Joseph of Egypt: Foreshadow of Christ

Much of Genesis 37–50 is dedicated to the narrative of Joseph of Egypt; in fact, more chapters and verses in Genesis pertain to Joseph than to any other character in that book, including prominent figures like Adam, Eve, Abraham, and Sarah.

These chapters reveal specific incidents in Joseph’s life, beginning with Joseph as a seventeen-year-old shepherd tending flocks with his brothers. On that occasion, the text explains that Israel “made him a coat of many colors” and that his brothers “hated him” (Gen. 37:4). So great was their hatred that they devised a plan wherein Joseph was stripped of this special garment and sold as a common slave for twenty pieces of silver (Gen. 37:28). His purchasers then took him to Egypt, where his experiences continued. Years passed, and eventually Joseph turned thirty years old, a pivotal time in the life of this prophet.

These experiences and many others paralleled similar instances in the life of Jesus Christ, making Joseph a type and shadow, or similitude, of Jesus Christ. Jesus, too, was a “good shepherd” (John 10:11–15), who cared for His Father’s sheep. Jesus began His ministry at thirty years of age. Jesus’s brethren and fellow mortals hated and persecuted Him. They devised evil plans against Him, and eventually He too, like Joseph of old, was sold for the price of a slave. Shortly before Jesus’s death, He was stripped of His garment. As the chart indicates, the list of parallels between the lives of Joseph and Jesus is both extensive and significant.