Genesis 50
Expanded Bible
Jacob’s Burial
50 When Jacob died, Joseph ·hugged [L fell on the face of] his father and cried over him and kissed him. 2 He commanded the doctors who served him to ·prepare his father’s body [embalm his father], so the doctors ·prepared Jacob’s body to be buried [L embalmed Israel; C another name for Jacob; 32:28]. 3 It took the doctors forty days to ·prepare his body [embalm him] (the usual time it took). And the Egyptians ·had a time of sorrow for Jacob that lasted [L wept over him for] seventy days.
4 When this time of ·sorrow had ended [L weeping passed], Joseph spoke to ·the king’s officers [L household of Pharaoh] and said, “If ·you think well of me [L I have found grace in your eyes], please ·tell this to the king [L speak now in the ear of Pharaoh]: 5 ‘When my father was near death, ·I made a promise to him [L my father made me swear] that I would bury him in a cave in the land of Canaan, in a burial place that he cut out for himself. So please let me go and bury my father, and then I will return.’ ”
6 ·The king [L Pharaoh] answered, “·Keep your promise. Go [L As he made you swear, go] and bury your father.”
7 So Joseph went to bury his father. All ·the king’s officers [L servants of Pharaoh], the elders of his ·court [L house], and all the elders of Egypt went with Joseph. 8 ·Everyone who lived with [L All the house of] Joseph and his brothers went with him, as well as ·everyone who lived with [L all the house of] his father. They left only their ·children [little ones], their flocks, and their herds in the land of Goshen [45:10]. 9 They went with Joseph in chariots and on horses. It was a very large ·group [camp].
10 When they came to ·the threshing floor of Atad [or Goren-ha-atad; or the threshing floor of the bramble], near the Jordan River, they ·cried loudly and bitterly for his father [L lamented there with a great and exceedingly strong lament]. Joseph’s time of ·sorrow [mourning] continued for seven days. 11 The people that lived in Canaan saw the ·sadness [mourning] at the threshing floor of Atad [or Goren-ha-atad; or threshing floor of the bramble] and said, “Those Egyptians are ·showing great sorrow [intense in their mourning]!” So now that place is named ·Sorrow of the Egyptians [or Abel-mizraim].
12 So Jacob’s sons did as their father commanded. 13 His sons carried ·his body [L him] to the land of Canaan and buried ·it [or him] in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre. Abraham had bought this cave and field from Ephron the Hittite to use as a burial ·place [site]. 14 After Joseph buried his father, he returned to Egypt, along with his brothers and everyone who had gone with him to bury his father.
The Brothers Fear Joseph
15 ·After Jacob [L The brothers of Joseph saw that their father had] died, ·Joseph’s brothers [L and they] said, “What if Joseph ·is still angry with [holds a grudge against] us? We did many wrong things to him. What if he plans to pay us back?” 16 So they ·sent a message to [instructed; commanded] Joseph that said, “Your father gave this command before he died. 17 He said to us, ‘You have done wrong and have sinned and done evil to Joseph. Tell Joseph to forgive you, his brothers.’ So now, Joseph, we beg you to forgive our wrong. We are the servants of the God of your father.” When Joseph received the message, he cried.
18 And his brothers went to him and bowed low before him and said, “We are your slaves.”
19 Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. ·Can I do what only God can do [Am I in the place of God]? 20 You meant ·to hurt [to harm; or evil against] me, but God ·turned your evil into [L meant it for] good to save the lives of many people, which is being done. 21 So don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your ·children [little ones].” So Joseph ·comforted [consoled; reassured] his brothers and spoke kind words to them.
22 Joseph continued to live in Egypt with all ·his father’s family [L the house of his father]. ·He died when he was [L Joseph lived until he was] one hundred ten years old. 23 ·During Joseph’s life Ephraim had children and grandchildren [L Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation], and Joseph’s son Manasseh had a son named Makir. ·Joseph accepted Makir’s children as his own [L The children of Makir were born on his knees].
The Death of Joseph
24 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will ·take care of [provide for] you. He will ·lead you out of [bring you up from] this land to the land he ·promised [swore] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph had the sons of Israel ·make a promise [swear]. He said, “·Promise [Swear to] me that you will ·carry [bring up] my bones with you out of Egypt.”
26 Joseph died when he was one hundred ten years old. ·Doctors prepared his body for burial [L Doctors embalmed him], and then they put him in a coffin in Egypt.
Genesis 50
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 50
Jacob’s Funeral. 1 Joseph flung himself upon his father and wept over him as he kissed him. 2 Then Joseph ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father. When the physicians embalmed Israel, 3 they spent forty days at it, for that is the full period of embalming; and the Egyptians mourned him for seventy days. 4 When the period of mourning was over, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s household. “If you please, appeal to Pharaoh, saying: 5 My father made me swear: ‘I am dying. Bury me in my grave that I have prepared for myself in the land of Canaan.’ So now let me go up to bury my father. Then I will come back.”(A) 6 Pharaoh replied, “Go and bury your father, as he made you promise on oath.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went all of Pharaoh’s officials who were senior members of his household and all the other elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as Joseph’s whole household, his brothers, and his father’s household; only their children and their flocks and herds were left in the region of Goshen. 9 Chariots, too, and horsemen went up with him; it was a very imposing retinue.
10 When they arrived at Goren-ha-atad,[a] which is beyond the Jordan, they held there a very great and solemn memorial service; and Joseph observed seven days of mourning for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who inhabited the land saw the mourning at Goren-ha-atad, they said, “This is a solemn funeral on the part of the Egyptians!” That is why the place was named Abel-mizraim. It is beyond the Jordan.
12 Thus Jacob’s sons did for him as he had instructed them. 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, facing on Mamre, the field that Abraham had bought for a burial ground from Ephron the Hittite.(B)
14 After Joseph had buried his father he returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all who had gone up with him for the burial of his father.
Plea for Forgiveness. 15 [b]Now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became fearful and thought, “Suppose Joseph has been nursing a grudge against us and now most certainly will pay us back in full for all the wrong we did him!” 16 So they sent to Joseph and said: “Before your father died, he gave us these instructions: 17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: Please forgive the criminal wrongdoing of your brothers, who treated you harmfully.’ So now please forgive the crime that we, the servants of the God of your father, committed.” When they said this to him, Joseph broke into tears. 18 Then his brothers also proceeded to fling themselves down before him and said, “We are your slaves!” 19 But Joseph replied to them: “Do not fear. Can I take the place of God? 20 Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve this present end, the survival of many people.(C) 21 So now, do not fear. I will provide for you and for your children.” By thus speaking kindly to them, he reassured them.(D)
22 Joseph remained in Egypt, together with his father’s household. He lived a hundred and ten years. 23 He saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation, and the children of Manasseh’s son Machir were also born on Joseph’s knees.(E)
Death of Joseph. 24 Joseph said to his brothers: “I am about to die. God will surely take care of you and lead you up from this land to the land that he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”(F) 25 Then, putting the sons of Israel under oath, he continued, “When God thus takes care of you, you must bring my bones up from this place.”(G) 26 Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. He was embalmed and laid to rest in a coffin in Egypt.(H)
Footnotes
- 50:10–11 Goren-ha-atad: “Threshing Floor of the Brambles.” Abel-mizraim: although the name really means “watercourse of the Egyptians,” it is understood here, by a play on the first part of the term, to mean “mourning of the Egyptians.” The site has not been identified through either reading of the name. But it is difficult to see why the mourning rites should have been held in the land beyond the Jordan when the burial was at Hebron. Perhaps an earlier form of the story placed the mourning rites beyond the Wadi of Egypt, the traditional boundary between Canaan and Egypt (Nm 34:5; Jos 15:4, 47).
- 50:15–26 The final reconciliation of the brothers. Fearful of what may happen after the death of their father, the brothers engage in a final deception, inventing the dying wish of Jacob. Again, Joseph weeps, and, again, his brothers fall down before him, offering to be his slaves (44:16, 33). Joseph’s assurance is also a summation of the story: “Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve this present end, the survival of many people” (v. 20). Joseph’s adoption of the children of Manasseh’s son Machir recalls Jacob’s adoption of his grandchildren (48:5, 13–20); the adoptions reflect tribal history (cf. Jgs 5:14).
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