《旧约》中，牧首雅各与其妻拉结之子。约瑟最得父亲宠爱，他获赠一件耀眼的“彩衣”（coat of many colors，原字面意义为“长袖外衣”〔coat with flowing sleeves〕），令兄长们十分嫉妒。兄长们将约瑟卖往埃及当奴隶，但跟雅各说约瑟遭野兽所害。在埃及，由于解梦的能力，以及取得谷物补给让埃及度过饥荒，约瑟受到了法老赏识且担任高官。当饥荒迫使雅各派遣儿子们到埃及购买谷物，家族与约瑟和解，并定居埃及。约瑟的故事，记载于〈创世记〉第37～50章，描写了以色列民族的留存，开启以色列人在埃及的历史，〈出埃及记〉继续了这段历史。

In the Old Testament, the son of the patriarch Jacob and his wife, Rachel. He was favored by his father, and his brothers became bitterly jealous when he was given a resplendent “coat of many colors” (literally, coat with flowing sleeves). They sold him into slavery in Egypt, telling Jacob he had been killed by a wild beast. In Egypt Joseph gained favor with the pharaoh and rose to high office, owing to his ability to interpret dreams, and his acquisition of grain supplies enabled Egypt to withstand a famine. When famine forced Jacob to send his sons to Egypt to buy grain, the family was reconciled with Joseph and settled there. The story of Joseph, told in Genesis 37-50, depicts the preservation of Israel and begins the history of the Israelites in Egypt that is continued in Exodus.