Is Joesph ever mentioned outside the Bible?

Outside/Apart from the Bible, is Joseph mentioned in extra-biblical literature or the Egyptian historical record?

Asked By: 
Greg
Extra-biblical writing about Joseph? Yes and no.
If the question is whether there are sources referring to this Joseph that are not shaped and influenced by the narrative in Genesis, then the answer is no.
 
We do have extra-canonical texts, especially the text known as the Romance of Joseph and Asenath, which purports to tell the story of the religious conversion of Joseph's Egyptian wife, Asenath.  But this work seems to be a rather creative and imaginative composition, prompted in some sense by the Genesis narrative.
 
There is also the "Life of Joseph" by Philo of Alexandria, which is an expansionist retelling of the Genesis narrative, with lots of embellishments.
 

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Author: Larry W. Hurtado

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