1
Then Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept over him, and kissed him.
2
And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Israel.
3
Forty days were required for it, for so are the days required for embalming; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
4
And when the days of mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
5
‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am about to die: in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore let me go up, I pray you, and bury my father; and I will come again.’”
6
And Pharaoh said, “Go up, and bury your father, according as he made you swear.”
7
And 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
and all the house of Joseph, and his brothers, and his father’s house; only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
9
Both chariots and horsemen went up with him; and it was a very great company.
10
And when they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they made there a very great and sorrowful lamentation; and Joseph kept a mourning for his father seven days.
11
When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.
12
And his sons did to him as he had commanded them.
13
For 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 from Ephron the Hittite for a possession as a burial place, east of Mamre.
14
And Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
15
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully repay us all the evil which we did to him.”
16
Therefore they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died, he commanded, saying:
17
‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you.’ Now therefore, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
18
His brothers also came and fell down before him, and said, “We are your servants.”
19
But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?
20
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about, as it is this day, the saving of many lives.
21
Now therefore do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones also.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
22
Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.
23
Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. Also the children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph’s knees.
24
Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die; 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.”
25
Joseph made the children of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”
26
Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old. They embalmed him, and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
⚰️🙏🏼 Summary of Genesis 50
Genesis 50 closes the book of Genesis with two important moments:
- The burial of Jacob with great honor,
- The death of Joseph, which ends the patriarchal era and opens the way to the book of Exodus.
1. The Burial of Jacob (verses 1–14)
- Joseph wept over his father’s death and ordered that he be embalmed.
- After 70 days of mourning in Egypt, Joseph asked Pharaoh’s permission to bury Jacob in the Cave of Machpelah, as Jacob had requested.
- A great procession of Egyptian officials, Joseph’s family, and Pharaoh’s chariots accompanied the burial—a remarkable honor for Jacob.
- Jacob was buried in the land of Canaan, affirming faith in God’s promise.
2. Joseph’s Forgiveness of His Brothers (verses 15–21)
- After their father had died, Joseph’s brothers feared that he would repay them for their wrongdoing from the past.
- They sent a message as though from Jacob, asking for forgiveness.
- Joseph wept and said:
“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” (verse 20)
- He affirmed that he would not repay them, but would even provide for them and their children.
3. The Death of Joseph (verses 22–26)
- Joseph lived to be 110 years old, and saw descendants as far as the fourth generation.
- He asked that his bones one day be brought up out of Egypt — faith in the promise of the covenant land.
- Joseph died and was embalmed, and placed in a coffin in Egypt.
📖 Main Lessons
- True faith keeps looking to God’s promise, even after death.
- Sincere forgiveness brings restoration and peace within the family.
- What people intend for evil, God can turn into great good.
- True spiritual leaders keep love and service first until the end of life.
- Death is not the end for believers — there is a promise waiting to be fulfilled.
✨ Spiritual Meaning
- Jacob’s burial in the land of Canaan shows that faith does not stop in Egypt (the world), but still waits for the promised land (the eternal kingdom).
- Joseph as a picture of Christ: forgiving those who hurt him, and using suffering to save many people.
- The closing of Genesis shows that even though life is full of challenges and human sin, God remains faithful to His promise and His plan.
