Joseph: A Pictorial

1. Joseph's Coat of Many Colors

"Joseph Receives his Coat of Many Colors" by Shoshannah Brombacher; pastel and ink on paper , 24 X 18 inches, New York, 2008

Joseph was born when his father, Jacob, was already old. He was the eleventh of Jacob's twelve sons, and the firstborn son of Jacob's most beloved wife, Rachel, who died when Joseph was eight years old. Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children, and gave him a beautiful and precious present: a coat of many colors.

Although they envied him, Joseph's brothers might not have resented this so much if Joseph had not "brought evil report of his brothers to his father" (Genesis 37:2). This, in combination with his dreams about his whole family bowing down to him, made his brothers hate him, and later they would take revenge and sell him into slavery.

In this drawing Joseph looks happy. He shows his new mantle in a pastoral landscape surrounded by his father's flocks, which he and his brothers take care of. His parents gaze lovingly at him from under a green and lush tree in the right top corner, but his brothers, who tend the sheep, talk among themselves about how nasty and arrogant Joseph's behavior is towards them. The fish around Joseph are a symbol for his dreams and his imagination, and for his creative mind.

2. Joseph’s Dreams

"Joseph's Dreams" by Shoshannah Brombacher; pastel and ink on paper , 24 X 18 inches, New York, 2008

This drawing shows Joseph on his bed, dreaming the dreams he will tell his brothers (Genesis 35: 5-10).

He said to them: "We were binding sheaves in the field and my sheaf arose and stood upright and your sheaves stood round about and bowed down to my sheaf."

And again he spoke to them, saying: "I had a dream more, and look, the sun and the moon (representing his father, Jacob, and his adoptive mother, Bilhah) and the eleven stars (his brothers) bowed down to my star."

His brothers answered him and said "Shall you indeed reign over us?" and they hated him for his dreams and for his words, which were the cause for their future ugly behavior. His parents give him glances full of doubt.

3. Joseph in the Pit

"Joseph in the Pit" by Shoshannah Brombacher; pastel and ink on paper , 24 X 18 inches, New York, 2008

Joseph's brothers resented his lofty dreams, the favoritism their father showed by giving him a coat of many colors, and the negative reports about them he brought to their father. Their resentment grew into outright hatred.

One day, Jacob sent Joseph to contact his brothers who were herding their flocks in the fields. As Joseph approached, his brothers decided to get rid of him. They tore off his coat and threw him into a dry pit (Genesis 37: 23-24).

In this drawing Joseph has just been cast into the pit. His face is distorted in anguish; he is betrayed by his own brothers, stripped of his coat, and the dry pit is full of snakes and scorpions. High over his head some of the brothers peer into the dark pit, curious what might become of him after their evil deed.

Later, they took him out of the pit and sold him as a slave to a passing convoy of traders, who brought him to Egypt.

4. The Baker's Dream

"Joseph Interprets the Dream of the Baker" by Shoshannah Brombacher; pastel and ink on paper , 24 X 18 inches, New York, 2008

After being sold into slavery Joseph ends up in prison, having been falsely accused by his master's wife. In prison, he gained the trust of the warden and the other prisoners. Also in prison were two of Pharaoh's ministers, who told him their dreams so he could interpret them. The chief royal baker got the following explanation of his dream (Genesis 50:16-19):

"When the officer of the bakers saw that he interpreted for good, he said to Joseph: 'Behold I had three baskets of white bread on my head. And in the uppermost basket there was all manner of food for Pharaoh, the work of a baker; and the birds did eat them out of the basket on top of my head.'

"And Joseph answered and said: 'This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up your head from you and shall hang you on a tree, and the birds shall eat your flesh from you."

5. The Cup Is Found in Benjamin's Sack

"Joseph’s cup is found in Benjamin’s sack" by Shoshannah Brombacher; pastel and ink on paper , 24 X 18 inches, New York, 2008

There was a famine in the Land of Canaan. Jacob heard that there was grain to be had in Egypt, so he sent his sons to buy provisions for his family.

In the meanwhile, Joseph had become governor over Egypt. When his brothers came to him to purchase grain, he recognized them but did not reveal to them who he was; he accused them of being spies and forced them to return with his beloved younger brother, Benjamin, the son of Rachel, their mother. He then ordered his servants to put the money they had paid for their grain back inside their sacks, and to hide his favorite cup in Benjamin's sack. Then he sent his soldiers to look for the "stolen" cup, and they discovered it in Benjamin's sack (Genesis 44:1-13).

The brothers panicked: they were sure that this would be the end of them, and in any case the end of Benjamin, their father's most beloved child, who now would become a slave in Egypt.

6. Joseph Reveals his Identity to his Brothers

"I Am Joseph" by Shoshannah Brombacher; pastel and ink on paper , 12 X 18 inches, New York, 2008

In a very emotional scene (Genesis 45:1-3) Joseph reveals to his brothers who he is: their younger brother whom they sold to Egypt many years ago, and who is now the governor of Egypt.

It is a huge shock for the brothers. They would have expected anything but this!

The Hebrew text in the painting says, short and powerful: "I am Joseph" (Genesis 45:3). The figure looking at the scene from the right is the former "Joseph," the handsome boy who was sold as a slave years ago and whom they remember, and whom they assume dead. They had not recognized the Egyptian official in his foreign clothes as their lost brother.

7. Joseph Comforts his Brothers

"Joseph Comforts his Brothers" by Shoshannah Brombacher; pastel and ink on paper , 24 X 18 inches, New York, 2008

When Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, he reassures them that he will not take revenge for their vile deed in selling him into slavery. He is alive, and now he is the viceroy in Egypt. He tells them that actually G‑d sent him to Egypt to save his family from famine. The brothers are just a tool in G‑d's hands. (Genesis 45: 3-8).

8. Jacob Blesses Joseph's Children

"Jacob Blesses Joseph's Children" by Shoshannah Brombacher; pastel and ink on paper , 16 X 12 inches, New York, 2008

This drawing is based on the text from Genesis 48:14-21.

When the time drew nigh that Jacob must die, he asked his son Joseph to come and bring his children, Manasseh and Ephraim, so he could bless them.

Jacob crossed his hands, and put his right hand over the youngest son, Ephraim, and his left hand over the oldest, Manasseh, against the custom. When Joseph wanted to correct his father, Jacob gently rebuked him, telling him that the oldest one, Manasseh, would become a great people, but the younger one would be greater.

Did Jacob remember that long ago he himself took the blessing of the first born instead of Esau?

The children and Joseph look puzzled, but the old patriarch Jacob knows what he is doing.

9. Joseph's Blessing

"Jacob’s Blessing for Joseph" by Shoshannah Brombacher; pastel and ink on paper , 24 x 18 inches, New York, 2008

At the end of his life when lying on his deathbed, Jacob gives each of his sons a special blessing.

About Joseph he says (Genesis 49: 22-26):

"A charming son is Joseph, a charming son to the eye,1 the daughters walked upon the high wall to gaze.2

"The archers embittered him and became antagonists; the arrow-tongued men hated him. But his bow was firmly emplaced, and his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty G‑d of Jacob – from thence, he shepherded the stone of Israel.

"That was from the G‑d of your father, and He will help you, and with Shaddai- and He will bless you with blessings of heaven from above, blessings of the deep crouching below, blessings of the bosom and the womb.

"The blessings of your father surpassed the blessings of my parents to the endless bounds of the world's everlasting hills. Let them be upon Joseph's head, upon the head of him who lived in exile from his brothers."