Joseph and His Brothers

We have reached the point in the Book of Genesis when we meet the last of the archetypal figures of that book, Joseph, the son of Jacob and his beloved Rachel.  Jumping ahead nine chapters, we find Joseph living in Egypt, second only to Pharoah in power.  His ability to interpret dreams has won him a place at Pharoah’s right hand as his chief overseer, in charge of the distribution of food. 

The story of Joseph, like the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are all stories that look forward to the Christian Scriptures and help us to understand God’s plan for our salvation.  In that respect, they are called proleptic, a word that describes an event that represents something or someone in the future as if it already existed or has already occurred.  These characters are archetypes which all point to Jesus.  Joseph is, perhaps, the character that most closely resembles Jesus. 

Perhaps the most enigmatic part of this story is the hunger which the people of Israel are feeling as a result of the famine that has beset their land.  While the southern part of the country was a desert, the northern territory of Israel was a fertile plain, lush and green after the spring rains had nourished it. Yet the people did not appreciate the gift that God had given them and turned to other gods – stone idols which could not feed them. The family of Jacob was surrounded by people who had placed their trust in powerless images. The famine that gripped the land affected both the believer and the unbeliever. 

All of the peoples of the then-known world came streaming to Egypt which had benefitted from the prophetic Joseph. During the seven years of plenty, Joseph had overseen the stockpiling of grain. He was now the source of nourishment not only for the Egyptian people but also for the neighboring peoples. His brothers had no idea what they had done nor and thought of the plan they had set in motion by their deed. When they sold Joseph into slavery, they provided the world with a savior. 

Joseph points us toward Jesus in so many details of his story.  Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers.  Jesus freely took on the "slavery" of our human condition.  Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of silver by his brothers. Jesus was betrayed by Judas for thirty pieces of silver.  Just as Joseph was restored to his rightful place in his father's house, Jesus was also restored to his rightful place at the right hand of his Father in heaven.  Joseph became the source of food for his starving brothers. Jesus becomes the bread of nourishment for us through the Eucharist.  

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator