Joseph in Egypt

After being sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, seventeen-year-old Joseph found himself in chains, traveling with a caravan of Midianite traders toward the ancient land of Egypt. The boy who had once worn a coat of many colors now wore the rough garments of a slave, his dreams of greatness seemingly shattered forever.

Serving in Potiphar’s House

When the caravan reached Egypt’s bustling markets, Joseph was purchased by Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh’s guard and one of the most powerful men in the kingdom. Potiphar’s grand house stood in the wealthy district of Memphis, its white limestone walls gleaming in the desert sun, with beautiful gardens fed by channels from the great Nile River.

“You, Hebrew boy,” Potiphar commanded on Joseph’s first day, “you will work in my household. Serve faithfully, and you will be treated well. Cause trouble, and you will face the harsh justice of Egypt.”

But Joseph carried something precious within him – his faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even in slavery, he trusted that the Almighty had a plan for his life. Day by day, Joseph worked with such diligence and integrity that his excellence became unmistakable.

“Master,” said Potiphar’s chief steward after several months, “this Hebrew slave is extraordinary. Everything he touches prospers. The other servants respect him, the accounts balance perfectly when he manages them, and there’s a blessing upon your house that wasn’t here before.”

Potiphar, a shrewd man accustomed to judging character, had noticed the same thing. “Joseph,” he called one morning, “come here.”

Joseph hurried forward and bowed respectfully. “Yes, my lord?”

“I’m promoting you to overseer of my entire household,” Potiphar announced. “Everything I own will be under your authority. You’ve proven yourself trustworthy in small matters; now I entrust you with great ones.”

From that day forward, Joseph managed Potiphar’s vast estates, his servants, his business dealings, and his treasures. The LORD blessed everything Joseph did, and Potiphar’s wealth multiplied greatly. The Egyptian captain trusted Joseph so completely that he concerned himself with nothing except the food he ate.

Temptation and False Accusation

As the years passed, Joseph grew from a teenager into a handsome young man. His character and wisdom made him respected throughout the household, but his appearance caught the attention of someone who would bring great trouble into his life.

Potiphar’s wife was a beautiful but selfish woman, accustomed to getting whatever she desired. Day after day, she watched Joseph as he went about his duties, and her heart filled with improper desires.

“Joseph,” she said one afternoon, finding him alone in the house reviewing the household accounts, “come, lie with me.”

Joseph’s face flushed red, and he stepped back quickly. “My lady, how can you ask such a thing? My master trusts me completely. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

But Potiphar’s wife was not easily discouraged. Day after day, she pursued Joseph with her shameful requests, and day after day, Joseph refused her advances. He avoided being alone with her whenever possible, but she grew more persistent and bold in her pursuit.

One day, when all the other servants had gone to the market, Potiphar’s wife cornered Joseph in the main hall of the house. “Joseph,” she said, grabbing his cloak, “no one is here. Come with me now!”

Joseph pulled away so forcefully that his cloak tore away in her hands, and he fled from the house, leaving the garment behind. Potiphar’s wife, furious at being rejected and humiliated, clutched the torn cloak and began to scheme her revenge.

When the servants returned, she called them together. “Look!” she cried, holding up Joseph’s cloak. “That Hebrew slave your master brought here tried to force himself upon me! But when I screamed, he fled, leaving his garment behind!”

When Potiphar returned home that evening, his wife repeated her false accusation with tears and dramatic gestures. “Your Hebrew servant mocked me and tried to assault me! Only my quick thinking saved my honor!”

Potiphar’s face darkened with rage. Though Joseph had served faithfully for years, the accusation from his wife demanded action. “Guards!” he shouted. “Arrest Joseph immediately!”

In Pharaoh’s Prison

Joseph was dragged away in chains to the royal prison, a dark fortress where Pharaoh’s political prisoners were held. As the heavy doors clanged shut behind him, Joseph might have despaired. Once again, he had lost everything through no fault of his own. But Joseph’s faith remained unshaken.

“God of my fathers,” he prayed in the darkness of his cell, “I don’t understand Your ways, but I trust in Your goodness. Use me here as You will.”

The prison keeper, a gruff but fair man named Khenti, soon noticed something unusual about the new prisoner. While other inmates complained, fought, or plotted escape, Joseph worked diligently and helped maintain order among the prisoners.

“You’re different from the others,” Khenti observed after several weeks. “Most nobles imprisoned here spend their time cursing their fate or bribing guards. But you work as faithfully here as if you were a free man.”

“My lord,” Joseph replied respectfully, “whatever circumstances God places me in, I will serve Him faithfully.”

Within months, Khenti had put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners and the daily operations of the jail. Once again, everything Joseph managed prospered, and the prison ran more smoothly than it ever had before.

The Dreams of the Butler and Baker

Two years into Joseph’s imprisonment, Pharaoh became angry with his chief butler and chief baker and had them thrown into the same prison. Both men were high officials who had served in Pharaoh’s palace, and they were placed under Joseph’s care.

One morning, Joseph noticed that both men looked troubled and dejected. “Why do you look so sad today?” he asked with genuine concern.

The butler sighed heavily. “We both had dreams last night, but there’s no one here to interpret them. In the palace, we would consult the wise men and magicians, but here…”

“Interpretations belong to God,” Joseph said gently. “Tell me your dreams. Perhaps the Almighty will give me understanding.”

The butler looked hopeful. “In my dream, I saw a vine with three branches. As I watched, it budded, blossomed, and produced clusters of ripe grapes. I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, then placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

Joseph’s eyes brightened. “Here is the interpretation: The three branches represent three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will restore you to your position, and you will again place the cup in Pharaoh’s hand, just as you used to do when you were his butler.”

The butler’s face filled with joy and relief. “Thank you! Thank you!”

“When you are restored,” Joseph continued, “please remember me and show kindness to me. Mention me to Pharaoh and help me get out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in this dungeon.”

Encouraged by this positive interpretation, the baker stepped forward eagerly. “In my dream, I had three baskets of white bread on my head. In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

Joseph’s expression grew solemn, for God had shown him the meaning of this dream as well. “I’m sorry to say this, but here is the interpretation: The three baskets represent three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh.”

The Dreams Come to Pass

Three days later was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he held a great feast for all his officials. Just as Joseph had interpreted, Pharaoh restored the chief butler to his position, but he hanged the chief baker.

The butler returned to his duties, once again serving wine at Pharaoh’s table, but in his joy and relief, he completely forgot about Joseph. Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and still Joseph remained in prison, faithfully serving but seemingly forgotten by the one person who might have secured his freedom.

But God’s timing is perfect, even when we cannot see His plan. Joseph continued to trust and serve, not knowing that his greatest test and his greatest triumph lay just ahead.

Pharaoh’s Disturbing Dreams

Two full years passed. Joseph was now thirty years old, having spent thirteen years away from his father’s house – first as a slave, then as a prisoner. But one morning, everything changed when urgent word came to the prison that Pharaoh required all prisoners with reputations for wisdom to be brought before him.

Pharaoh had experienced two vivid dreams that troubled him greatly, and none of his wise men or magicians could provide a satisfactory interpretation. In his desperation, the chief butler suddenly remembered the Hebrew prisoner who had correctly interpreted dreams in the royal jail.

“Your Majesty,” the butler said nervously, approaching Pharaoh’s throne, “I remember my faults today. When you were angry with your servants and put me and the chief baker in prison, we both had dreams on the same night. A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us. Everything came to pass exactly as he said it would.”

Pharaoh’s eyes sharpened with interest. “Bring him to me immediately!”

Guards rushed to the prison and brought Joseph before Pharaoh. Joseph had quickly shaved, bathed, and changed into clean clothes, but he stood before the most powerful ruler in the world with quiet dignity.

“I have heard it said of you,” Pharaoh declared, “that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

Joseph bowed low but answered with humble confidence: “I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

Then Pharaoh related his dreams: “In my first dream, I was standing by the Nile River, and seven cows came up out of the river – fat and sleek and beautiful. They grazed in the marsh grass. Then seven other cows came up after them – ugly and gaunt, the worst I have ever seen in all the land of Egypt. The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows, but even after they had eaten them, no one could tell they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

“In my second dream, I saw seven heads of grain growing on a single stalk – full and good. After them, seven other heads sprouted – withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads.”

Joseph listened carefully, and as Pharaoh spoke, God revealed the meaning of the dreams. “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same,” Joseph explained. “God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows and seven good heads of grain represent seven years of great abundance throughout Egypt. The seven lean cows and seven worthless heads of grain represent seven years of famine that will follow – so severe that the abundance will be forgotten.

“The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh twice is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. Therefore, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years and store up grain under Pharaoh’s authority, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

Joseph’s Elevation

Pharaoh and all his officials were amazed by the wisdom and clarity of Joseph’s interpretation. They looked at one another, recognizing the truth in his words and the divine wisdom behind them.

“Can we find anyone like this man,” Pharaoh asked his advisors, “one in whom is the spirit of God?”

Then Pharaoh turned to Joseph. “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

With these words, Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!”

Pharaoh gave Joseph the Egyptian name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath, daughter of Potiphera priest of On, to be his wife. At thirty years old, Joseph went from prison to palace in a single day, becoming the second most powerful man in all Egypt.

The Seven Years of Abundance

During the seven years of abundance, Joseph traveled throughout Egypt, organizing the collection and storage of grain on a scale never before attempted. In every city, massive granaries were built to hold the surplus from the surrounding fields. The land produced abundantly, and Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it because it was beyond measure.

During this time, Asenath bore Joseph two sons. He named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” The second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

Joseph proved to be a brilliant administrator, organizing the collection and distribution systems with wisdom that amazed even Pharaoh’s experienced officials. He showed mercy to the poor, justice to all people, and always gave credit to God for his success.

The Seven Years of Famine

When the seven years of abundance ended, the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. The famine was severe throughout the surrounding lands, but throughout Egypt there was food because of Joseph’s wise preparation.

When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.”

As the famine spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

Far away in Canaan, Jacob heard that there was grain for sale in Egypt. “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” he asked his sons. “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

But Jacob kept Benjamin, Joseph’s younger brother, at home with him, because he feared that harm might come to him as it had come to Joseph years before.

So Joseph’s ten older brothers – the same men who had sold him into slavery twenty-two years earlier – set out for Egypt to buy grain, having no idea that their despised younger brother had become the most powerful man in the land next to Pharaoh himself.

The great reunion that would reshape the future of God’s chosen people was about to begin, as the dreams of a seventeen-year-old boy finally came to their ordained fulfillment through the mysterious workings of divine providence.

Joseph’s journey from the pit to the palace was complete, but the greatest test of his character – whether he would show mercy to those who had wronged him – was yet to come.