Joseph was Jacob’s firstborn from his most beloved wife, Rachel, and his twelfth child overall. Genesis Chapters 37–50 tell Joseph’s story. After his birth is announced, Jacob receives a negative report about his half-brothers from his son Joseph, then 17 years old.
Jacob “liked Joseph more than any of his other sons, since he had been born to him in his old age; and he prepared an intricate robe for him,” as the Bible puts it (Genesis 37:3). Joseph’s brothers hated him because they knew their father loved him more than they did (Genesis 37:4).
In addition to this, Joseph started telling his family about his dreams, which were actually prophetic visions of his eventually becoming king (Genesis 37:5–11).
How Old Was Joseph When Jesus Was Born?
According to Catholic belief, Mary never had sexual relations with anyone. One Roman Catholic interpretation of the New Testament’s reference to Jesus’ brothers and sisters (Matthew 13:55-56) is that these are Joseph’s offspring from a prior marriage.
We can deduce that he was older than Mary if we believe that he had many children from a prior marriage, which would put his age at around five or six at the very least. However, this is a theological presumption regarding
Mary’s continuous virginity and not the most natural way to interpret the biblical text. Even if Joseph had been married before, his age remains a mystery. Men can start having children in their mid-20s, and some even become grandfathers in their 30s.
Joseph appears to have disappeared from history by the time Jesus began his public ministry. Despite Mary’s prominence in the gospels, Joseph disappears following Jesus’s confrontation with the temple authorities when he was twelve (Luke 2:42–52).
Jesus entrusts Mary, without Joseph there, to the care of His disciple John at the foot of the cross (John 19:26–27). If Joseph were still living, this would seem like a strange choice. Since Joseph was assumed to be older than Mary for these reasons, some have concluded that he must have passed away by this point in history.
The most plausible reason for Joseph’s absence by Mary’s side during the crucifixion is his death; nevertheless, even if Joseph had died, we do not know that it was due to old age. A young man’s death today can be attributed to a wide variety of factors, and this was likely even more true in the first century.
Ultimately, there is very little evidence to support any of the hypotheses about how old Joseph was when Jesus was born. Nonetheless, we know for a fact that the Bible would have made it very obvious if knowing this were crucial. From what we can gather, Joseph was a righteous man who God put in charge of Mary and Jesus.
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The Story Of Joseph’s Early Life
Joseph was born to Jacob and Rachel, and he had at least eleven half-brothers and sisters in Canaan. Joseph was Jacob’s twelfth son and Rachel’s firstborn. His father had great respect for him because of his moral integrity. Jacob responded by gifting him a multicoloured coat (Genesis 37:3).
That their father liked Joseph more made Joseph’s brothers dislike him (Genesis 37:4). They held it against him that, when he was around seventeen, he had a dream that foretold his future as the head of the family (Genesis 37:5–11).
His life’s trajectory afterward proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the dream was a prophetic message from God meant to encourage him in the face of impending adversity.
While Joseph’s brothers were away tending to their flocks, the story continues with a specific occurrence that occurred during their absence. Jacob had Joseph go see how his other sons were doing. When they realised he was coming for them, they made plans to eliminate him.
The elder sibling, however, took on the task of saving his younger sibling, Reuben. He then proposed that they bury Joseph underground. As previously said, Ruben intended to return and rescue his sibling. After the brothers had taken off Joseph’s coat of many colours, they hurled him into the pit.
Judah proposed selling Joseph to Ishmaelite merchants while Ruben was out of town. That being the case, the brothers gave in and sent him out to a life of servitude for twenty silver shekels (Genesis 37:28). No one should have the power to force another person into service, and the sale of the young guy constituted a clear breach of that principle (Leviticus 25:39–43).
The young man was taken to Egypt by merchants. Then, the brothers smeared goat’s blood on Joseph’s bright cloak and presented it to their father, Jacob. They said an animal ate him alive. So, the father was under the impression that Joseph had been murdered, and his grief was intense (Genesis 37:18–35).
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The Story Of Joseph In Prison
Because of the grace of God, Joseph was able to regain the favour of his superiors while he was incarcerated (Genesis 39:21–23). Joseph was sent into prison at one point, and while he was there, two high-ranking servants in Pharaoh’s household approached him and begged him to interpret the dreams they had the night before.
Joseph explained everything to them, and it turned out that his predictions were accurate. While one was spared and restored to his former role as the king’s cup-bearer, the other was put to death (Genesis 40:1-23).
Joseph begged the person who carried the cup to remember him in front of Pharaoh, but the cup-bearer failed to do so.
Two years later, the king had two nightmares that were very terrifying. The cupbearer recalled Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams at that very moment, and he related the story to Pharaoh while at the same time testifying about his own personal experience.
The Story Of Joseph As Governor Of Egypt
The account of Joseph’s life continues by relating how the king called him and told him about the visions he had been having. Joseph delivered the interpretation that indicated that there will be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine in Egypt.
This revelation came to Joseph by the inspiration of God. Then, Joseph gave Pharaoh the advice that he should get ready for the famine by saving food during the prosperous years in preparation for the lean years (Genesis 41:1-37).
Pharaoh and his advisors found Joseph’s interpretation of the dream and his advice to be so satisfying that the pharaoh advocated appointing Joseph as minister of food and given him emergency powers. Joseph was also granted emergency powers. And the king promoted Joseph to the position that was next to the throne in importance (Genesis 41:43).
Soon after receiving this new assignment, Joseph wed Rachel, and the couple produced two sons whom they called Manasseh and Ephraim.
And he lived up to his responsibilities as ruler of Egypt by putting food away during the years of abundance so that he would have supplies to sell to Egyptians and the nations that surrounded Egypt during the years of famine (Genesis 41:38-57).
