Jacob has just died. After spending his final 17 years in Egypt, he blessed his sons and asked that his body be returned to Canaan. He then died quietly of old age.
Genesis 50:1-3, Egyptians mourn for Jacob
Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him. Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
Joseph and the Egyptians follow Egyptian culture in the funeral services for Jacob. (Joseph has been immersed in the Egyptian culture for most of his life.)
Genesis 50:4-9, Funeral caravan to Canaan
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, `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.'"
Pharaoh said, "Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do."
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-- 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. Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.
Genesis 50:10-13, Burial near Mamre
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.
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.
So Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them: 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 as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field.
In verse 11, the Hebrew word ay'-bel (ebel ,אֵבֶל) means "mourning" but abel (אָבֵל) means meadow; note the slight change in vowel pointing. "Mizraim" means "Egyptians" so Abel Mizraim either means "mourning of the Egyptians" or "meadow of the Egyptians." (The ancient texts only gave consonants, without vowel pointing, so we look to later texts, such as the Masoretic, to attempt to translate some words.)
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.
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?" So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: `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.
His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said.
The brothers connive to protect themselves. (In doing so, they clearly admit that their actions were "sins and wrongs.") Do the brothers have a good reason for their concern? After all, Joseph did seem to enjoy testing (torturing?) them when they first arrived in Egypt.
Genesis 50:19-21, Joseph forgives
But Joseph said to them, "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." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Joseph emphasizes that they are forgiven -- that this is all for good.
Walton argues that verse 20 is the theme of Genesis -- that throughout the book, God had a good plan (a Covenant Plan) that took decades, indeed centuries in development.
Genesis 50:22-26, Death of Joseph
Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father's family. He lived a hundred and ten years 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.
Genesis 50:22-26, Death of Joseph
Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father's family. He lived a hundred and ten years 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.
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." And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place."
So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
Placing a child on one's knees was probably a ritualistic way to symbolize adoption.
Joseph, like his fathers before him, looked to the covenant promise of the land of Canaan. He wishes that his body eventually be taken back to that land.
So ends the book of Genesis. The book of Exodus will follow the descendants of Jacob, centuries later, as the tribe grows into a million or more.
Some Hebrew vocabulary
Our Hebrew word for the day is muth,
מוּת
a verb meaniing "to die." Used with various verbs stems, the word can also mean "to cause someone to die" or "to be caused to die."
Some Random Thoughts
Walton argues that verse 20,
"... but God intended it for good
to accomplish what is now being done,
the saving of many lives,"
is the theme of Genesis. Joseph endured decades of suffering in order to bring the family of Jacob to safety in Egypt. God had a plan, but it a long one, taking decades to come to fulfillment.
In modern Christian culture, there are claims that
"God loves you and offers a wonderful pan for your life,"
(see "Law 1" here) but that promise often comes with a suggestion that this good plan happens quickly, maybe even immediately! A favorite Bible verse in this regard is Jeremiah 29:11,
"I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you ...,
plans to give you hope and a future."
In their reciting of Jeremiah 29:11, people often ignore the context of Jeremiah, that God's plans for Judah are to bring the people back from Babylon seventy years later! Similarly, we often resist the pain of reading the book of Job because Job's suffering lasts for considerable time, despite his innocence.
In the book of Genesis, throughout the book, God announces a good plan (a Covenant Plan) that will take decades, indeed centuries in develop and come to fruition.
First published Feb 28, 2023; updated Feb 27, 2026
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