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Yosef: Egypt & Reconciliation

Lesson 104 · יוֹסֵף
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Genesis 37-50. The longest narrative arc in the Torah, and the bridge between the patriarchs and Exodus. Yosef is sold by his brothers, ends up in Egyptian prison, interprets Pharaoh's dreams, becomes second-in-command, and saves his family during the famine. Hollywood made it a musical (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat); Israelis grew up with the same story in school.

Cultural note, The phrase "מי הוא יוֹסֵף?" ("who is Yosef?") is shorthand for "who is the rising star nobody saw coming?" Yosef's tomb in Sh\'chem (Nablus) is a contested holy site. The musical "יוֹסֵף וכֻתֹּנֶת הַפַּסִּים" plays in Israel almost continuously.

Characters

Story Vocabulary

Dreams (the central motif)

Egypt Vocabulary

The Coat & the Pit: Genesis 37:23-28 (excerpt)

The brothers strip Yosef of his special coat and throw him in a pit. Then they sell him to Ishmaelite traders heading to Egypt. The crime that begins everything.

The Reveal: Genesis 45:3-5

Twenty-two years after the pit. Yosef finally reveals himself to his brothers in the Egyptian court. The most-quoted line in the Torah on forgiveness and providence.