Bereshis 50

1 0 And Yosef fell upon the face of Aviv, and wept over him, and kissed him.

2 And Yosef commanded his avadim the rofe’im (physicians) to embalm Aviv; and the rofe’im embalmed Yisroel.

3 And arba’im yom were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed; and the Mitzra’im mourned for him shivim yom (seventy days).

4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Yosef spoke unto the Bais Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found chen in your eyes, speak, now, in the oznayim of Pharaoh, saying,

5 Avi made me swear, saying, Hinei, I die; in my kever which I dug for myself in Eretz Kana’an, there shalt thou bury me. Therefore let me go up, now, and bury Avi, and I will return.

6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury Avicha, according as he made thee swear.

7 And Yosef went up to bury Aviv; and with him went up all the avadim of Pharaoh, the zekenim of his Bais, and all the zekenim of Eretz Mitzrayim,

8 And kol Bais Yosef, and his achim, and Bais Aviv; only their little ones, and their tzon, and their bakar (cattle), they left in Eretz Goshen.

9 And there went up with him both merkavot and parashim; and it was a very great machaneh.

10 And they came to the goren (threshing floor) of Atad, which is beyond the Yarden, and there they mourned with a gadol and very bitter lamentation; and he made evel (mourning) for Aviv shivat yamim.

11 And when the inhabitants of HaAretz, the Kena’ani, saw the evel (mourning) in the goren Atad, they said, This is a grievous evel to the Mitzrayim; therefore the shem of it was called Evel Mitzrayim. It is beyond the Yarden.

12 And his [Ya’akov’s] banim did unto him according as he commanded them;

13 For his banim carried him into Eretz Kena’an, and buried him in the me’arah (cave) of the sadeh of Machpelah, near Mamre, the sadeh which Avraham had bought for an achuzzat kever (burial estate) and made the purchase from Ephron the Chitti.

14 And, after burying Aviv, Yosef returned into Mitzrayim, he, and his achim, and all that went up with him to bury Aviv.

15 And when the Achei Yosef (the brothers of Yosef) saw that Avihem was dead, they said, What if Yosef will hate us, and will certainly requite us all the ra’ah which we did unto him.

16 And they sent word unto Yosef, saying, Avicha did command before he died, saying,

17 So shall ye say unto Yosef, Forgive, now, the peysha of thy achim, and their chattat; for they did unto thee ra’ah; and now, forgive the peysha of the Avdei Elohei Avicha. And Yosef wept when they spoke unto him.

18 And his achim also went and fell down before him; and they said, Behold us, we are thy avadim.

19 And Yosef said unto them, Fear not; for am I in the place of Elohim?

20 But as for you, ye intended ra’ah against me; but Elohim intended it for tovah, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save Am Rav (much people) alive.

21 Now therefore fear ye not; I will provide for you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spoke kindly unto their hearts.

22 And Yosef dwelt in Mitzrayim, he, and Bais Aviv; and Yosef lived one hundred and ten shanim.

23 And Yosef saw Ephraim’s bnei shileshim (children to the third generation); also the Bnei Machir Ben Menasheh were brought up upon the birkei Yosef (knees of Yosef).

24 And Yosef said unto his achim, I die; and Elohim will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto HaAretz which He promised by oath to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Ya’akov.

25 And Yosef made the Bnei Yisroel take an oath, saying, Elohim will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my atzmot from hence.

26 So Yosef died, being in age one hundred and ten shanim; and they embalmed him, and he was placed in an aron in Mitzrayim.

Bereshis 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.