Jacob’s favorite son was Joseph, and his ten elder brothers were jealous of him. Joseph also had two prophetic dreams indicating that he would rule over his brothers.

The jealousy of Joseph’s brothers led them to hate him. At first they planned to kill him, but Ruben, one of the brothers, prevented them. Eventually, they agreed to sell Joseph to some Egyptian merchants for twenty pieces of silver.

The brothers deceived their father by making him believed that Joseph had been torn to pieces by a wild beast.

The Egyptian merchants sold Joseph to Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and commander of the guard.

Joseph carried out the commands of Potiphar faithfully, and he was given the charge of his whole household. Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph to commit sin of impurity with her, but he was unyielding in temptation. After she had failed to induce Joseph to sin, Potiphar’s wife slandered him by accusing him of having tried to lead her to commit sin. Joseph was, therefore, casted into prison by Potiphar.

In prison Joseph correctly interpreted the dreams of two prisoners—the butler and the chief baker. Joseph predicted the butler would be released in three days and the chief baker would be executed in three days.

Pharaoh had two dreams: in the first dream, he saw seven beautiful and fat cows came out of the Nile, after them came seven lean and ill-favored cows which devoured the seven fat cows.

In the second dream Pharaoh saw seven full and fair ears of grain, after these came up seven thin and blighted ears of grain which devoured all the beauty of the first seven. No one was able to interpret the dreams for Pharaoh. The chief butler remembered Joseph, and told Pharaoh about him.

Joseph told Pharaoh that the seven beautiful cows and the seven full ears represented seven years of plenty, and the seven thin cows and seven blasted ears represented seven years of famine, which would follow the seven years of plenty.

Joseph advised Pharaoh to find someone intelligent and wise to govern Egypt, and to gather into barns the fifth part of the fruit of the seven year of plenty. Pharaoh, therefore, appointed Joseph his chancellor, and had authority over all Egypt.

During the seven years of famine, when the people came to Pharaoh for food he told them, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you” (Genesis 41:55).

Joseph is a type of St. Joseph: they were both “son of Jacob” and model of chastity; they both had prophetic dreams. Joseph was appointed to rule over Potiphar’s household, and St. Joseph was appointed by God to rule over the household of the Holy Family. Pharaoh told the people to “go to Joseph” for their needs, the Church tells all Catholics to go to St. Joseph for their needs.

Jacob sent Joseph’s brothers to Egypt to buy grain. Joseph recognized his brothers, but he did not make himself known right away. He played some tricks on them to make them suffer a bit for what they had done to him. When he made himself known, he assured them of his forgiveness, and invited them to move to Egypt with his father Jacob.

Joseph is a type of Christ. Joseph was the beloved of his father, and Jesus is the beloved Son of God the Father; Joseph was hated by his brothers and was sold for twenty pieces of silver; Christ was hated by the Jewish authority and was betrayed for thirty pieces of silver; Joseph’s degradation was the cause of his exaltation and the salvation of his brothers; Christ humiliation and death is the cause of His glorification and our eternal salvation.