The Book of
Genesis 50
26 verses≈ 5 min3 peopleBSB
Images are artistic interpretations.
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In this chapter
Where we are
- 1–11BeginningsCreation, fall, flood, Babel
- 12–24AbrahamThe call and the promise
- 25–36Isaac and JacobThe promise passed on
- 37–50JosephGod meant it for goodChapter 50
Mourning and Burial for Jacob
Then Joseph fell upon his father’s face, wept over him, and kissed him.
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And Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So they embalmed him, taking the forty days required to complete the embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
Joseph
When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please tell Pharaoh that my father made me swear an oath when he said, ‘I am about to die. You must bury me in the tomb that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Now let me go and bury my father, and then return.”
Pharaoh
Pharaoh replied, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”
Then Joseph went to bury his father, and all the servants of Pharaoh accompanied him—the elders of Pharaoh’s household and all the elders of the land of Egypt— along with all of Joseph’s household, and his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children and flocks and herds were left in Goshen.
Chariots and horsemen alike went up with him, and it was an exceedingly large procession. When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, which is across the Jordan, they lamented and wailed loudly, and Joseph mourned for his father seven days.
When the Canaanites of the land saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a solemn ceremony of mourning by the Egyptians.” Thus the place across the Jordan is called Abel-mizraim.
0:44
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
So Jacob’s sons did as he had charged them. They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
After Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him to bury his father.
Stylised map · locations approximate
On the map
Jacob carried home
From Goshen in the Nile delta the great procession goes up to “the threshing floor of Atad, which is across the Jordan.” No one knows exactly where Atad was, so its place here is approximate. From there Jacob’s sons carry him on to Hebron, to “the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre,” where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Leah already lay.
Reflect
As he had charged them
Jacob had asked one last thing of his sons: not to be left in Egypt but buried in the land God promised. It took seventy days of mourning, a long journey and a great crowd, but “Jacob’s sons did as he had charged them.” Is there a promise you have made, to someone you love or to God, that you still need to keep? Write it down, and what it would take to keep it.
Joseph Comforts His Brothers
Joseph's brothers
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge? Then he will surely repay us for all the evil that we did to him.”
So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Before he died, your father commanded, ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I beg you, please forgive the transgression and sin of your brothers, for they did you wrong.’ So now, Joseph, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.”
When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
Joseph's brothers
His brothers also came to him, bowed down before him, and said, “We are your slaves!”
But Joseph replied, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.
Genesis 50:20
Therefore do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” So Joseph reassured his brothers and spoke kindly to them.
God meant it for good
Whiteboard
Every step down was real wrong done to Joseph, and every step was in God’s hands. Looking back over it all, Joseph can say to the men who sold him, “what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good.”
Pray
Do not be afraid
The brothers expected revenge. Instead Joseph wept, and said twice, “Do not be afraid.” He left judgment to God and promised, “I will provide for you and your little ones.” Bring God the wrongs that still hurt you. Ask Him for grace to forgive as you have been forgiven, and thank Him that He can bring good even out of what others meant for evil.
The Death of Joseph
Now Joseph and his father’s household remained in Egypt, and Joseph lived to the age of 110.
God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Genesis 50:24
Question
Quick question
Joseph is 110 and about to die in Egypt. His last words are a promise, and a request.
What did Joseph make the sons of Israel swear to do?
You’ve experienced
Genesis 50
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A verse to carry with you
As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.
Genesis 50:20
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