According to McConkie and Millet, the prophecy "And it (the name Joseph) shall be after the name of his father" (2 Nephi 3:15) has reference to Joseph Smith, Sr. The Prophet's father was the first to hold the office of patriarch in this dispensation. Such was his right by birth, he being "the oldest man of the blood of Joseph" (HC 3:381), meaning that he was the oldest direct lineal descendant of Joseph of Egypt on earth at the time. How appropriate that the first patriarch ("head" or "prince of the tribe") should bear the name of his ancient forefather, who saw and prophesied of him! [Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1, pp. 209-210]
His Name Shall Be Called After Me Joseph
Joseph McConkie makes this sidenote:
Having learned of the special meaning associated with the Prophet's name, I was especially interested when I discovered the following in the patriarchal blessing of the Prophet's older brother Hyrum. "Behold thou art Hyrum, the Lord hath called thee by that name, and by that name He has blessed thee." It then dawned on me that Hyrum is also a Hebrew name which means "my brother is exalted." What more appropriate name could have been given to the man who was destined to go with Joseph to Carthage and seal his testimony with his blood? So the testimony of the Restoration has been sealed on this dispensation with the blood of two prophets who, according to the ancient tradition, bore the right names. [Joseph Fielding McConkie, "Joseph Smith as Found in Ancient Manuscripts," in Isaiah and the Prophets, p. 17]
“Joseph”
The prophecies of Joseph (see 2 Nephi 3:6-13; 14-22) are not found in the Bible. How they were lost or when it occurred, we do not know. Cleon Skousen reports that in 1955, Macmillan Company of New York published the English translation of a book (The Messianic Idea in Israel) by Dr. Joseph Klausner, professor of Hebrew literature and Jewish history at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In this volume Dr. Klausner devoted one full chapter (Part III, chapter 9) to the coming of a future "Joseph." Dr. Klausner pointed out that one of the most ancient and respected traditions among the Jewish scholars is the prophecy that a "Joseph" should be raised up in the latter days for the specific purpose of preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah. He cited sources to show that this future Joseph is not only mentioned in the Talmud and other Jewish classics, but Christian scholars have also taken note of this tradition.
According to the Jewish scholars this future Joseph . . . would be a descendant of Joseph who was sold into Egypt and would come through the line of Ephraim (Joseph's heir). It said that his mission would commence about the time Elijah made his appearance to fulfill the promise made in Malachi 4:5-6. It also said that this future Joseph was to be killed (Klausner, pp. 496, 498).
But the thing which puzzled Dr. Klausner most was why this tradition of a latter-day Joseph should be so thoroughly established among Jewish scholars when there was no reference to it in the Hebrew scriptures. The Talmud, the Midrash, and the Targum all refer to it, but these, of course, are merely commentaries rather than the scripture itself. Furthermore, the Jews are not the only ones who have this tradition. Dr. Klausner states that the Samaritans are even more zealous than the Jews in keeping alive the tradition of the latter-day Joseph. Some of them claim to be of the tribe of Joseph and therefore this prophecy is extremely important to them (It will be recalled that the ancestors of the Samaritans were the tiny remnant which was successful in escaping the siege of the Assyrians in 721 B.C., and therefore they were not carried off to Mesopotamia with the rest of Israel). Their tradition concerning the latter-day Joseph goes back to the period which was long before the Talmud (p. 484). The Samaritans had this to say about the future Joseph:
1. They said he would be a descendant of Joseph through Ephraim. They sometimes referred to him as a "son of Ephraim."
2. They called him Teal, meaning "the restorer," "he who returns," or "he who causes to return."
3. They said he would call the people of the world to repentance and bring back better days for Israel.
4. They said this Joseph of the latter days would "restore everywhere the true Law to its former validity and convert all peoples, especially the Jews, to the Samaritan (Ephraimite) religion." [W. Cleon Skousen, Treasures from the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1, pp. ii-iii]