Meaning of JOSEPH

"may he (God) add." (Heb.: «Yãsaph».)
It also has the resonance of a verbal form that means "he elevates." In Gen. 30:23, 24 the writer plays with the name and the two etymologies, not giving the root of the word, but the reason the name was given.

1. Eleventh son of Jacob and firstborn of Rachel (Gen. 30:22-24). His story occupies chapters 37, 39-50 of the book of Genesis. He was born in Paddan-aram (Mesopotamia) six years before Jacob's return to Canaan (Gen. 30:25; cf. Gen. 31:41), when Jacob was 90 or 91 years old.

His father's favoritism towards him provoked the envy of his brothers. The story is well known of how his brothers first thought of killing him, and in the end they sold him to a caravan of merchants heading to Egypt and his purchase by Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's guard (Gen. 37), his imprisonment. by the spite of Potiphar's wife, who failed to seduce him (Gen. 39), the dream of Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker, imprisoned with him (Gen. 40); Pharaoh's double dream and Joseph's interpretation of it, announcing seven years of prosperity and seven of famine, together with his ascension to Pharaoh's prime minister (Gen. 41); the arrival of Joseph's brothers to buy food, and Joseph's dealings with them, to induce them to repent (Gen. 42-45); the emigration of Jacob and his entire family to Egypt and his settlement in the land of Goshen under the protection of Pharaoh and Joseph (Gen. 46-47); the blessings and death of Jacob (Gen. 48-49) and the death of Joseph (Gen. 50).

Many authors place the Egyptian period of Joseph's life under the Hyksos pharaohs. However, the difficulties of this point of view increase with research.

Traditional Egyptian chronology is full of problems that find their most satisfactory solution with a revision that makes it coherent with the internal evidence of the monuments and inscriptions and with the ethnological evidence of the countries of that area. The works of Velikovsky and Courville indicate that, instead of the commonly accepted dates of around 1871 B.C. under the 12th dynasty of the Hyksos, Joseph's ascension to the position of prime minister in Egypt is dated around 1665 BC. (accepting an interval of 215 years for Israel's stay in Egypt [see EGYPT (Israelite Stay), c, Duration of stay in Egypt]), as vizier of Sesostris I. Courville identifies Mentuhotep with Joseph based on the coincidence of his personal and historical circumstances in inscriptions and monuments with those of Joseph in the Scriptures (cf. Courville, "the Exodus Problem and its Ramifications", vol. 1, PP. 133-161 [see EGYPT, Bibliography]).

On the other hand, the customs and color of the story of Joseph in Egypt are clearly Egyptian, and agree with the historical setting in a reliable way. Names such as Potiphar, Zafnat-panea, Asenath, Potiphera, On (Gen. 39:1; 41:45, etc.), and the titles of officials, are evidence of an accurate record of events.

In Gen. 41:14 it is noted that, despite the urgency with which Joseph was released from prison, he had to be shaved and changed his clothes before appearing before Pharaoh. The Egyptians did not wear beards, and ceremonial required that priests be shaved.

The monuments and papyri give the same description as Genesis for the investiture of high positions: imposition of a necklace, ring, and linen clothing. A great economic shift meant that all lands, except those of the priests, became the property of the pharaohs.

It is according to Egyptian etiquette that the meal was served separately to Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptian guests (Gen. 43:32). Joseph ate alone, because of his rank and his belonging to the priestly class, which prevented him from mixing with the inferiors.

There was a special table for the Egyptians, because they had to stay away from foreigners. Shepherds, swineherds, and herdsmen, even Egyptians, were ostracized, because the care of animals was considered incompatible with the level of refinement and propriety that the Egyptians demanded (Gen. 46:34; Herodotus 2:47; cf. . 164). It is possible, because of this, that Joseph settled his family in the country of Goshen, where the Hebrews were far from the Egyptians.

The tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim descended from the sons of Joseph. The blessings that Jacob pronounced from his deathbed to Joseph were directed both to him and to these two tribes (Gen. 48:8-22; 49:22-26). The name Joseph in Ps. 80:2 poetically designates the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim.

Joseph is, typologically, a remarkable prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ: rejected by his brothers, the Jewish people, who will finally be restored by the Lord, through repentance, to a fruitful land, after having passed through judgments. During his rejection, Joseph marries a Gentile woman, a type of the Church, associated with the Lord also in his rejection. (See TYPE, TYPOLOGY.)

2. Other characters named José:
One of Jesus' brothers (Mt. 13:55; Mr. 6:3).
Three ancestors of Jesus (Luke 3:24, 26, 30).
Proper name of Barnabas, Paul's missionary companion (Acts 4:36).

Barsabbas, who was nicknamed "Justus", and nominated as a candidate to take the vacancy left by Judas in the Apostolic College, was called Joseph. It was Matthias who was chosen (Acts 1:21-26). (See MATÍAS.)
Others appear in Num. 13:7; 1 Chron. 25:2; Esd. 10:42; Neh. 12:14).