Gender Masculine
Scripts יוֹסֵף (Ancient Hebrew)

From Ioseph, the Latin form of the Greek Ἰωσήφ (Ioseph), which was from the Hebrew name יוֹסֵף (Yosef) meaning “will add,” from the root יָסַף (yasaf). In the Old Testament, Joseph is Jacob’s eleventh son and the first with his wife Rachel. Because he was his father’s favorite, his older brothers sent him to Egypt and told their father that he was dead. In Egypt, Joseph became an advisor to Pharaoh and eventually reconciled with his brothers when they came to Egypt during a famine. This name also recurs in the New Testament, belonging to St. Joseph, Mary’s husband, and Joseph of Arimathea.

Penultimate son of Jacob and Rachel (Gen 30:24, 35:24); called Safnat-Paneac by Pharaoh (Gen 41:45). Jacob loved him more than any of his sons, and because of their jealousy his brothers sold him into slavery when he was 17 (Gen 37; Ps 105:17; Ac 7:9). He was sold in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s official, but the Lord was with him and he found favor in his master’s eyes by becoming his butler. He was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and put in prison, but here too the Lord was with him and he found grace, and all the prisoners were committed to his oversight (Gen 39). He came out of prison when he was 30 years old because he was able to interpret a dream of Pharaoh, who gave him power over the whole country of Egypt in view of the seven years of famine. During this time, his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim (Gen 41), were born to his wife Asenath and received primogeniture (Gen 49:3,22-26; 50:22-26; 1 Chr 5:1-2; Heb 11:21). He was reunited with his family when it went to Egypt to find grain (Gen 42-48; 1Macc 2:53; Ac 7:13-14). He died in Egypt at the age of 120 but had himself buried in Canaan (Gen 50:22-26; Ex 1:6; 13:19; Josh 24:32; Heb 11:22). His descendants formed the tribe of Joseph, but it often counted as two tribes, those of Manasseh and Ephraim (Josh 14:4; 16:4; Heb 47:13).

In the Bible this name also belonged to:

• Father of Igal, the explorer of Canaan from the tribe of Issachar (Nu 13:7).
• One of the Israelites with a foreign wife (Ez 10:42).
• The head of the priestly family of Sebaniah (Ne 12:14).
• Son of Mattathias and father of Iannai in the genealogy of Jesus (Lu 3:24).
• Son of Ionam and father of Judas in the genealogy of Jesus (Lu 3:30).
• Husband of Mary, “father” of Jesus (Mt 1:16,18; Lu 3:23; Jn 1:45; 6:42). He was a descendant of David, of royal lineage, and son of Eli and/or Jacob (Mt 1:6-16; Lu 2:4; 3:23). Matthew writes of his actions in his narrative of Jesus’ birth (Mt 1:18-25; 2:13-23), and Luke of those 12 years later (Lu 2:41-51), but there is no other reference even when the crowd names Jesus’ family members. Thus many believe Joseph died before Jesus’ ministry began (which would also explain (Jn 19:26-27)).
• Barnabas, a nickname given to Joseph by the apostles (Acts 4:36).
• Barsabbas, One of the two people named in place of Judas Iscariot (Ac 1:23).
• One of Jesus’ brothers, also called Iose.
• From Arimathea, a wealthy Jew, honored advisor to the Sanhedrin, and (occult) disciple of Jesus who requested Jesus’ body to bury him (Mt 27:57-60; Jn 19:38-42).
• Son of Oziel and father of Oks (Judg 8:1).
• Son of Zechariah. He was left to garrison Judea, with orders not to attack other peoples. But he wanted to make a name for himself and attacked Gorgias at Jabneel, being defeated (1Macc 5:18-19,56-62).
• One of the Maccabean brothers, sons of Mattathias, otherwise unknown (2Macc 8:22; 10:19).

In Islam

Yusuf ibn Yaqub ibn Ishaaq ibn Ibrahim (Arabic: يوسف ٱبن يعقوب ٱبن إسحاق ٱبراهيم) (Joseph, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham) is a prophet also mentioned in the Quran, and corresponds to Joseph. It is one of the common names in the Middle East and among Muslim nations. Of all the sons of Jacob, Joseph was the one who was given the gift of prophecy. Although the narrations of other prophets are mentioned in various surahs, the complete narrative of Joseph is given only in one surah, called precisely Yusuf, making it unique. It is said to be the finest narrative in the Qur’an and contains more details than its biblical counterpart.

Yusuf was the eleventh son of Yaqub (Arabic: يعقوب, Yaqub) and according to Ibn Kathir, “Jacob had twelve sons who were the eponymous ancestors of the tribes of the Israelites. The noblest, the most exalted, the greatest of them was Joseph.” The story begins with Joseph revealing to his father a dream he had and Jacob acknowledging his giftedness as a prophet. The story of Yusuf and Zulaikha (Potiphar’s wife from the Old Testament) became a popular subject in Persian literature, where it was greatly elaborated over the centuries.