This lengthy article has been divided across 5 blogs or 5 parts.
Perspective Digest: A Publication of the Adventist Theological Society.
By: Jo Ann Davidson
Joseph
Introduced in Genesis 37 as one of Jacob’s 12 sons, Joseph is presented as a leading patriarchal figure, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been. In fact, Joseph occupies more space in Genesis than any other patriarch. Joseph’s two sons also received equal status with Jacob’s other sons as progenitors of the Israelite tribes, as noted above (comment added: as noted in Part 1). Moreover, because of Joseph’s leadership in Egypt, the promised divine blessings to the nations through Abraham’s seed (Gen. 12:1, 2; 22:18) begin to be fulfilled. There are also numerous narrative details about Joseph’s life that correspond with the New Testament narratives of Jesus.
Regarding Joseph:
• He is favored by his father; (Jesus was favored by the Father);
• He is given a vision of the sons of Israel worshiping him; (Jesus received and accepted
worship over 100 times in the NT, and Isaiah 66:23 tells us in the new heave and the new
earth all humanity will worship him);
• His brothers conspire to kill him as he comes to serve and save them; (Our sins and the
penalty of death we should have paid was placed upon Jesus which killed him);
• He is unsuccessfully defended by Reuben, (similar to Pilate’s interaction with Jesus);
• He is eventually thrown into a pit and sold for 30 pieces of silver through the mediation of
Judah (whose name, in Greek form, would be “Judas”) – Judas betrayed Jesus for 30
pieces of silver;
• His coat is dipped in blood, the blood of a goat (the animal linked with atonement in
Leviticus), and presented to Jacob, his father;
• He goes to a “far country” and determines to be faithful to God—just as Jesus went to a
“far country” and was faithful to His Father;
• He finds safety in Egypt (as did baby Jesus);
• He prospers in all that he does because God is with him; throughout his ordeal in exile as
the narrative states, “the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love” (Gen.
39:21, ESV);
• He fights strong temptation and wins; (Jesus fought the temptation of the devil in the
wilderness and won);
• He is falsely accused of wrongdoing and unjustly punished, remaining faithful despite
terrible suffering; (Jesus was falsely accused by the chief priests and elders);
• He is positioned between two criminals in Genesis 40: one a baker—a maker of bread; the
other a cupbearer—a server of wine; (Jesus is placed between to thieves);
• He prophesies the salvation of one and the death of the other—just as Jesus will promise
salvation to one of the criminals with Him on the Cross;
• He is finally vindicated in Genesis 41—as is Jesus;
• He is exalted to the right hand of the highest authority (like Jesus), with emissaries sent
before him, crying out to all who hear, “‘Bow the knee!’” (vs. 43).
- The world came hungry to Joseph and found that he was the only one who could provide food. The same is found in Jesus, the Bread of Life, in a far greater and more lasting way—with the result of blessing for a starving world—in fulfillment of the promise to Abraham.
Note: The italicized comments in the bullet points above have been added to the article.
More about Joseph:
• He feeds the nations, and then, after being contacted by his brothers seeking food during a
major famine, he is reconciled with them—perhaps behind Paul’s argument that the
salvation of the Gentiles will, after a time, lead to the salvation of Israel (Romans 9–11).
• He later looks back and says to his brothers who persecuted him: “‘You meant evil against
me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many
people alive’” (Gen. 50:20) As Jesus looks back across human history, including His
betrayal and crucifixion, He will also display the same mercy: “He shall see the labor of
His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for
He shall bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53:11).
• He fulfills Jacob’s final blessing: “‘Archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility’”
(Gen. 49:23, NIV). The Hebrew word used here for “attacked” (“try to do him in”), is
found only six times in the Old Testament, and three of them involve Jacob in some way
(27:4; 49:23; 50:15). The verb appears to refer to both feelings of animosity and active
hate. Keil and Delitzch note that this verse uses the prophetic perfect (the perfect
consecutive), describing the future as already come.7 If so, the suffering aspects do not
refer to Joseph’s past but to some future events, connecting with Jacob’s earlier reference
“in the last days” (49:1). Thereby aspects in Jacob’s oracle would draw attention to past
events and at the same time foreshadow/anticipate later events—a future antitypical
Joseph.
• He was a blessing to his father, his brothers who hated him, and his entire people—also
Egypt and all the surrounding famine-ravaged countries. Gorden Wenham points out that
“blessing” is one of the key words of Genesis, occurring some 88 times. In Genesis 49:25
and 26, the usage has brilliant emphasis. The root occurs six times, underscoring that “the
God-given blessings of the future will far outshine those already
experienced.”8 Deuteronomy 33:13 to 17 contains Moses’ blessings, which refer to
Jacob’s blessings on his sons. In this passage the same word nazir is used to describe
Joseph, but now an explanation has been included, describing Joseph as a king who
would not only rule over his brothers, but also have power and influence over the
surrounding world.
The Pulpit Commentary also refers to several ways that Joseph was separate from his brothers. The Messiah, the eschatological Joseph, will be similarly separate, but in a far greater sense:
- In his father’s love: Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons. Jesus was the only begotten and well-beloved Son of the Father (Gen. 37:2; John 3:16).
- In his personal character: Joseph did not take part in his brothers’ evil. So was Jesus found without sin (Gen. 37:2; Heb. 4:15).
- In his communication with Heaven: Joseph was the receiver of dreams and keeper of divine secrets. So was Jesus filled with God’s Spirit and knew His Father’s will (Gen. 37:5–11; 40:12–22; John 1:14).
- In his suffering: Joseph was hated, sold, and practically given over to death by his brothers. Similarly, Jesus was misjudged by his brothers, and suffered death (Isaiah 53).
- Joseph became a savior of starving people. So was Jesus the Savior for humankind (Gen. 41:41–44; Rev 11:15).9
In a deeper, spiritual sense, Joseph, by the strength of his faith under severe testing and suffering, by his morally pure character, and by the saving of his people, typifies the One who perfectly demonstrated the same to obtain for humanity an eternal redemption.
This blog will continue in Part 3.