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.”
Genesis 49:29-50:14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jacob’s Death and Burial
29 Then he charged them, saying to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,(A) 30 in the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan, in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.(B) 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah.(C) 32 The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob ended his charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.(D)
50 Then Joseph threw himself on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him.(E) 2 Joseph commanded the physicians in his service to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel;(F) 3 they spent forty days doing this, for that is the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.(G)
4 When the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph addressed the household of Pharaoh, “If now I have found favor with you, please speak to Pharaoh as follows: 5 My father made me swear an oath; he said, ‘I am about to die. In the tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.’ Now therefore let me go up, so that I may bury my father; then I will return.”(H) 6 Pharaoh answered, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen.(I) 9 Both chariots and charioteers went up with him. It was a very great company. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they held there a very great and sorrowful lamentation, and he observed a time of mourning for his father seven days.(J) 11 When the Canaanite inhabitants of the land saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning on the part of the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim;[a] it is beyond the Jordan. 12 Thus his sons did for him as he had instructed them. 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, the field near Mamre, which Abraham bought as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite.(K) 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
Footnotes
- 50.11 That is, mourning of Egypt
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