Joseph: The Man Who Turned Tragedy into Triumph

Joseph: The Man Who Turned Tragedy into Triumph hero image

Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel. He was a favored son, and his brothers were jealous of him. They sold him into slavery in Egypt.

Joseph was taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh. Potiphar was impressed by Joseph's character and abilities, and he put him in charge of his household.

However, Potiphar's wife falsely accused Joseph of trying to seduce her. Joseph was thrown into prison.

Joseph 2

Even in prison, Joseph was faithful to God. He interpreted the dreams of two of the prison warden's prisoners, and they were so impressed that they told Pharaoh about Joseph.

Pharaoh called for Joseph and asked him to interpret his dreams. Joseph correctly interpreted the dreams, and Pharaoh was so impressed that he made Joseph his vizier, second in command in Egypt.

Joseph used his position to save Egypt from a famine. He stored grain during the years of plenty, and he distributed it during the years of famine.

Joseph 1

When Joseph's family came to Egypt to buy grain, they were reunited with him. Joseph forgave his brothers for what they had done to him, and he helped them to survive the famine.

Joseph's story is a reminder that God can use even the most difficult circumstances for good. Joseph was betrayed by his own brothers and sold into slavery, but he eventually rose to a position of power and used his position to help others. His story is a testament to the power of God's forgiveness and the importance of hope.

Here are some of the key events in Joseph's story:

  • He was sold into slavery by his own brothers.
  • He was falsely accused of rape and thrown into prison.
  • He interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's prisoners and the Pharaoh himself.
  • He was made vizier of Egypt and saved the country from famine.
  • He was reunited with his family and forgave them.
Joseph 3

Joseph's story is a powerful reminder of God's faithfulness and the importance of hope. Even in the darkest of times, God is at work and He can bring good out of even the most difficult circumstances.

You Might Also Like:

The Old Testament

Included here are articles that deal with aspects of specific Old Testament Books or passages, but this does not include Lectionary Commentary articles. For more general articles on the Old Testament, see Bible Topics, Issues in Biblical Interpretation, Biblical Theology, The Bible in the Church, a...
Read More

Miracles

Description The term miracle is a general term used to describe extraordinary workings of God in the world during certain times of man's history. However there are several terms used in Greek and Hebrew to describe what is commonly called miracle. Miracles of Jesus Miracles of Elisha Marvellous Work...
Read More

The Art and Agony of Translation

1 John 5:7-8 reads differently in the King James Version than in other translations because Erasmus lost a bet. If you compare this verse in the King James Version, you will find a Trinitarian formula (“the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one” ) that does not appear in mos...
Read More

Translations of the Bible Into English

You decide to buy yourself or someone else a Bible, so you run down to the nearest bookstore—but they have so many different translations, you don’t know where to begin. Here is something that might help: a list of modern translations that you are likely to find in a bookstore, with a description of...
Read More

About Those ‘Literal’ Translations

Every so often, someone writes to ask me about some obscure Bible translation, and invariably they add, ‘it is supposed to be a literal translation.’ For me, this is a red flag. Let me explain. New Testament Greek is quite a different language from English, and a strictly literal translation is impo...
Read More

The Nicene Creed and the New Testament Canon

The New Testament and the Nicene Creed are deeply entangled with each other. The wording and the concepts in the Nicene Creed come from the New Testament—in fact, one of the most important debates at the Council of Nicea concerned whether it is proper to include a word in the Nicene Creed that does ...
Read More

The Torah in Modern Scholarship

The first five books of the Bible are called the Torah by Jews and the Pentateuch by scholars. The word ‘Torah’ is Hebrew for ‘teaching’ or ‘law,’ and the word ‘Pentateuch’ is Greek for ‘five books.’ Sometimes scholars include the book of Joshua and term the collection the ‘Hexateuch,’ which means ‘...
Read More

The Apocrypha and the Old Testament

Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.—Proverbs 30:5-6, NIV The canon of scripture—that is, the official list of what’s in the Bible—is not revealed to us by any saying of Jesus, nor does scr...
Read More

New Testament Scholarship

The Insufficiency of Literary Analysis Unaccompanied by Other Tools New Testament critics generally assume that our gospels are the product of a scribe having two or more editions before him, which he takes together to produce a new version that contains material from the old sources. They say this,...
Read More

The Synoptics and John

If you read Matthew, Mark, and Luke in a row, you get a “haven’t I read this before” feeling, because they are so similar to each other. In many places, they even have identical wording! For this reason, Bible scholars lump them together with the term “synoptic gospels.” The word “synoptic” means “t...
Read More

Leviticus For Christians

A few interesting laws from Leviticus, which at first glance don’t seem to concern us today: Forbidden leftovers When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day;...
Read More

Slavery and Sonship

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”—John 8:34-36, NIV Notice that Jesus has the slave living in the house, albeit temporari...
Read More

Are There Contradictions in the Bible?

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise yo...
Read More

The Rescue of Lot

The story of the destruction of Sodom and its sister city of Gomorrah is of compelling interest today because of the current debate in the churches over homosexuality. In the course of this debate, these two chapters of Genesis have been degraded from a story of God’s justice and providence to a dia...
Read More

Evolution and Creationism

Why does water boil? Fred and Ethel have different explanations. Fred says that heat causes the vapor pressure within the water to rise to the same level as the atmospheric pressure on its surface. That causes bubbles to form, which rise and break the surface.Ethel says that’s nonsense. The water wa...
Read More

Reading What Isn't There

“Judge others, but you are exempt from judgment. You must go out and tell it like it is, exposing sinners wherever you find them. You will receive a special bonus for each evil you expose.”—Matthew 7:1-2, Reversed Fractured Version “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you ju...
Read More

Wrong Impressions

Do you have a regular Bible study plan? Well, I’m so glad to hear that! You don’t? Well, maybe that is not so bad. You know, a lot of people who have a regular Bible reading plan are very systematic about it. Certainly you’ve met the type: they read a chapter a day, or some other arbitrary amount. I...
Read More

But Is it Biblical?

Recently I helped my boss decode a rather obtuse document, in which the writer had used obscure words instead of plain language. “This is,” I said, “an example of what happens when people go to the dictionary for permission instead of guidance,” and my boss thought that was an astute observation. Ju...
Read More