The Josephites were the descendants of Joseph, the youngest son of Lehi (2 Nephi 3:1). From the time of Jacob, Nephi’s and Joseph’s brother, they were grouped with and called Nephites. In Jacob’s own list, the people who were not Lamanites went by the names Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, Zoramites, Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites; Jacob set these aside and said he would call those who sought to destroy the people of Nephi Lamanites, and those friendly to Nephi he would call Nephites (Jacob 1:13-14).
The Josephites are named again at the outbreak of the final wars, when the Nephite side consisted of the Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, and Zoramites, against the Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites (Mormon 1:8). They appear once more among the people who arose as true believers in Christ, called Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, and Zoramites (4 Nephi 1:36-37).