Lehi, who is separated from his unrighteous countrymen in Jerusalem by command of the Lord, has a special kinship with Joseph of Egypt, also a prophet of separation in the days of his father, Jacob, known as Israel (see Genesis 32:28). Lehi gives a benedictory patriarchal blessing to his youngest son, a namesake of the ancient Joseph, promising him, in effect, that he will also prevail with God in righteousness. As part of this blessing, Lehi cites passages from Joseph of Egypt, his direct ancestor, concerning a coming prophet, like unto Moses, who will do a great work in renewing the covenant promises of the Lord in the latter days. The reference is to Joseph Smith, the great Prophet of the Restoration. Joseph of Egypt, whose words are preserved on the brass plates of Laban, had looked forward in time to behold the ministry of his namesake, Joseph Smith.
“A Seer Will I Raise Up”
In the standard account in Genesis chapter 50, Joseph says to his brethren from his deathbed in Egypt, “God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land,” but reveals nothing about the Hebrews’ future enslavement by the Egyptians. In 2 Nephi we read that Joseph in Egypt prophesied that God would send a prophet called Moses to deliver His people from Egyptian bondage. That this story is ancient is corroborated by Jewish tradition, particularly in a second-century translation of the Bible into Aramaic. In Targum Neofiti, we read of Joseph’s interpretation of the butler’s dream: “The three branches are the three fathers of the world: namely; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the sons of whose sons are to be enslaved in the slavery of the hand of Egypt.”
It should be noted that Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible contains the patriarch Joseph’s prophecy that his people would be enslaved by the Egyptians (see Echoes, 238–240).