From the earliest childhood Yosef, son of Ya’akov, was considered a special person. Having been born of the one who was “the woman he loved”, and occurring in his old age, Ya’akov considered him as a leader from his youth. All this was confirmed by the revelatory dreams that were given to Yosef, which led to his enmity with his brothers.
Prophetically, in his own lifetime, Yosef saw the fulfillment of those omens, but what neither he, nor anyone of his generation knew, was that he would become a prophetic archetype, upon which exiles and returns to the Promised Land would be declared hundreds of years later. Yosef became the leader of Egypt during his own lifetime, but he would continue to be the leader of his people until the end of days.
