Jacob's favorite son was Joseph. Because of this, Joseph received a coat of many colors from his father. Jealousy spread throughout the other sons at the treatment that Joseph had been given. In this article, you will learn additional information about Joseph and other family connections to Jacob.
When Joseph was 17 years old, his brothers sold him to traders who were traveling to Egypt. To trick their father, they covered Joseph's coat in blood and brought it to Jacob. In Genesis 37:33, Jacob says, "It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces." At the same time Jacob mourned the death of his son, Joseph was actually being sold as a slave to Potiphar, who was one of the Pharaoh's officials.
Joseph was now a slave in the house of Potiphar. It was there that he had to resist the advances of the master's wife. To make matters worse, he was accused of trying to rape her, which is when he was sent to prison. As time passed, the Pharaoh of Egypt was plagued with two disturbing dreams. His butler remembered meeting Joseph in prison and told the Pharaoh that the boy had a talent for interpreting dreams.
Joseph was summoned from prison so that he could tell the Pharaoh what his dreams meant. He delivered the prophecy that the country would face seven years of both abundance and famine. The Pharaoh was quite impressed with Joseph and made him a viceroy over Egypt, which was second in command. Joseph was also placed in charge of the grain stores across Egypt. He believed that he could be of some help against the prophesized famine.
The famine did come and affected the known world. Joseph was in charge of selling the grain that had been stored to men that came from many different nations. When famine struck Canaan, Jacob sent ten of his sons to Egypt to purchase grain. Joseph was not pleased to see his brothers and when they came, he accused them of being spies and sent them back to their father.
Offspring
Jacob and his wives had twelve sons and one daughter, Dinah. The names of his sons are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.
His Death
When Jacob died, he was 147 years old. Joseph had his body embalmed and after receiving the permission of the Pharaoh, he was able to take the body back to Canaan. His twelve sons carried his coffin with numerous Egyptian officials by their sides. Jacob was taken to the cave of Machpelah, where he was buried. This is the same cave that Abraham had purchased, where he and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, as well as Jacob's first wife Leah was buried.
