Notes on the Book of Mormon from a Nineteenth Century Perspective: Joseph of Old

The story of Joseph in Genesis is one of the most complete. It stands out since it extols Jews of the Diaspora. 

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Old Testament is how contending texts sit side by side, as if different writers were having arguments with each other. So Ezra's exhortations to not marry outside the faith are set next to stories about Rahab and Ruth.

Likewise, Jews of the Diaspora--Jews outside Israel--were fans of the story of Joseph. Joseph of Egypt, who is forced to leave his home, saves his people. 

And the story was almost immediately used for literary purposes. As Bernhard Lang notes, the story of Joseph is the Bible's Odyssey or Iliad and consequently can be interpreted in any number of ways. The desire to expand on the story has never faded. The practice was certainly popular in the nineteenth century. Joseph of Old was used as...

Instruction for children. Lessons on chastity. Political discourse, including, in America, one of the earliest pamphlets against slavery by Samuel Sewall. 

And entertainment! Even before Andrew Lloyd Webber, the story was presented through plays and poetry.

In The Book of Mormon, Joseph of Old is directly linked in 2 Nephi 3 to Joseph Smith the translator. In Alma 46, somewhat more poetically, Joseph of Old's coat is used to symbolize the remnant of Jacob's house that will survive in the New World. 

The Gathering of Israel is an ongoing theme in The Book of Mormon. It is and isn't connected to Millennialism.