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Joseph of Egypt: Foreshadow of Christ

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Joseph of Egypt: Foreshadow of Christ
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The Jesus Christ Focused Old Testament

Donald W. Parry

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Contents

Introduction
Prophecies of Jesus Christ’s Mortal Ministry and Atonement
Symbols that Testify of Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ: Conquering Hero
Jesus Christ is the Lord of History: Nine Major Historical Eras
The Lord Jesus Christ: Potter, Captain, Shepherd, and More
The Lord Jesus Christ Controls the Nations: Book of Judges Case Study
Old Testament Passages Cited by Jesus Christ
Messianic Prophecies in the Psalms
Psalm 22 and Its Fulfillment in Jesus Christ
Isaiah’s Prophecies of the Mortal Messiah
The Messiah in Isaiah 53: Four Recurring Themes
Names, Titles, and Metaphors of the Lord Jesus Christ
Lord (Jehovah): The Most Frequently Used [Content] Word in the Hebrew Bible
Equivalent Designations of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old and New Testaments
God: Compound Names
Lord: Compound Names
The Lord Is Our Savior
The Lord (Jehovah) Is Our Redeemer
The Lord Is Our Atoner
Jesus Christ Is the Messiah
Jesus Christ Is the Lord
One, Three, and Seven: Sacred and Symbolic Numbers
Seven and Sacred Time
Prophets and Prophetesses: The Lord’s Messengers
Eve: Life and Help: A Type of Christ
Adam: “The Figure of Him that Was to Come”
Melchizedek: Type of Christ
Isaac: Type and Shadow of Christ
Joseph of Egypt: Foreshadow of Christ
Moses: Type and Shadow of Jesus Christ
Elijah: Symbol of Jesus Christ
Job: Suffering Servant, A Type of Jesus Christ
Hosea’s Family: Symbols of the Lord for Ancient Israel
The Sign of Jonah: Pointing to Christ’s Death
Priests and High Priests: Foreshadowing Jesus Christ
The Lord Reveals Cycles of Sacred Time
Striking Blood on the Doorposts: The Passover Anticipates Jesus Christ
The Day of Atonement: Messianic Foreshadowing
“A Feast to the Lord”: Sacred and Secular Meals
Parallelisms: Teaching About the Lord Jesus Christ Through Poetry
Chiasmus: Unique Presentations of the Lord’s Word
The Psalms: Praises to the Lord Jesus Christ
Lord: Focused Prophetic Speech Forms
Prayers: Mortals Seeking the Lord’s Divine Favor
Worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ through Music and Song
Law of Moses: Anticipated Jesus Christ and His Atonement
Manna: Symbol of Jesus Christ
Symbols of Christ in the Tabernacle of Moses
Sacrifices Under the Law of Moses: Six Acts
Sacrifices: Symbols of Jesus’s Atoning Sacrifice
Diet Code: Unclean and Clean Animals
God Is a Holy Temple: Temples and Sacred Space
The Atonement-Focused Earthly and Heavenly Temples
Jesus’s Royal Ancestry: Rulers of the Kingdom of Judah
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Contents

Introduction
Prophecies of Jesus Christ’s Mortal Ministry and Atonement
Symbols that Testify of Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ: Conquering Hero
Jesus Christ is the Lord of History: Nine Major Historical Eras
The Lord Jesus Christ: Potter, Captain, Shepherd, and More
1 2 … 10 Next »

Donald W. Parry, “Joseph of Egypt: Foreshadow of Christ,” in The Jesus Christ Focused Old Testament: Making Sense of a Monumental Book (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022), 86–87.

Much of Genesis 37–50 is dedicated to the narrative of Joseph of Egypt; in fact, more chapters and verses in Genesis pertain to Joseph than to any other character in that book, including prominent figures like Adam, Eve, Abraham, and Sarah.

These chapters reveal specific incidents in Joseph’s life, beginning with Joseph as a seventeen-year-old shepherd tending flocks with his brothers. On that occasion, the text explains that Israel “made him a coat of many colors” and that his brothers “hated him” (Gen. 37:4). So great was their hatred that they devised a plan wherein Joseph was stripped of this special garment and sold as a common slave for twenty pieces of silver (Gen. 37:28). His purchasers then took him to Egypt, where his experiences continued. Years passed, and eventually Joseph turned thirty years old, a pivotal time in the life of this prophet.

These experiences and many others paralleled similar instances in the life of Jesus Christ, making Joseph a type and shadow, or similitude, of Jesus Christ. Jesus, too, was a “good shepherd” (John 10:11–15), who cared for His Father’s sheep. Jesus began His ministry at thirty years of age. Jesus’s brethren and fellow mortals hated and persecuted Him. They devised evil plans against Him, and eventually He too, like Joseph of old, was sold for the price of a slave. Shortly before Jesus’s death, He was stripped of His garment. As the chart indicates, the list of parallels between the lives of Joseph and Jesus is both extensive and significant.

Joseph of Egypt: Foreshadow of Christ

Joseph

Jesus

Jacob “loved Joseph more than all his children” (Gen. 37:3).

Christ is the “beloved son” (Matt. 3:17).

Was given the name Zaphnath-paaneah (Gen. 41:45).

Was given the name Christ.

A shepherd (Gen. 37:12–16; 46:32).

The “good shepherd” (John 10:11–15).

Was promised a future sovereignty (Gen. 37:9–11).

Was promised a future sovereignty (Isa. 9:6–7).

Granted rule over all except the Pharaoh (Gen. 41:40).

Granted ruler over all (1 Pet. 3:22).

His brothers “conspired against him to slay him” (Gen. 37:18).

The rulers conspired to slay Him (Matt. 26:3–4; John 5:16; 11:49–53).

Joseph’s brothers “stripped Joseph” of his garments (Gen. 37:23).

Soldiers took Jesus’s garments (John 19:23–24).

Joseph’s brothers betrayed him (Gen. 37:27).

Jesus was betrayed (John 18:28–40).

Imprisoned (Gen. 39:20).

Imprisoned (Matt. 26:57; John 18:13–15).

Joseph’s family eventually sought forgiveness of him.

Many seek forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

Judah recommended selling him (Gen. 37:26–27).

Judas [Greek for Judah] betrayed Him for money (Matt. 26:14–16).

Garment dipped in the blood of goats (Gen. 37:31).

Garment stained with blood (Luke 22:44; Isa. 63:1; Rev. 19:13).

Sold for twenty pieces of silver (Gen. 37:26–28).

Sold for thirty pieces of silver (Matt. 26:15).

Sold to Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh (Gen. 37:36; 39:1).

Delivered to Pontius Pilate, a governor of the Roman emperor (Matt. 27:2).

God was with him (Gen. 39:2; Acts 7:9).

God was with Him (Luke 2:40; John 8:29; 16:32).

Was tempted with great sin but refused (Gen. 39:7–12).

Was tempted with great sin but refused (Matt. 4:1–11).

Revealed things of future (Gen. 50:24–26).

Revealed the future (Matt. 24).

Was falsely accused (Gen. 39:13–19).

Was falsely accused (Matt. 26:59–61).

Source of great knowledge to those of his day.

Source of great knowledge to all.

The Pharaoh arrayed Joseph in a ruler’s vestments (Gen. 41:42–43).

Soldiers dressed Jesus as a king as they “mocked him” (Matt. 27:28–31).

Was thirty years old when he served in the Pharaoh’s court (Gen. 41:38–46).

Was thirty years old when He began to minister (Luke 3:23).

Joseph’s brothers bowed to him (Gen. 42:6; 43:26, 28).

All will bow to Jesus Christ: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Phil. 2:10–11).

Joseph stated, “God did send me . . . to preserve life” (Gen. 45:5, 7).

God sent Jesus so that “whosoever believeth in him should . . . have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Joseph gave bread to his family (Gen. 47:12–13).

Jesus, “the true bread” (John 6:32–35), gave bread to His disciples (Matt. 14:15–21; 15:32–38).

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