Genesis 50

1 Which thing Joseph saw, and he fell on his father's face, and wept, and kissed him;

2 and he commanded his servants, (the) leeches, that they should anoint his father with sweet smelling spiceries. (and he commanded the physicians, his servants, to anoint his father with sweet smelling spices.)

3 While they fulfilled his behests, forty days passed, for this was the custom of dead bodies (that were) anointed; and Egypt bewept him (for) seventy days.

4 And when the time of wailing was fulfilled, Joseph spake to the household of Pharaoh, (and said,) If I have found grace in your sight, speak ye in the ears of Pharaoh (If I have found grace before you, speak ye to Pharaoh for me);

5 for my father charged me [with (an) oath], and said, Lo! I die; thou shalt bury me in my sepulchre which I digged to me in the land of Canaan; therefore I shall go up that I bury my father, and I shall turn again. (for my father charged me with an oath, and said, Lo! now I die; and thou shalt bury me in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan; and so let me go up now, that I bury my father, and then I shall return.)

6 And Pharaoh said to him, Go up, and bury thy father, as thou art charged.

7 And when Joseph went up, all the elder men of the house of Pharaoh went with him, and all the greater men in birth of the land of Egypt; (And when Joseph went up, all the elders of Pharaoh's household, and all the men of great age, that is, the elders, of the land of Egypt, went up with him;)

8 (and all) the house of Joseph with their brethren, (but) without (the) little children, and flocks, and great beasts, which they left in the land of Goshen, went with him. (and all of Joseph's household, and his brothers, went with him, but not their little children, or their flocks, or their great beasts, which they left in the land of Goshen.)

9 And he had chariots, and horsemen, and (his) fellowship (with him), and the company was made not little.

10 And they came to the cornfloor of Atad, which is set over Jordan, where they made the service of the dead body, with great wailing and strong, and filled seven days. (And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is on the east side of the Jordan River, where they held a service for the dead man, with much loud wailing, and filled seven days there.)

11 And when the dwellers of the land of Canaan had seen this, they said, This is a (time of) great wailing to the Egyptians; therefore they called the name of that place The wailing of Egypt. (And when the people of the land of Canaan had seen this, they said, This is a time of great wailing, or of great mourning, for the Egyptians; and so they named that place Abelmizraim.)

12 Therefore the sons of Jacob did, as he had commanded to them; (And so Jacob's sons did, as he had commanded them;)

13 and they bare him into the land of Canaan, and they buried him in the double den, which den with the field Abraham had bought of Ephron (the) Hittite, against the face of Mamre, into possession of a sepulchre. (and they carried his body to the land of Canaan, and they buried him in the cave in the field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, which Abraham had bought for a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.)

14 And Joseph turned again into Egypt with his brethren and all the fellowship, when his father was buried. (And after his father was buried, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers, and with all of his fellowship.)

15 And when their father was dead, the brethren of Joseph dreaded, and spake together, (and said,) Lest peradventure he be mindful of the wrong which he suffered, and yield to us all the evil, that we did. (And now that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers were afraid, and spoke together, and said, Perhaps he shall remember all the wrong, or all the harm, which he suffered because of us, and give back to us all the evil that we did to him, and so we must ask him for mercy.)

16 And (so) they sent (a message) to him, and said, Thy father commanded to us, before that he died,

17 that we should say to thee these things by his words; I beseech thee, that thou forget the wickedness of thy brethren, and the sin, and [the] malice that they haunted against thee; also we pray thee, that thou forgive this wickedness (which we did) to thy father, the servant of God. When these things were heard, Joseph wept. (that we should say these words of his to thee; My son, I beseech thee, that thou forget the wickedness of thy brothers, and the sin, and the malice that they did against thee; and we also pray thee, that thou forgive our wickedness, for we, like thee, be servants of the God of thy father. And when Joseph heard this message, he wept.)

18 And his brethren came to him, and worshipped low to the earth (and bowed low to the ground before him), and said, We be thy servants.

19 To which he answered, Do not ye dread; whether we may against-stand God's will? (To whom he answered, Do not ye fear; for can we stand against God's will?)

20 Ye thought evil of me, and God turned it into good, that he should enhance me, as ye see in this present time, and that he should make safe many peoples; (Ye thought to do evil to me, but God turned it into good, and he used what you did to me to advance me, as ye see at this present time, and by doing so he hath saved many people;)

21 do not ye dread (do not ye fear), I shall feed you and your little children. And he comforted them, and spake sweetly and lightly to them;

22 and Joseph dwelled in Egypt, with all the house of his father (and Joseph lived in Egypt, with all of his father's household, or all of his father's family). And he lived an hundred [and ten] years,

23 and he saw the sons of Ephraim till to the third generation; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were borne in the knees of Joseph (were brought up on Joseph's knees).

24 When these things were done, Joseph spake to his brethren, (and said,) After my death God shall visit you, and he shall make you to go up from this land to the land which he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (When these things were done, Joseph said to his brothers, Soon I shall die, but someday, God shall visit you, and he shall lead you out of this land to the land which he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.)

25 And when Joseph had charged them (with an oath), and had said, God shall visit you, bear ye out with you my bones from this place; (And when Joseph had charged them with an oath, and had said, When God shall visit you, take ye my bones away with you from this place;)

26 he died, when an hundred and ten years of his life were filled (then he died, when he was a hundred and ten years old); and he was anointed with sweet smelling spiceries, and he was kept in a bier in Egypt.

Genesis 50 Commentary

Chapter 50

The mourning for Jacob. (1-6) His funeral. (7-14) Joseph's brethren crave his pardon, He comforts them. (15-21) Joseph's direction concerning his bones, His death. (22-26)

Verses 1-6 Though pious relatives and friends have lived to a good old age, and we are confident they are gone to glory, yet we may regret our own loss, and pay respect to their memory by lamenting them. Grace does not destroy, but it purifies, moderates, and regulates natural affection. The departed soul is out of the reach of any tokens of our affection; but it is proper to show respect to the body, of which we look for a glorious and joyful resurrection, whatever may become of its remains in this world. Thus Joseph showed his faith in God, and love to his father. He ordered the body to be embalmed, or wrapped up with spices, to preserve it. See how vile our bodies are, when the soul has forsaken them; they will in a very little time become noisome, and offensive.

Verses 7-14 Jacob's body was attended, not only by his own family, but by the great men of Egypt. Now that they were better acquainted with the Hebrews, they began to respect them. Professors of religion should endeavour by wisdom and love to remove the prejudices many have against them. Standers-by took notice of it as a grievous mourning. The death of good men is a loss to any place, and ought to be greatly lamented.

Verses 15-21 Various motives might cause the sons of Jacob to continue in Egypt, notwithstanding the prophetic vision Abraham had of their bondage there. Judging of Joseph from the general temper of human nature, they thought he would now avenge himself on those who hated and injured him without cause. Not being able to resist, or to flee away, they attempted to soften him by humbling themselves. They pleaded with him as the servants of Jacob's God. Joseph was much affected at seeing this complete fulfilment of his dreams. He directs them not to fear him, but to fear God; to humble themselves before the Lord, and to seek the Divine forgiveness. He assures them of his own kindness to them. See what an excellent spirit Joseph was of, and learn of him to render good for evil. He comforted them, and, to banish all their fears, he spake kindly to them. Broken spirits must be bound up and encouraged. Those we love and forgive, we must not only do well for, but speak kindly to.

Verses 22-26 Joseph having honoured his father, his days were long in the land, which, for the present, God had given him. When he saw his death approaching, he comforted his brethren with the assurance of their return to Canaan in due time. We must comfort others with the same comforts with which we have been comforted of God, and encourage them to rest on the promises which are our support. For a confession of his own faith, and a confirmation of theirs, he charges them to keep his remains unburied till that glorious day, when they should be settled in the land of promise. Thus Joseph, by faith in the doctrine of the resurrection, and the promise of Canaan, gave commandment concerning his bones. This would keep up their expectation of a speedy departure from Egypt, and keep Canaan continually in their minds. This would also attach Joseph's posterity to their brethren. The death, as well as the life of this eminent saint, was truly excellent; both furnish us with strong encouragement to persevere in the service of God. How happy to set our early in the heavenly race, to continue stedfastly, and to finish the course with joy! This Joseph did, this we also may do. Even when the pains of death are upon us, if we have trusted in Him upon whom the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles depended, we need not fear to say, "My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 50

This chapter contains a short account of what happened from the death of Jacob to the death of Joseph, and is chiefly concerned with the funeral of Jacob; it first gives an account how Joseph was affected with his father's death, of his orders to the physicians to embalm him, and of the time of their embalming him, and of the Egyptians mourning for him, Ge 50:1-3, next of his request to Pharaoh to give him leave to go and bury his father in Canaan, and his grant of it, Ge 50:4-6 and then of the grand funeral procession thither, the mourning made for Jacob, and his interment according to his orders, Ge 50:7-13 upon the return of Joseph and his brethren to Egypt, they fearing his resentment of their former usage of him, entreat him to forgive them; which they said they did at the direction of their father, to which Joseph readily agreed, and comforted them, and spoke kindly to them, and bid them not fear any hurt from him, for whatever were their intention, God meant it, and had overruled it for good, Ge 50:14-21 and the chapter is concluded with an account of Joseph's age and death, and of his posterity he saw before his death, and of the charge he gave to his brethren to carry his bones with them, when they should depart from Egypt, Ge 50:22-26.