Joseph

Joseph (Hebrew: יוֹסֵף; Arabic: يوسف‎; Ancient Greek: Ἰωσήφ) is an important figure in the Bible's Book of Genesis, chapters 37-50.

In the biblical narrative, Joseph, son of Jacob, was an Israelite shepherd, sold into slavery in Egypt by his 11 jealous brothers. Due to his cleverness and gifts from God, Joseph rose from slavery to become vizier, the second most powerful man in Egypt next to Pharaoh, where his presence and office caused the Israelites to leave Canaan and settle in Egypt. Pharaoh gave him the name "Zaphnath-Paaneah" (Hebrew צָפְנַת פַּעְנֵחַ, Greek Ψονθομφανήχ, Genesis 41:45).

Joseph is the central character of the play Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1970) by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.