Genesis 49:29-50:14
New American Standard Bible
Jacob Dies
29 Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am about to be (A)gathered to my people; (B)bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in (C)the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the (D)cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a [a]burial site. 31 There they buried (E)Abraham and his wife (F)Sarah, there they buried (G)Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and (H)breathed his last, and was (I)gathered to his people.
Jacob Is Buried
50 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him and kissed him. 2 Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians (J)embalmed Israel. 3 Now forty days were [b]required for [c]it, for [d]such is the period required for embalming. And the Egyptians (K)wept for him seventy days.
4 When the days of [e]mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak [f]to Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘(L)My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am about to die; in my grave (M)which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now then, please let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’” 6 Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household; they left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen. 9 Chariots with teams of horses also went up with him; and it was a very great company. 10 When they came to the [g]threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they (N)mourned there with a very great and [h]sorrowful lamentation; and he [i]observed seven days of mourning for his father. 11 Now when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at [j]the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a [k]grievous [l]mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore it was named [m]Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.
Burial at Machpelah
12 And so his sons did for him as he had commanded them; 13 for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in (O)the cave of the field of Machpelah opposite Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a [n]burial site from Ephron the Hittite. 14 And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:30 Lit possession of a burial place
- Genesis 50:3 Lit fulfilled
- Genesis 50:3 Or him
- Genesis 50:3 Lit so are fulfilled the days of embalming
- Genesis 50:4 Lit weeping
- Genesis 50:4 Lit In the ears of
- Genesis 50:10 Heb Goren ha-Atad
- Genesis 50:10 Lit heavy
- Genesis 50:10 Lit made a mourning for seven days
- Genesis 50:11 Heb Goren ha-Atad
- Genesis 50:11 Lit heavy
- Genesis 50:11 Heb ebel
- Genesis 50:11 I.e., the meadow (or mourning) of Egypt
- Genesis 50:13 Lit possession of a burial place
Genesis 49:29-50:14
New English Translation
29 Then he instructed them,[a] “I am about to go[b] to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30 It is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought for a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it were acquired from the sons of Heth.”[c]
33 When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and went[d] to his people.
The Burials of Jacob and Joseph
50 Then Joseph hugged his father’s face.[e] He wept over him and kissed him. 2 Joseph instructed the physicians in his service[f] to embalm his father, so the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 They took forty days, for that is the full time needed for embalming.[g] The Egyptians mourned for[h] him seventy days.[i]
4 When the days of mourning[j] had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s royal court,[k] “If I have found favor in your sight, please say to Pharaoh,[l] 5 ‘My father made me swear an oath. He said,[m] “I am about to die. Bury me[n] in my tomb that I dug for myself there in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go and bury my father; then I will return.’” 6 So Pharaoh said, “Go and bury your father, just as he made you swear to do.”[o]
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; all Pharaoh’s officials went with him—the senior courtiers[p] of his household, all the senior officials of the land of Egypt, 8 all Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household. But they left their little children and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen. 9 Chariots and horsemen also went up with him, so it was a very large entourage.[q]
10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad[r] on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there with very great and bitter sorrow.[s] There Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who lived in the land saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a very sad occasion[t] for the Egyptians.” That is why its name was called[u] Abel Mizraim,[v] which is beyond the Jordan.
12 So the sons of Jacob did for him just as he had instructed them. 13 His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. This is the field Abraham purchased as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After he buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, along with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to bury his father.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:29 tn The Hebrew text adds “and he said to them,” which is not included in the translation because it is redundant in English.
- Genesis 49:29 tn Heb “I am about to be gathered.” The participle is used here to describe what is imminent.
- Genesis 49:32 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
- Genesis 49:33 tn Heb “was gathered.”
- Genesis 50:1 tn Heb “fell on.” The expression describes Joseph’s unrestrained sorrow over Jacob’s death; he probably threw himself across the body and embraced his father.
- Genesis 50:2 tn Heb “his servants the physicians.”
- Genesis 50:3 tn Heb “and forty days were fulfilled for him, for thus are fulfilled the days of embalming.”
- Genesis 50:3 tn Heb “wept for.”
- Genesis 50:3 sn Seventy days. This probably refers to a time of national mourning.
- Genesis 50:4 tn Heb “weeping.”
- Genesis 50:4 tn Heb “the house of Pharaoh.”
- Genesis 50:4 tn Heb “in the ears of Pharaoh.”
- Genesis 50:5 tn Heb “saying.”
- Genesis 50:5 tn The imperfect verbal form here has the force of a command.
- Genesis 50:6 tn Heb “he made you swear on oath.”
- Genesis 50:7 tn Or “dignitaries”; Heb “elders.”
- Genesis 50:9 tn Heb “camp.”
- Genesis 50:10 sn The location of the threshing floor of Atad is not certain. The expression the other side of the Jordan could refer to the eastern or western bank, depending on one’s perspective. However, it is commonly used in the OT for Transjordan. This would suggest that the entourage came up the Jordan Valley and crossed into the land at Jericho, just as the Israelites would in the time of Joshua.
- Genesis 50:10 tn Heb “and they mourned there [with] very great and heavy mourning.” The cognate accusative, as well as the two adjectives and the adverb, emphasize the degree of their sorrow.
- Genesis 50:11 tn Heb “this is heavy mourning for Egypt.”
- Genesis 50:11 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so it may be translated as passive.
- Genesis 50:11 sn The name Abel Mizraim means “the mourning of Egypt.”
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