Joseph

Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob and the firstborn of his beloved wife Rachel. His father's obvious favoritism, symbolized by a special coat of many colors, along with Joseph's dreams of greatness, stirred his brothers' jealousy to the point of hatred.

At seventeen, Joseph's brothers sold him to Midianite traders, who took him to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard. Joseph excelled in Potiphar's household until he was falsely accused by Potiphar's wife and thrown into prison. Even there, Joseph rose to a position of trust, interpreting dreams for Pharaoh's imprisoned servants.

When Pharaoh had troubling dreams that none could interpret, the butler remembered Joseph. Brought before Pharaoh, Joseph interpreted the dreams as predicting seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. Impressed by Joseph's wisdom, Pharaoh made him governor over all Egypt to prepare for the coming crisis.

The famine eventually brought Joseph's brothers to Egypt seeking grain. After testing their character and seeing their repentance, Joseph revealed himself in one of the most emotional scenes in Scripture. He forgave his brothers, seeing God's sovereign hand: "Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." Joseph brought his entire family to Egypt, where they prospered in the land of Goshen. He died at 110, having lived to see his great-great-grandchildren.