Not many people have had as many ups and downs in their lifetime as did Joseph of the Old Testament. Joseph had eleven brothers, but he was his father’s favorite son. The father, very unwisely, treated Joseph special in front of the others. He once bought Joseph an expensive colorful coat, something he had never done for the other brothers. Because Joseph was his father’s favorite, Joseph’s life was good.

But also because of Joseph’s special treatment, the brothers became jealous. They decided to kill Joseph when he was about seventeen years old. They were all out in the fields working when they came across a deep pit. They threw Joseph down into the pit.

Fortunately for Joseph, a group of traveling traders was passing nearby. So the brothers decided to sell Joseph to the traders instead, for twenty pieces of silver. Joseph was now a slave and was taken abroad to Egypt. The brothers put animal blood on Joseph’s coat and took it to his father and told him that a wolf had killed him.

But Joseph was always dutiful in his work, and soon the rich man he worked for, Potiphar, put Joseph in charge of his whole house and all his affairs*. Life was good again.

But one day, Potiphar’s wife wanted to have an affair* with Joseph. Joseph refused. The wife became angry and began screaming that Joseph was trying to rape her. Of course, everyone believed Potiphar’s wife, and Joseph was thrown into prison.

In prison, Joseph found favor with the warden, and the warden put Joseph in charge of the prison. Life was fairly good again, considering the situation. While Joseph was in charge of the prison, the warden discovered that Joseph was good at interpreting dreams.

One day the warden heard the pharaoh (king of Egypt) complaining about a bad dream. The warden told the king that he knew a man who could interpret dreams, so he escorted Joseph to the pharaoh's house. Joseph told the king that his dream meant that there would be seven years of good harvest for Egypt, but then, there would be seven years of drought (no rain).

The king trusted Joseph and put him in charge of storing food in order to prepare the country for the coming famine. Because Joseph was wise and responsible, the king later put him in charge of the entire kingdom. He made him governor over all the country. Only the pharaoh himself had more power than Joseph. So life was good again.

Even with his new position and riches, Joseph missed his family, and that is part two of this story.

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*affairs: tasks, dealings, as in business affairs; affair: sexual relations outside of marriage (if couples aren’t married it’s called cheating)