Why did Joseph live in Egypt?

Answer 1

It was not Josephs brother who went to Egypt but it was Joseph, Mary and the little baby Jesus who fled to Egypt. They fled as Joseph was told to do so in a dream as Herod wanted to kill the baby Jesus.

In the name of Allah Almighty

According to Islamic version Hazrat Yousaf's brothers went to Egypt when that area was caught in the grip of famine for seven years. Egypt was saved because of the wise management of Hazrat Yousaf (AS) who was the chief Minister of Egypt. His brothers came to Egypt to buy food. They could not recognize Hazrat Yousaf (AS) as they didn't have the slightest idea that the young child whom they had sold could rise to that height.

Answer 2

Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery because they were envious of him. They hated him so much that they wanted him dead, but when an Egyptian caravan came through, they figured they would just sell him as a slave. Joseph became a servant to a rich man, Potiphar who was captain of the guard.

Potiphar's wife was a rather lustful sort and demanded that Joseph have sex with her. Instead, he refused and ran, and she tore his garment as he fled and told her husband he raped her. So he threw Joseph in prison. Some speculate that was only to appease the wife, since if he really believed Joseph was guilty, he could have probably had him executed.

So Joseph was in an Egyptian prison for something he didn't do. But he had a gift for interpreting dreams. Two inmates had dreams and wanted Joseph to interpret them, and things went as he said. One was restored his post before the king and the other was executed. Yet the one who was cleared of the accusation forgot to pass on any word about Joseph.

Then the king had a dream that troubled him, and his servant who was accused and cleared remembered Joseph and told the king, and the king let Joseph interpret his dream. That was when Joseph told that there would be 7 good years and 7 bad years and that someone needed to oversee collecting and storing food during the good years. So the king made Joseph his prime minister.

So in short, he was in Egypt because his brothers sold him into slavery, and he stayed there because he had an important job to do there. Ironically, his brothers selling him into slavery is what saved their lives.

ANSWER

There were two main reasons Joseph lived in Egypt.

(1) Joseph didn't have much choice where he lived:

- he had been a slave in Egypt when he was 17,

- had been imprisoned in an Egyptian jail for 13 years,

- pardoned by Egyptian Pharoah,

- married Egyptian woman at behest of Pharoah,

- made Prime Minister of Egypt , and

- his father, brothers and their families moved to Egypt

(2) To enable prophetic fulfillment of a future event .

Bible scholars have long-recognized that Joseph is a Type of Jesus Christ.

In the Notes on Matthew 2:15 in his Study Bible, John MacArthur said that: "Israel's sojourn in Egypt was a pictorial prophecy, rather than a specific verbal one....These are called "types" and are always fulfilled in Christ"

Hosea 11:1 KJV

(v.1) When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

Just as the first Joseph was driven from Canaan to Egypt for a shelter from the anger of his brothers; so Jesus Christ - the second Joseph - fled to Egypt for safety to escape being killed by Herod. -

Mat 2:15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet [Hosea], saying, "Out of Egypt have I called my son".

Answer 3

Genesis 37:12-36 of the Jewish Talmud and the standard Christian Bible tell the story of how Joseph found himself in Egypt.

Joseph was his father's favorite child. His 11 brothers became jealous and captured him. They sold him as a slave to a passing merchant caravan on its way to Egypt. When the caravan arrived in Egypt, Joseph's owner sold him to the Pharoah's captain of the guard.

As a captured slave, Joseph probably walked all the way to Egypt with the caravan. That is how Joseph came to be in Egypt.