Genesis 50
New King James Version
Burial of Jacob
50 Then Joseph (A)fell on his father’s face and (B)wept over him, and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to (C)embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those who are embalmed; and the Egyptians (D)mourned[a] for him seventy days.
4 Now when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to (E)the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying, 5 (F)‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying; in my grave (G)which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.’ ”
6 And 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 house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.
10 Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they (H)mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. (I)He observed seven days of mourning for his father. 11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called [b]Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.
12 So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. 13 For (J)his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham (K)bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. 14 And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, (L)they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may [c]actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” 16 So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, 17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; (M)for they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of (N)the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
18 Then his brothers also went and (O)fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
19 Joseph said to them, (P)“Do not be afraid, (Q)for am I in the place of God? 20 (R)But as for you, you meant evil against me; but (S)God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; (T)I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke [d]kindly to them.
Death of Joseph(U)
22 So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father’s household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. 23 Joseph saw Ephraim’s children (V)to the third generation. (W)The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, (X)were also brought up on Joseph’s knees.
24 And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but (Y)God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land (Z)of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then (AA)Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely [e]visit you, and (AB)you shall carry up my (AC)bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Footnotes
- Genesis 50:3 Lit. wept
- Genesis 50:11 Lit. Mourning of Egypt
- Genesis 50:15 fully
- Genesis 50:21 Lit. to their hearts
- Genesis 50:25 give attention to
Genesis 50
Easy-to-Read Version
Jacob’s Funeral
50 When Israel died, Joseph was very sad. He hugged his father and cried over him and kissed him. 2 Joseph commanded his servants to prepare his father’s body. (These servants were doctors.) The doctors prepared Jacob’s body to be buried. They prepared the body in the special way of the Egyptians. 3 When the Egyptians prepared the body in this special way, they waited 40 days before they buried the body. Then the Egyptians had a special time of sadness for Jacob. This time was 70 days.
4 After the time of sadness was finished, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s officers and said, “Please tell this to Pharaoh: 5 ‘When my father was near death, I made a promise to him. I promised that I would bury him in a cave in the land of Canaan. This is the cave that he prepared for himself. So please let me go and bury my father. Then I will come back here to you.’”
6 Pharaoh answered, “Keep your promise. Go and bury your father.”
7 So Joseph went to bury his father. All of Pharaoh’s officials, personal advisors, and all the older leaders of Egypt went with Joseph. 8 All the people in Joseph’s family, his brothers, and all the people in his father’s family went with him. Only the children and the animals stayed in the land of Goshen. 9 So there was a large crowd of people with him. There was even a group of soldiers riding in chariots and some on horses.
10 They went to Goren Atad,[a] east of the Jordan River. There they had a long funeral service for Israel, which continued for seven days. 11 When the people who lived in Canaan saw the funeral service at Goren Atad, they said, “This is a time of great sorrow for those Egyptians.” So now that place across the Jordan River is named Abel Mizraim.[b]
12 So Jacob’s sons did what their father told them. 13 They carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah. This was the cave near Mamre in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite. Abraham bought that cave to use as a burial place. 14 After Joseph buried his father, he and everyone in the group with him went back to Egypt.
The Brothers Are Still Afraid of Joseph
15 After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers were worried. They were afraid that Joseph would still be mad at them for what they had done years before. They said, “Maybe Joseph still hates us for what we did.” 16 So the brothers sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he told us to give you a message. 17 He said, ‘Tell Joseph that I beg him to please forgive his brothers for the bad things they did to him.’ So now Joseph, we beg you, please forgive us for the bad things we did to you. We are the servants of God, the God of your father.”
That message made Joseph very sad, and he cried. 18 His brothers went to him and bowed down in front of him. They said, “We will be your servants.”
19 Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am not God! I have no right to punish you. 20 It is true that you planned to do something bad to me. But really, God was planning good things. God’s plan was to use me to save the lives of many people. And that is what happened. 21 So don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And so Joseph said kind things to his brothers, and this made them feel better.
22 Joseph continued to live in Egypt with his father’s family. He died when he was 110 years old. 23 During Joseph’s life Ephraim had children and grandchildren. And his son Manasseh had a son named Makir. Joseph lived to see Makir’s children.
The Death of Joseph
24 When Joseph was near death, he said to his brothers, “My time to die is almost here. But I know that God will take care of you and lead you out of this country. God will lead you to the land he promised to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
25 Then Joseph asked his people to make a promise. Joseph said, “Promise me that you will carry my bones with you when God leads you out of Egypt.”
26 Joseph died in Egypt when he was 110 years old. Doctors prepared his body for burial and put the body in a coffin in Egypt.
Footnotes
- Genesis 50:10 Goren Atad Or “Atad’s threshing floor.”
- Genesis 50:11 Abel Mizraim This means “Egyptian time of sadness.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International