel.

Jacob agreed to work for another seven years in order to marry Rachel, after which he had two wives: Rachel and Leah, who ultimately ended up vying for the attention of their husband. This rivalry was expressed, among other things, in the birth of children - to such an extent that when one of the sisters could not get pregnant, she would “give Jacob her handmaid to wife.”

From these four women, Jacob had 12 sons, who became the founders of the 12 tribes (kin groups) of Israel, thus engendering the entire Jewish people. Jacob’s most beloved son was Joseph, the firstborn of his wife Rachel, whom he had longed to marry for so many years. The brothers hated Joseph for this and even “could not speak peaceably unto him.” Joseph also possessed an extraordinary gift: he saw prophetic dreams and knew how to interpret them.

The brothers conspired against Joseph and decided to kill him, but one of them suggested they “lay no hand upon him” and instead bind him and let him die. While they were considering this option, they saw a passing caravan and decided to sell Joseph into slavery. This is how Joseph ended up in Egypt, where he was acquired by a courtier of the Pharaoh. Over time, Joseph - thanks to his talents - rose to join the Pharaoh’s retinue.

However, misfortune struck, and Joseph was imprisoned in the dungeon, where the Pharaoh’s butler and baker were also being held. Joseph successfully interpreted their dreams, and word of this reached the Pharaoh himself, who wanted his own dreams interpreted. Joseph predicted seven years of famine in Egypt, but, as the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed—and thanks to Joseph, starvation was averted.

Joseph’s brothers, however, had not been forewarned, and lacking sustenance, they had to go to Egypt to ask for bread, where they encountered Joseph. In this way, Joseph saved not only the Pharaoh and Egypt, but also the entire nation of Israel from famine and extinction.