Two Josephs and two Jacobs
In the first reference to Joseph in the New Testament (NT) there is a hidden gem that is easily missed amongst the sixteen genealogical verses that are the start of Matthew chapter one. These verses list Joseph's ancestors back to Abraham in 1850 BC and the little gem relates to the name of Joseph's father: "and Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ" (Matthew 1:16). What is interesting is that the Joseph of the Old Testament (a distant relative of the latter Joseph) also had father called Jacob: "The sons of Rachel, Jacob ’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin" (Genesis 46:19). It seems a surprising coincidence and when we examine their lives it is apparent that there are intriguing parallels between them. Joseph with Jesus ⇨ Both endured humiliation and embarrassment From Genesis 37- 41 we know the Old Testament (OT) Joseph experienced many hardships before becoming the second-in-command of the kingdom of Egy...