In 1835, Egyptian papyri came into Joseph Smith’s possession. He translated one of them into the Book of Abraham. He identified another as the Book of Joseph, but died before he could translate it.

A text called The Book of Joseph appeared on the internet at some point. I haven’t been able to track down when it first appeared or who might have written it. My internet searching indicates it first appeared around the year 2000, although I have a dim recollection of it appearing earlier than this on Usenet. There’s endnotes provided by an Elder Todd J. Jumper, but I can’t find anything about him either.

An introductory paragraph tells us The Book of Joseph was written by Moses. Why Moses didn’t simply include the material from The Book of Joseph in Genesis instead of repeating the story in a separate book is left unexplained.

The Book of Joseph assumes we’re already familiar with Genesis 29-30, so as a recap for those of you who don’t remember, Jacob works seven years for Laban in order to marry his daughter Rachel, but Laban tricks him into marrying his oldest daughter Leah instead. Jacob then works for Laban another seven years in order to marry Rachel as well.

Leah gives birth to Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and the only daughter in the bunch, Dinah. Rachel was barren, so she made her servant Bilhah sleep with her husband and Bilhah gave birth to Dan and Naphtali. Leah then made her servant Zilpah sleep with Jacob and Zilaph gave birth to Gad and Asher. (Well, that’s traditional Biblical marriage for ya.)

The Book of Joseph starts abruptly with angels appearing to the barren Rachel. They tell her Jacob’s seed will rule all lands and trample down all people (Joseph 1:2). So, if you’re not Jewish, prepare to be trampled!

Rachel is told she shall bear a son named Joseph who will be made into two great nations (Joseph 1:3). This is a reference to Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim being the founders of two of the twelve tribes of Israel with Joseph’s brothers making up the rest of the tribes.

Rachel tells Jacob about the angelic visit. Jacob offers a burnt offering to the Lord. An angel appears to Jacob and tells him about Joseph as well, however this time, the angel says Joseph will be one great nation rather than two (Joseph 1:7). Hmm.

Joseph 1:8-12 parallels Genesis 30:25-34, in which Jacob asks Laban to let him take his traditional Biblical family and leave. However, the context is different because the conversation takes place after Joseph was born in Genesis, but before he was born in The Book of Joseph.

In Genesis, Jacob agrees to continue working for Laban if he can have the speckled and striped sheep, goats, and lambs (Joseph 1:11 adds cattle and any other speckled and striped beast among the flocks.)

Jacob puts branches in the watering troughs which somehow causes the animals to give birth to striped offspring. In Genesis 30:37, this is presented as Jacob’s idea, but Joseph 2:1-4 says he got the idea from an angel. So it’s a bit different, but not in an important way.

In an incident not recounted in Genesis, Laban gets mad about the striped animals and an angel appears. The angel tells Laban he commanded Jacob to make the striped animals. The angel says in the latter time, the wicked will be prosperous for seven years, and then be destroyed. The righteous will get all their stuff and inherit the earth forever (Joseph 2:13).

The angel then secretly commands Jacob to return to the land of his fathers with his traditional Biblical family and to also take Laban’s household gods (Joseph 2:15). (This is different from the account in Genesis 31:19 in which Rachel steals Laban’s household gods.) Laban is angry when he finds Jacob has disappeared and his gods are missing as well (Joseph 2:16).

Laban pursues Jacob and chastises him for stealing his gods. An angel appears and informs Laban that God commanded Jacob to do this (Joseph 2:21). (In Genesis 31, Jacob doesn’t know Rachel stole her father’s gods.)

To make a point, the angel then melts Laban’s gods in front of his eyes (Joseph 2:24) and for good measure, has a chariot of God pass by (Joseph 2:25) and a whirlwind scatter the ashes of the idols (Joseph 2:26). In contrast, Genesis 31:35 has Laban search for his gods, but not find them because Rachel is sitting on them and claims she can’t stand up because she’s having her period.

God himself then speaks to Laban (apparently he couldn’t speak through an angel this time) and tells him worshiping idols is bad. Laban then vows to worship the real God from now on. (In Genesis 31, Laban doesn’t convert, but makes a pact with Jacob that the two will not harm each other.)

In Chapter 3, the eponymous Joseph is finally born. An angel tells Jacob Joseph will be two great nations (Joseph 3:2) contradicting Joseph 1:7 where the angel told him Joseph would be one nation.

The angel goes on to say only a remnant will see “my” (presumably God’s?) face (Joseph 3:3). It seems like the angel is forgotten and it’s God speaking directly at this point. I’ll quote this next part which seems to be a prophecy about nuclear weapons:

Behold, wisdom shall increase in the latter time. And men shall make weapons of war; yea, even terrible weapons which shall touch the power of the Most High. (Joseph 3:4)

And the seed of Joseph shall believe a lie, wherein the terrible weapons shall be for the protection of their lands. And wo unto them, for the people shall be deceived. (Joseph 3:5)

And the Lord showed Jacob a vision, and said: Behold, the mighty men of the earth shall lay an awful scheme by the word of their god, that they should destroy the Lord when he shall visit men at the appointed time when he shall reward the sons of men according to their works. (Joseph 3:6)

And all nations shall gather together in the heart of the earth to make war with the Lord, even the almighty king of heaven and earth. Wo, wo, wo unto the chief princes of the earth, even unto the seed of Dan, who hath made gold their god and a lie their refuge: (Joseph 3:7)

Who have said among themselves: the Lord is no god wherein we should fear him, for by our mighty power have we become gods ourselves and have spread abroad ourselves over all the earth. Yet shall they be judged and cut off from among the sons of Jacob. (Joseph 3:8)

Thus sayeth the Lord: The wicked plot in vain. And they shall drink from the cup of vanity which they have grasped; for the Lord himself shall utterly destroy them all by the brightness of his terrible presence. (Joseph 3:9)

The king of the wicked is Azaziel. The Lord himself will bind Azaziel with cords that can’t be broken (Joseph 3:11). The Lord reigns supreme over all the gods (Joseph 3:13).

Joseph grows up. He’s unusually wise (Joseph 4:1). An angel tells Jacob to make Joseph a tunic with the holy emblems of the priesthood (Joseph 4:2). (We seem to be skipping ahead to Genesis 37:3 where Jacob makes Joseph an ornate robe called the Coat of Many Colors by some.) The angel instructs Jacob to make Joseph a priest for he’s going to be sent to Egypt to become a savior (Joseph 4:4).

Joseph has a dream wherein his brothers’ flocks bow down to his flocks (Joseph 4:14). This is a bit different from Genesis 37:7 in which the dream features his brothers’ grain bowing down to his grain, but in either case, this makes his brothers mad at him.

He has another dream in which the sun, moon, and stars bow before him (Joseph 4:16, Genesis 37:9). Jacob rebukes him for his pride (Joseph 4:20, Genesis 37:10).

Joseph’s brothers plot to kill him as in Genesis 37:18-20, however there’s some added details. They call him a king in a mocking manner (Joseph 5:2) and his brother Dan stabs him with a sword, but Joseph is miraculously unharmed (Joseph 5:3). I wonder if Dan being the violent brother is a reference to the Danites?

Reuben suggests they dump him in a pit and leave him to die instead of outright killing him (Joseph 5:6, Genesis 37:22). Instead of then selling Joseph to Midianite merchants as in Genesis, the brothers leave him to die, but a band of Midianites discover Joseph in the pit (Joseph 5:7) so we arrive at the same place.

The chief of the Midianites is named Hanok and rescues Joseph in exchange for Joseph agreeing to serve him the rest of his life (Joseph 5:9). Hanok sends a servant to tell Jacob what happened (unlike in Genesis where Jacob thinks Joseph is dead).

Meanwhile, Reuben feels bad about leaving Joseph to die and decides to sell him to some Ishmaelites instead, but finds the pit empty (Joseph 5:14-15). In Genesis, Reuben wasn’t aware his brothers had sold Joseph and is distraught to find the pit empty (Genesis 37:29) so the story is a bit different, but ends up in the same place.

The brothers put goat’s blood on Joseph’s tunic and tell their father he was attacked by wild beasts. Unlike in Genesis, Jacob knows they’re lying, but pretends he believes them (Joseph 5:18-19).

Jacob has Hanok’s servant bring the special tunic to Joseph (Joseph 5:20), but he can’t look at it or he’ll be cursed (Joseph 5:22).

Hanok sells Joseph to Potifar (Joseph 6:1, Genesis 37:36) who puts him in charge of his household (Joseph 6:2, Genesis 39:4). Unlike in Genesis, Potifar converts to Judiasm (Joseph 6:4) and even becomes a priest (Joseph 6:5)

However, Potifar’s wife (unnamed in Genesis, but called Shinmin in Joseph) tries to sleep with Joseph. She grabs his cloak and he runs from her, naked (Genesis 39:12, Joseph 6:11). In both accounts, she claims Joseph was the one trying to sleep with her against her will.

In Genesis, Potifar believes his wife, but in Joseph, he believes Joseph. However, he still sends Joseph to prison because he’s afraid Pharoah will hear about this and insist on it. In both stories, the prison warden makes Joseph his second in command.

The Book of Joseph skips past Genesis 40 in which Joseph gains a reputation for interpreting the dreams of his fellow prisoners and simply tells us Pharoah sends for Joseph because he’s an interpreter of dreams. (Joseph 7:1).

As in Genesis 41, Pharoah dreams seven gaunt cows devour seven fat cows. (The Book of Joseph leaves out Pharoah’s second dream in which seven withered heads of grain devour seven full heads of grain.) Joseph interprets the dream to mean seven years of bounty will be followed by seven years of famine. Pharoah makes Joseph his second-in-command to store up grain during the bounteous years to use during the famine. Overall, Joseph 7 gives an abbreviated version of the first half of Genesis 41.

Joseph 8 doesn’t have a Genesis analogue. It’s a short chapter in which an angel appears to Joseph to tell him he’ll become two great nations and also become the savior of Egypt, but we knew this already.

Joseph 9:1 returns to retelling Genesis (Genesis 41:45 specifically) in which Joseph marries Asenath, the daughter of Potifar. They have two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. The Book of Joseph gives an abbreviated form of the Genesis story, but adds the additional detail that an angel appears to Joseph to remind him that his two sons will become two nations. Joseph must have memory problems because he keeps having to be reminded of this.

In the last days, these two nations will be rebellious and will fight the Lord (Joseph 9:5). However, a portion of these two nations will be faithful and will get the earth as an inheritance after Joseph is resurrected (Joseph 9:6).

The Lord (once again, an angel of the Lord turns into the Lord without explanation) then tells Joseph his brothers will appear to him and he should be merciful to them (Joseph 9:7).

Joseph 10 retells Genesis 42, but with some differences. When the famine hits, Joseph’s brothers complain. Jacob knows Joseph holds a place of honor in Egypt, so he tells his sons to go there. (In Genesis, Jacob sends his sons to Egypt just because he heard Egypt has grain.) In both accounts, Jacob sends only ten of his sons, keeping Benjamin with him.

His brothers ask to buy food, but don’t recognize him. (In Joseph 10:9, they’re even told his name is Joseph!) When they tell him they’re not Egyptians, he accuses them of being spies. They say they aren’t spies, but have a younger brother back home. (Why do they think this bit of information proves they aren’t spies?)

Joseph puts Simeon in prison and tells the rest to go get their youngest brother to prove they aren’t spies. (Joseph 10:18 tells us Joseph forgives his brothers in his heart, yet demands they bring their youngest brother to him anyway.) The Book of Joseph leaves out the detail that Joseph secretly weeps in Genesis 42:24. Joseph then sends them away with grain. (The Book of Joseph leaves out the detail in Genesis that Joseph also gave them back their money.)

Joseph 11 gives us another aside in which an angel appears to Joseph. The angel is standing in flame, which makes Joseph think he’s a dead man and causes him to faint. However, the angel tells him he’s a chosen one and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. (What happened to all nations being trampled by his seed back in Joseph 1:2?) This will happen “where the milk shall overflow unto the dung hills” (Joseph 11:6), an interesting turn of phrase.

Once again, the Lord himself suddenly appears when only an angel was there before and shows Joseph a terrible vision that makes him quake (Joseph 11:7-8).

This next bit is confusing:

“And the Angel of the Lord said unto Joseph; This is the kingdom which I have created for mine own purpose and it is very great, is it not marvelous to behold?” Joseph 11:9

Apparently, “the Angel of the Lord” and “the Lord” are the same person? Also, why would the Lord’s kingdom be terrible and cause Joseph fear?

“Behold, the lands which number more than the sands of the sea. And this is my work and my great glory; to give unto my children that which I have prepared for them, yea, even all I possess.” (Joseph 11:12)

So the Lord just wants to give us all his stuff? Didn’t he already give the whole earth to Adam and Eve? Is he talking about other planets? This needs to be explained more.

The Lord promises Joseph will be lifted up to the throne of God if he’s faithful all his life. (Joseph 11:15)

“And thou shalt sit in my throne, yea, even the throne of God. And thou shalt be my son, and I shall be thy father, forever. Yea, even forever and ever.” (Joseph 11:17)

Whoa. If Joseph sits in God’s throne, wouldn’t that make Joseph God? Is Joseph Jesus? Please explain.

Joseph sees a great multitude of sons of men shining like the sun each with a golden crown on his head. They sing and praise God. One in the midst of the throne has the name Jehovah written on him, a name which means Wisdom of God. The Lord explains these are those who have glorified his name. They will be his sons forever. (Joseph 11:20-21)

In Joseph 12, the priests of On think Joseph is the wisest man in all of Egypt and some of them secretly worship his god, but Joseph tells them it’s not time yet to openly worship his god (Joseph 12:5).

He teaches them astronomy and teaches them the sun is not a god (Joseph 12:10). Joseph predicts a Pharoah in the future will enslave his people (Joseph 12:11). He apparently can’t do anything to prevent it from happening. He also predicts Moses will save the people and lead them to a promised land (Joseph 12:12-15).

God will punish the sons for the sins of their fathers (Joseph 12:17). (That seems a little unfair.) Joseph wants his bones to be brought out of Egypt that day (Joseph 12:18, Genesis 50:25).

And that’s the end of the manuscript. There’s a note explaining Joseph Smith died before he was able to finish the translation, but fortunately, we do have the Book of Genesis that tells us the rest of Joseph’s story. Since The Book of Joseph mainly retells the Genesis story with minor variations, there doesn’t seem to be much point to it. It does add in portions from Joseph Smith’s translation of Genesis and alludes to mentions of Joseph made in the Book of Mormon, so I guess it’s not entirely pointless. The only bit I found interesting is the reference to men trying to nuke God in Chapter 3. That’s an interesting idea I haven’t encountered before and it does parallel the arrogance of the builders of the Tower of Babel, so it’s a natural subject for a modern-day scripture to tackle.