Genesis 50

The Death of Jacob and Joseph

¹Joseph fell on his father’s face, wept on him, and kissed him.

²Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Israel.

³Forty days were used for him, for that is how many days it takes to embalm. The Egyptians wept for Israel for seventy days.

⁴When the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s staff, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,

⁵‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying. Bury me in my grave which I have dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come again.’”

⁶Pharaoh said, “Go up, and bury your father, just like he made you swear.”

⁷Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, all the elders of the land of Egypt,

⁸all 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.

⁹Both chariots and horsemen went up with him. It was a very great company.

¹⁰They came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they lamented with a very great and severe lamentation. He mourned for his father seven days.

¹¹When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

¹²His sons did to him just as he commanded them,

¹³for his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field, as a possession for a burial site, from Ephron the Hittite, near Mamre.

¹⁴Joseph returned into Egypt—he, and his brothers, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

¹⁵When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.”

¹⁶They sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded before he died, saying,

¹⁷‘You shall tell Joseph, “Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

¹⁸His brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

¹⁹Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for am I in the place of God?

²⁰As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today.

²¹Now therefore don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” He comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.

²²Joseph lived in Egypt, he, and his father’s house. Joseph lived one hundred ten years.

²³Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. The children also of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph’s knees.

²⁴Joseph said to his brothers, “I am dying, but God will surely visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

²⁵Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”

²⁶So Joseph died, being one hundred ten years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Previous Genesis 49

Next Exodus 1

Genesis 50 concludes the book with Jacob's burial and Joseph's final years. After Jacob's death, Joseph honors his father with Egyptian embalming and a grand funeral procession to Canaan, where Jacob is buried in the family tomb at Machpelah. When Joseph's brothers fear retribution after their father's death, Joseph reassures them with his famous declaration that God transformed their evil intentions into good for the preservation of many lives.

Context

This chapter brings Genesis full circle, ending where it began with God's promise to Abraham about the land, while setting up the eventual exodus from Egypt.

Key Themes

Outline

1-3
Jacob's Death and Embalming Joseph grieves his father's death and arranges for Egyptian embalming, with seventy days of mourning.
4-6
Request to Bury Jacob in Canaan Joseph asks Pharaoh's permission to fulfill his oath to bury Jacob in the promised land.
7-14
The Funeral Procession and Burial A great company accompanies Jacob's body to Canaan, where he is buried in the cave of Machpelah.
15-21
Joseph Forgives His Brothers Joseph reassures his fearful brothers, declaring that God used their evil for good to save many lives.
22-26
Joseph's Final Years and Death Joseph lives to 110 years, sees his great-grandchildren, and makes his brothers swear to carry his bones to Canaan.

The Death of Jacob and Joseph

50:1–50:26

narrative narration mournful

Joseph mourns his father Jacob's death, embalms him according to Egyptian custom, and fulfills his oath by burying Jacob in the promised land of Canaan alongside Abraham.

person_contrast

Joseph's elaborate Egyptian embalming of Jacob creates a striking paradox—using foreign burial practices to preserve the patriarch for burial in the covenant land of promise.

Insight Character Study

Joseph's elaborate Egyptian embalming of Jacob creates a striking paradox—using foreign burial practices to preserve the patriarch for burial in the covenant land of promise.

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Genesis 50:1 3 references

Lexicals 3

1 Samuel 20:41 Lexical

As soon as the boy was gone, David arose out of the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three t…

Genesis 50

The Death of Jacob and Joseph

The Death of Jacob and Joseph

Insights

Cross-References

Genesis 50:1 3 references

Genesis 50:4 4 references

Genesis 50:5 2 references

Genesis 50:8 4 references

Genesis 50:9 4 references

Genesis 50:10 2 references

Genesis 50:11 3 references

Genesis 50:13 5 references

Genesis 50:17 2 references

Genesis 50:23 5 references

Genesis 50:24 5 references

Genesis 50:25 1 reference

Interlinear

Historical Context