The oldest son of Jacob and Rachel, Joseph inherited the Abrahamic birthright. Because the oldest brother, Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob's first wife, Leah, defiled his father's bed (Gen. 49:4), the birthright was given, according to the law of primogenitureship, to the firstborn son of the second wife, even though he was the 11th son born of his father.
As a youth, Joseph incited the jealousy of his brothers by reporting their evil deeds. (Gen. 37:2.) He compounded their anger by relating his dreams of them bowing down to him. (v. 8.) His brothers sought to kill him but were persuaded by Rueben to instead throw him into a pit, where Rueben could later return him to his father. Rueben apparently left, and when he came back, the other brothers had sold him to Midianite traders en route to Egypt. (Gen. 37:18-29.) In Egypt, he was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharoah. He became rule of Potiphar's house. (Gen. 39: 1-2.)"A goodly person and well favoured" (Gen. 39:6), Joseph resisted the advances of his master's wife, but because of her false report of of the incident, he was thrown in to prison.
In prison, Joseph, by the Lord's help, interpreted dreams of inmates and won such renown that when the Pharoah had a troubling dream, Joseph was called upon to interpret the dream. He said the Pharoah's dream predicted a seven-year famine. Joseph was chosen to prepare for the famine by saving food. (Gen. 41:39-40.)
When Jacob's 10 sons - all but Benjamin, whom Jacob would not part with (Gen. 42:4) - came to Egypt for food, they applied to Joseph, whom they did not recognize after the intervening years. On their first visit he spoke roughly to them, charging that they were spies "to see the nakedness of the land." He kept Simeon as a security and said that if they ever wanted to buy more food, they must bring their youngest brother as proof that they were speaking the truth. Bringing Benjamin with them on their next trip for food, Joseph revealed his identity to them, and sent for his father and entire family to live in Egypt.
When Joseph was given his birthright blessing, he was promised that he was "a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. . . . The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills." (Gen. 49:22-26.)
Joseph lived 110 years, long enough to see the third generation, or the children of Ephraim and Manasseh. (Gen. 50:23.) Before he died, he made the children of Israel promise to take his remains with them on that eventual day when God would bring them out of the land of Egypt, and return them back to Canaan. This was done under the leadership of Moses and Joshua. (Ex. 13:19, Josh. 24:32.)
Although the Bible contains few of Joseph's prophecies, the Book of Mormon records prophecies made by Joseph of Lehi's journey to the Promised Land and speaks of a seer, which refers to Joseph Smith, to be raised up: "And his name shall be called after me, and it shall be after the name of his father." (2 Ne. 3:7,15.)
