Joseph's story is the most complete initiatory arc in the Hebrew Bible. The beloved son, clothed in glory, betrayed by his brothers, cast into a pit, sold into slavery, falsely accused, imprisoned, elevated through the gift of dream-interpretation, and finally reconciled with those who betrayed him — forgiving them and revealing himself as their savior.
The Narrative Arc
The Beloved Son. Jacob loves Joseph above all his other sons and gives him the ketonet passim — the coat of many colors (or, more accurately, the "coat of full length," a garment of distinction). Joseph is the favored one — the soul before the Fall, clothed in the garment of light.
The Dreams. Joseph dreams that his brothers' sheaves bow before his, that the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow before him. He speaks the truth of his inner vision — and is hated for it. The visionary is always rejected by those who cannot yet see.
The Pit and the Sale. His brothers strip him of his coat and throw him into an empty pit (bor) — the descent into the underworld, the nigredo. Then they sell him to Ishmaelite traders bound for Egypt. The beloved son enters the house of bondage.
Slavery and Temptation. In Potiphar's house, Joseph prospers but is tempted by Potiphar's wife. He resists — and is falsely accused and imprisoned. The test of the lower passions. The alchemical separatio — the refusal to be consumed by the animal self.
The Prison and the Dreams. In prison, Joseph interprets the dreams of Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker — one will be restored, one will die. The power of interpretation (hermeneutics) as spiritual gift. The Dreamer becomes the Reader of Dreams.
The Elevation. Pharaoh dreams of seven fat cows and seven lean cows, seven full ears of grain and seven empty ones. No one can interpret. Joseph is summoned from the dungeon. He reads the dream: seven years of plenty, seven years of famine. Pharaoh makes him Zaphenath-Paneah — "revealer of secrets" — and sets him over all Egypt. The initiate who has passed through the underworld is elevated to rulership.
The Reconciliation. Joseph's brothers come to Egypt seeking grain. They do not recognize him. He tests them. He weeps. And finally he reveals himself: "I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But do not be distressed... God sent me ahead of you to preserve life." (Genesis 45:4-5)
Esoteric Significance
Joseph as the Perfected Soul. The entire arc — from beloved son to slave to prisoner to ruler to reconciler — maps onto the alchemical process. The coat of many colors is the aura or Body of Light. The pit is the nigredo. The prison is the albedo (purification through suffering). The elevation is the rubedo. The reconciliation is the coniunctio — the union of what was separated.
Egypt as the Body. Joseph descends into Egypt (Mitzrayim — "the narrow place") as the soul descends into the body. He does not escape Egypt — he masters it. He becomes its governor. The goal is not to flee matter but to rule it.
The Dreamer as Prophet. Joseph's gift of dream-interpretation connects him to the Mundus Imaginalis — the imaginal realm where divine communication occurs through symbol, image, and vision.