Yosef HaTzaddik
1562 BCE–1452 BCE · Biblical · Egypt
Joseph, the favored son of Jacob and Rachel, rose from being sold into slavery by his brothers to becoming viceroy of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. Through his gift for interpreting dreams he foresaw seven years of famine and stored grain to save the region — and ultimately his own family, whom he forgave and brought down to Egypt. Known as Yosef HaTzaddik ("the Righteous") for withstanding temptation and keeping faith, he embodies divine providence working through hardship. He died in Egypt; his bones were carried up at the Exodus and buried in Shechem.
Life journeyclick any stop, or use ←/→Trace on the orchard map →
Egypt
What they did here
Sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers, Joseph rose from prison to become viceroy under Pharaoh, saved the region from famine, and lived there until his death at 110. (His bones were later carried to the Land of Israel and buried at Shechem.)
Egypt in this era
In the biblical narrative Egypt is where Abraham went during a famine, where Joseph became the pharaoh's chief minister, and where Jacob's descendants were enslaved until Moses led the Exodus (traditional Jewish chronology: 1313 BCE). Historians find no direct Egyptian or archaeological record of these events; many see the story as taking shape over centuries, possibly around older memories of Semitic groups living in Egypt.
About Egypt
Egypt, the Nile valley and delta in northeast Africa, was home to one of the world's oldest states, ruled by pharaohs from about 3000 BCE. In the Torah's narrative Abraham sojourned there, Joseph rose to power there and the Israelites were enslaved before the Exodus; historians find no direct evidence for these events, though many think the story may preserve older memories. Greek traders and travellers knew Egypt from the 7th century BCE; Alexander's conquest (332 BCE) brought Ptolemaic and then Roman rule (from 30 BCE), with Alexandria a capital of Greek learning and home to a large Jewish community. After the Arab conquest (639-642) Fustat and then Cairo became its centres; Maimonides lived and wrote in Fustat in the 12th century.
In Egypt at the same time
In the same place & time
Sages whose lives overlapped with Yosef HaTzaddik’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
In the same tradition
Works
No works attributed in the corpus yet.