Educator Guide
Joseph Bible Study Guide
Patriarchs · 1741 BC – 1631 BC (110 years)
Sold into Egypt by his brothers; rose to second-in-command and preserved the family through famine.
From the family tree
- Parents
- Jacob, Rachel
- Spouse
- Asenath
- Children
- Ephraim, Manasseh (son of Joseph)
- Siblings
- Reuben, Judah, Benjamin, Dan, Gad, Simeon, Levi, Naphtali, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah, Isachar
- Dates
- 1741 BC – 1631 BC (110 years)
- Era
- Patriarchs
Teaching prompt
'You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good' — how does Joseph hold his story together?
Reflection
Where might you need to reread your own past with that same trust?
Points to Jesus
Joseph is one of the clearest typological portraits of Jesus: beloved son rejected by his brothers, falsely accused, exalted from the pit to save many lives (Genesis 50:20). Acts 7:9–14 retells this as part of Israel's pattern of rejecting deliverers, leading up to their rejection of Christ.
Discussion questions
- How does Joseph's view of his suffering compare with how he must have felt in Genesis 37 and 39?
- Acts 7:9–14 retells Joseph's story. What does Stephen highlight?
- Where does Joseph's restraint with Potiphar's wife (Genesis 39:9) get its strength?