Genesis 50 - Mourning the death of Jacob
1 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him.
2 Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him,
3 taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
4 When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him,
5 ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now 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 to do.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt—
8 besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen.
9 Chariots and horsemen[a] also went up with him. It was a very large company.
10 When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father.
11 When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.[b]
12 So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them:
13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre,which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.
14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”
16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died:
17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
The Death of Joseph
22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years
23 and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.[c]
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”
26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him,he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
Footnotes:
- Genesis 50:9 Or charioteers
- Genesis 50:11 Abel Mizraim means mourning of the Egyptians.
- Genesis 50:23 That is, were counted as his
Observation Questions
What was Joseph's reaction to his father's death? (verse 1)
Who embalmed Israel? (verse 2)
How long did it take for Israel to be embalmed? (verse 3)
How long did the Egyptians mourn for? (verse 3)
Did Pharaoh let Joseph burry his father in the tomb in the land of Canaan? (verse 4-6)
Who accompanied Joseph as he went to bury his father? (verse 7-8, 9)
Who was left with the herds in Goshen? (verse 8)
What did they do when they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan? (verse 10)
Why is the place near the Jordan called Abel Mizraim? (verse 11)
Did Jacob's sons do as he had commanded them? (verse 12)
What field did they burry Jacob in? (verse 13)
What did Joseph and his brothers do when they finished burying his father? (verse 14)
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
What were Joseph's brothers concerned about when their father was dead? (verse 15)
What was Joseph's reaction to receiving the word that the brothers sent? (verse 16-17)
What happened between Joseph and his brothers after the death of their father? (verse 15-26)
How did Joseph's brothers present themselves to Joseph when their father had died? (verse 18)
What did Joseph say about what had happened between them? (verse 19-21)
How did Joseph speak to his brothers? (verse 21)
The Death of Joseph
How old did Joseph live? (verse 22)
What generation of Ephraim's children did Joseph live to see? (verse 23)
Who did Joseph say would come to his brother's aid and take them up out of the land and to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? (verse 24)
What did Joseph make the Israelites swear? (verse 25)
Where was Joseph placed after he was embalmed? (verse 26)
Thoughts
“What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”
“Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
You intended to harm me,
but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done,
the saving of many lives.
So then, don’t be afraid.
I will provide for you and your children.”
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