<P> Joseph's half - brothers were jealous of him; (Genesis 37: 18 - 20) wherefore, in Dothan, most of them plotted to kill him, with the exception of Reuben, who suggested to have Joseph thrown into an empty cistern, intending to rescue Joseph himself . Unaware of this secondary intention, the others obeyed his first . Upon imprisoning Joseph, the brothers saw a camel caravan carrying spices and perfumes to Egypt, and sold Joseph to these merchants . Thereafter the guilty brothers painted goat's blood on Joseph's coat and showed it to Jacob, who therefore believed Joseph dead . (Genesis 37: 12 - 35) </P> <P> Ultimately, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard . Later, Joseph became Potiphar's personal servant, and subsequently his household's superintendent . Here, Potiphar's wife Zuleika tried to seduce Joseph, which he refused . Angered by his running away from her, she made a false accusation of rape, and thus assured his imprisonment . (Genesis 39: 1 - 20) </P> <P> The warden put Joseph in charge of the other prisoners, and soon afterward Pharaoh's chief cup - bearer and chief baker, who had offended the Pharaoh, were thrown into the prison, and suffered dreams interpreted by Joseph, who stated that the chief cup - bearer would be reinstated but the chief baker would be hanged . Joseph requested the cup - bearer to mention him to Pharaoh and secure his release from prison, but the cup - bearer, reinstalled in office, forgot Joseph . After two more years, the Pharaoh dreamt of seven lean cows which devoured seven fat cows; and of seven withered ears of grain which devoured seven fat ears . When the Pharaoh's advisers failed to interpret these dreams, the cup - bearer remembered Joseph . Joseph was then summoned . He interpreted the dream as seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine, and advised the Pharaoh to store surplus grain . </P> <P> Following the prediction, Joseph became Vizier, under the name of Zaphnath - Paaneah, and was given Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On, to be his wife . During the seven years of abundance, Joseph ensured that the storehouses were full and that all produce was weighed . In the sixth year, Asenath bore two children to Joseph: Manasseh and Ephraim . When the famine came, it was so severe that people from surrounding nations came to Egypt to buy bread . The narrative also indicates that they went straight to Joseph or were directed to him, even by the Pharaoh himself . (Genesis 41: 37 - 57) As a last resort, all of the inhabitants of Egypt, less the Egyptian priestly class, sold their properties to Joseph for seed; wherefore Joseph set a mandate that, because the people would be sowing and harvesting seed on government property, a fifth of the produce should go to the Pharaoh . This mandate lasted until the days of Moses . (Genesis 47: 20 - 31) </P>

How many joseph's are there in the bible