Profile of Joseph

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Profile of Joseph

Joseph, son of Jacob, was surely destined for great things. Though his life consisted of many hardships, and ups and downs, he always got past them and lived a good life in the vision of God. His dreams took him very far, as he ended up with all of Egypt looking to him for help. Though he was a dreamer, he was also a very wise person, and this is what led him to great things.

The first character trait that I see in Joseph is that he's very compassionate and emotional. There are several instances where he weeps for his family, and he cannot hold in his emotions. One such example is when he first sees Benjamin. He is reunited with his full brother after many years and is overcome by such emotion that he must rush out so no one can see his tears. Another example is when Jacob dies. Joseph weeps all over Jacob and kisses him. These two examples show how much Joseph valued his family despite all the hardships he had to bear. Joseph was not concerned with getting revenge on his brothers, but rather he wanted to make up for lost time and be with them once again.

The story of Joseph shows us that he's a dreamer. The first dream of Joseph's we see is where he dreams of his brother's sheaves all bowing down to him. This is a foreshadowing of when Joseph is in power in Egypt and his brother's come to him begging for food. The next dream Joseph had, "this time, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me"(Gen 37: 9), and this takes it even farther to foreshadow because later on, once Joseph is reunited with all eleven brothers, and Jacob Pharaoh says, "now that your father and brothers have come to you, the land of Egypt is at your disposal…" (Gen 47:5). The eleven stars symbo...

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...Bible I think this can give us hope. There are always going to be some point when times get rough, but if we look to Joseph and remember that things have a way of working themselves out in the God's light, then it can provide us with some comfort. It's encouraging for those times when we just can't make sense out of our lives. I think it shows us a little bit about human nature, since indeed this is a story about humans. It shows how one man can have many ups and downs in his life, but get past that by having faith in God.

Bibliography:

McKenzie, John L., S.J., "The Dictionary of the Bible." Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1965

Senior, Donald, et al, eds. "The Catholic Study Bible." New York: Oxford University Press, 1990

Zornberg, Avivah. "Genesis: The Beginning of Desire." Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1995

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