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Genesis Chapter
Fifty
Genesis 50
Outlines
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
GENESIS 50
This chapter contains a
short account of what happened from the death of Jacob to the death of Joseph
and is chiefly concerned with the funeral of Jacob; it first gives an account
how Joseph was affected with his father's death
of his orders to the
physicians to embalm him
and of the time of their embalming him
and of the
Egyptians mourning for him
Genesis 50:1
next
of his request to Pharaoh to give him leave to go and bury his father in
Canaan
and his grant of it
Genesis 50:4 and
then of the grand funeral procession thither
the mourning made for Jacob
and
his interment according to his orders
Genesis 50:7 upon
the return of Joseph and his brethren to Egypt
they fearing his resentment of
their former usage of him
entreat him to forgive them; which they said they
did at the direction of their father
to which Joseph readily agreed
and
comforted them
and spoke kindly to them
and bid them not fear any hurt from
him
for whatever were their intention
God meant it
and had overruled it for
good
Genesis 50:14 and
the chapter is concluded with an account of Joseph's age and death
and of his
posterity he saw before his death
and of the charge he gave to his brethren to
carry his bones with them
when they should depart from Egypt
Genesis 50:22.
Genesis 50:1. Then Joseph
fell on his father’s face
and wept over him
and kissed him.
YLT 1And Joseph falleth on his father's face
and weepeth
over him
and kisseth him;
And Joseph fell
upon his father's face
....
Laid his own face to the
cold face and pale cheeks of his dead father
out of his tender affection for
him
and grief at parting with him; this shows that Joseph had been present
from the time his father sent for him
and all the while he had been blessing
the tribes
and giving orders about his funeral:
and wept upon
him;
which to do for and over
the dead is neither unlawful nor unbecoming
provided it is not carried to
excess
as the instances of David
Christ
and others show:
and kissed him;
taking his farewell of
him
as friends used to do
when parting and going a long journey
as death is.
This was practised by Heathens
who had a notion that the soul went out of the
body by the mouth
and they in this way received it into themselves: so
Augustus Caesar died in the kisses of Livia
and Drusius in the embraces and
kisses of CaesarF23Vid. Kirchman. de Funer. Rom. l. 1. c. 5. .
Joseph no doubt at this time closed the eyes of his father also
as it is said
he should
and as was usual; see Genesis 46:4.
Genesis 50:2. 2 And
Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the
physicians embalmed Israel.
YLT 2and Joseph commandeth his servants
the
physicians
to embalm his father
and the physicians embalm Israel;
And Joseph
commanded his servants
the physicians
to embalm his father
....
Which he did
not merely
because it was the custom of the Egyptians
but because it was necessary
his
father's corpse being to be carried into Canaan to be interred there
which
would require time; and therefore it was proper to make use of some means for
the preservation of it
and these men were expert in this business
which was a
branch of the medicinal art
as PlinyF24Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 11. c.
37. and MelaF25De Orbis Situ
l. 1. c. 9. suggest; and of these
Joseph had more than one
as great personages have their physicians ready to
attend them on any occasion
as kings and princes
and such was Joseph
being
viceroy of Egypt. HerodotusF26Euterpe
sive
l. 2. c. 84. says the
Egyptians had physicians peculiar to every disease
one for one disease
and
another for another; and HomerF1Odyss. 4. speaks of them as the most
skilful of all men; though the Septuagint render the word by ενταφιασται
the "buriers"
such who took care of the burial of
persons
to provide for it
and among the rest to embalm
dry
and roll up the
bodies in linen:
and the
physicians embalmed him;
the manner of embalming
as HerodotusF2lbid. c. 86. relates
was this
"first with a
crooked iron instrument they extracted the brain through the nostrils
which
they got out partly by this means
and partly by the infusion of medicines;
then with a sharp Ethiopian stone they cut about the flank
and from thence
took out all the bowels
which
when they had cleansed
they washed with palm
wine (or wine of dates)
and after that again with odours
bruised; then they
filled the bowels (or hollow place out of which they were taken) with pure
myrrh beaten
and with cassia and other odours
frankincense excepted
and sewed
them up; after which they seasoned (the corpse) with nitre
hiding (or covering
it therewith) seventy days
and more than that they might not season it; the
seventy days being ended
they washed the corpse
and wrapped the whole body in
bands of fine linen
besmearing it with gum
which gum the Egyptians use
generally instead of glue.'And Diodorus SiculusF3Bibliothec. l. 1.
p. 81
82.
who gives much the same account
says
that every part was retained
so perfectly
that the very hairs of the eyebrows
and the whole form of the
body
were invariable
and the features might be known; and the same writer
tells us
that the expense of embalming was different; the highest price was a
talent of silver
about one hundred and eighty seven pounds and ten shillings
of our money
the middlemost twenty pounds
and the last and lowest were very
small. The embalmers he calls ταριχευται
and says they
were in great esteem
and reckoned worthy of much honour
and were very
familiar with the priests
and might go into holy places when they pleased
as
the priests themselves.
Genesis 50:3. 3 Forty
days were required for him
for such are the days required for those who are embalmed;
and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
YLT 3and they fulfil for him forty days
for so
they fulfil the days of the embalmed
and the Egyptians weep for him seventy
days.
Forty days were
fulfilled for him
....
Were spent in embalming
him:
for so are
fulfilled the days of those that are embalmed;
so long the body lay in
the pickle
in ointment of cedar
myrrh and cinnamon
and other things
that it
might soak and penetrate thoroughly into it: and so Diodorus SiculusF4lBibliothec.
l. 1. p. 82. says
that having laid more than thirty days in such a state
it
was delivered to the kindred of the deceased:
and the
Egyptians mourned for him seventy days;
during the time of their
embalming him; for longer than seventy days the body might not lie in the
pickle
as before observed
from Herodotus. According to Diodorus SiculusF5lbid.
p. 65.
the Egyptians used to mourn for their kings seventy two days: the
account he gives is
that"upon the death of a king
all Egypt went into a
common mourning
tore their garments
shut up their temples
forbid sacrifices
kept not the feasts for seventy two days
put clay upon their headsF6Vid.
Pompon. Mela de Situ Orbis
l. 1. c. 9.
girt linen clothes under their
breasts; men and women
two or three hundred together
went about twice a day
singing in mournful verses the praises of the deceased; they abstained from
animal food
and from wine
and all dainty things; nor did they use baths
nor
ointments
nor lie in soft beds
nor dared to use venery
but
as if it was for
the death of a beloved child
spent the said days in sorrow and mourning.'Now
these seventy days here are either a round number for seventy two
or two are
taken from them
as Quistorpius suggests
to make a difference between Jacob
and a king of theirs
who yet being the father of their viceroy
they honoured
in such a manner. Jarchi accounts for the number thus
forty for embalming
and
thirty for mourning; which latter was the usual time for mourning with the Jews
for principal men
and which the Egyptians added to their forty of embalming;
see Numbers 20:29.
Genesis 50:4. 4 Now
when the days of his mourning were past
Joseph spoke to the household of
Pharaoh
saying
“If now I have found favor in your eyes
please speak in the
hearing of Pharaoh
saying
YLT 4And the days of his weeping pass away
and
Joseph speaketh unto the house of Pharaoh
saying
`If
I pray you
I have
found grace in your eyes
speak
I pray you
in the ears of Pharaoh
saying
And when the
days of his mourning were past
....
The forty days before
mentioned
in which both the Egyptians and Jacob's family mourned for him. An
Arabic writerF7Elmacinus
p. 43. apud Hottinger. Smegma
c. 8. p.
380. says
the Egyptians mourned for Jacob forty days
which was the time of
embalming; but the text is express for sventy days:
Joseph spake
unto the house of Pharaoh;
to the court of Pharaoh
the principal men there; so the Targum of Jonathan and the Septuagint version
to the great men or princes of the house of Pharaoh: it may seem strange that
Joseph
being next to Pharaoh in the administration of the government
should
make use of any to speak for him to Pharaoh on the following account. It may
be
that Joseph was not in so high an office
and in so much power and
authority
as in the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine; and
it is certain that that branch of his office
respecting the corn
must have
ceased; or this might have been a piece of policy in Joseph to make these men
his friends by such obliging treatment
and by this means prevent their making
objections to his suit
or plotting against him in his absence; or if it was
the custom in Egypt
as it afterwards was in Persia
that no man might appear
before the king in a mourning habit
Esther 4:2 this
might be the reason of his not making application in person: moreover
it might
not seem so decent for him to come to court
and leave the dead
and his
father's family
in such circumstances as they were: besides
he might speak to
them not in person
but by a messenger
since it is highly probable he was now
in Goshen
at a distance from Pharaoh's court; unless it can be supposed that
these were some of Pharaoh's courtiers who were come to him in Goshen
to
condole his father's death:
saying
if now
I have found grace in your eyes
speak
I pray you
in the ears of Pharaoh;
however
as these men had
the ear of Pharaoh
and an interest in him
Joseph entreats the favour of them
to move it to him:
saying
as follows
in his name.
Genesis 50:5. 5 ‘My
father made me swear
saying
“Behold
I am dying; in my grave which I dug for
myself in the land of Canaan
there you shall bury me.” Now therefore
please
let me go up and bury my father
and I will come back.’”
YLT 5My father caused me to swear
saying
Lo
I
am dying; in my burying-place which I have prepared for myself in the land of
Canaan
there dost thou bury me; and now
let me go up
I pray thee
and bury
my father
and return;'
My father made
me swear
saying
lo
I die
....
Having reason to believe
he should not live long
he sent for Joseph
and took an oath of him to do as
follows; this Joseph would have observed to Pharaoh
to show the necessity of
his application to him
and the reasonableness of his request. The words of
dying men are always to be regarded; their dying charge is always attended to
by those who have a regard to duty and honour; but much more when an oath is
annexed to them
which among all nations was reckoned sacred:
in the grave
which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan
there shalt thou bury me;
it was usual with persons
in their lifetime to prepare graves or sepulchres for themselves
as appears
from the instances of Shebna
Joseph of Arimathea
and others
and so Jacob
provided one for himself; and when he is said to "dig" it
it is not
to be supposed that he dug it himself
but ordered it to be dug by his
servants
and very probably this was done at the time he buried Leah. Onkelos
renders it
"which I have bought"
possessed or obtained by purchase;
and so the word is used in Hosea 3:2 but the
cave of Machpelah
in which Jacob's grave was
was not bought by him
but by
Abraham; for to say
as some Jewish writersF8R. David Kimchi Sepher
Shorash. rad. כרה Ben Melech in loc. suggest
that he
bought Esau's part in it with a mess of pottage
is without foundation; it is
better to take the words in the first sense. And now
since it was Jacob's
desire
yea
his dying charge
to be buried in the grave he had provided for
himself
the mention of this to an Egyptian king could not fail of having its
desired effect; since the Egyptians
as the historianF9Diodor. Sic.
Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 47. says
were more careful about their graves than about
their houses:
now therefore
let me go up
I pray thee;
to the land of Canaan
which lay higher than Egypt:
and bury my
father;
there
in the grave he has
provided for himself:
and I will come
again:
to the land of Egypt; this
he would have said
lest it should be thought he only contrived this to get an
opportunity of going away to Canaan with all his wealth and riches.
Genesis 50:6. 6 And
Pharaoh said
“Go up and bury your father
as he made you swear.”
YLT 6and Pharaoh saith
`Go up and bury thy
father
as he caused thee to swear.'
And Pharaoh
said
....
To Joseph
by the
courtiers that waited upon him at Joseph's request
who having delivered it to
him had this answer:
go up
and bury
thy father
as he made thee swear;
the oath seems to be the
principal thing that influenced Pharaoh to grant the request
it being a sacred
thing
and not to be violated; otherwise
perhaps
he would not have chosen
that Joseph should have been so long absent from him
and might have thought a
grave in Egypt
and an honourable interment there
which he would have spared
no cost to have given
might have done as well
or better.
Genesis 50:7. 7 So
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
YLT 7And Joseph goeth up to bury his father
and
go up with him do all the servants of Pharaoh
elders of his house
and all the
elders of the land of Egypt
And Joseph went
up to bury his father
....
According to his request;
having obtained leave of Pharaoh
and being desirous of paying his last
respects
and doing his last office to so dear a parent
with all the honour
and decency this service could be done with:
and with him
went up all the servants of Pharaoh;
a great number of them
some must be left to wait upon him; who these were the next words explain:
the elders of
his house:
his senators and
counsellors
his courtiers and principal officers of state:
and all the
elders of the land of Egypt;
governors of provinces and
cities
the chief officers
civil and military; all which was done by the
orders of Pharaoh
out of respect to Joseph and his family
and to make the
funeral procession grand and honourable.
Genesis 50:8. 8 as
well as all 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.
YLT 8and all the house of Joseph
and his
brethren
and the house of his father; only their infants
and their flock
and
their herd
have they left in the land of Goshen;
And all the
house of Joseph
and his brethren
and his father's house
....
Joseph and his two sons
and his servants
and his eleven brethren and their sons that were grown up
and as many of his father's domestics as could be spared attended the funeral:
only their
little ones
and their flocks
and their herds
they left in the land of Goshen;
there must be some
servants left
though they are not mentioned
to take care of the little ones
and of the flocks and herds; and these being left behind
plainly show they
intended to return again
and did not make this an excuse to get out of the
land.
Genesis 50:9. 9 And
there went up with him both chariots and horsemen
and it was a very great
gathering.
YLT 9and there go up with him both chariot and
horsemen
and the camp is very great.
And there went
up with him both chariots and horsemen
....
Which was done both for
the sake of honour and grandeur
and for safety and defence
should they be
attacked by robbers in the deserts
or opposed by the Canaanites
and be
refused the use of the cave of Machpelah
and the right to it disputed:
and it was a
very great company;
both for quantity and
quality; the attendants at this funeral were very numerous
and many of them
great personages
and upon the whole was a very honourable company
as the wordF11כבד "honorabilis"; so Abendana. signifies
and
made a very great figure and grand appearance:
or a very great
army
F12המחנה "exercitus ille"; Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Drusius
Schmidt.
consisting of chariots and horsemen fit for war; if there
should be any occasion for it: and the JewsF13T. Bab. Sotah
fol.
13. 1. Targum Jon. in ver. 13. Pirke Eliezer
c. 39. Shalshalet Hakabala
fol.
5. 1. pretend that Esau came out with a large army
and met Joseph at the cave
of Machpelah
and endeavoured to hinder the burial of Jacob there
where he
lost his life
having his head struck off with the sword of Chushim
the son of
Dan: some say it was Zepho
the grandson of Esau
with the sons of Esau
that
made the disturbance there
on which a battle ensued
in which Joseph was the
conqueror
and Zepho was taken captive; see Gill on Genesis 36:11
the
JewsF14R. Bechai apud Hottinger. Smegma
c. 8. p. 381. give us the
order and manner of the above procession thus; first Joseph
next the servants
of Pharaoh
or the princes
then the elders of the court of Pharaoh
then all
the elders of the land of Egypt
then the whole house of Joseph
next to them
the brethren of Joseph
who were followed by their eldest sons
and after them
were the chariots
and last of all the horses.
Genesis 50:10. 10 Then
they came to the threshing floor of Atad
which is beyond the Jordan
and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed
seven days of mourning for his father.
YLT 10And they come unto the threshing-floor of
Atad
which [is] beyond the Jordan
and they lament there
a lamentation great
and very grievous; and he maketh for his father a mourning seven days
And they came
to the threshingfloor of Atad
....
Which was either the name
of a man the owner of it
or of a place so called from the thorns and brambles
which grew here
and with which the threshingfloor was surrounded
as Jarchi
says
see Judges 9:14 and it
was usual to make a hedge of thorns round about a threshingfloorF15T.
Bab. Sotah
fol. 13. 1. & Gloss. in ib. Aruch in voc. גרן
fol. 39. 4.
that it might be preserved; mention is made in the TalmudF16T.
Hieros. Nedarim
fol. 40. 1. of the wilderness of Atad
perhaps so called from
the thorns and brambles in it: Jerom saysF17De locis Heb. fol. 87.
G. it was three miles from Jericho and two from Jordan
and was in his time
called Bethagla
the place of a circuit
because there they went about after
the manner of mourners at the funeral of Jacob. This
according to someF18Bunting's
Travels
p. 79
80.
was two hundred and forty miles from On
where Joseph was
supposed to live
sixteen from Jerusalem
and forty from Hebron
where Jacob
was buried: nay
AustinF19Quaest. is Gen. l. 1. p. 54. "inter
opera ejus"
tom. 4. says it was above fifty miles from that place
as
affirmed by those who well knew those parts:
which is beyond
Jordan;
as it was to those that
came out of Egypt:
and there they
mourned with a great and very sore lamentation;
being now entered into the
country where the corpse was to be interred; and perhaps they might choose to
stop here and express tokens of mourning
that the inhabitants might be
apprised of their design in coming
which was not to invade them and make war
upon them
only to bury their dead: this mourning seems to be made chiefly by
the Egyptians
which was done in an external way
and it may be by persons
brought with them for that purpose; since both the name of the place after
given was from their mourning there
and the mourning of Joseph is next
observed as distinct from theirs:
and he made a
mourning for his father seven days;
which was the time of
mourning
afterwards observed by the Jews
see 1 Samuel 31:13
this Joseph ordered and observed after he had buried his father
as Aben Ezra
says
is affirmed by their ancient Rabbins
and perhaps might be at this same
place upon their return.
Genesis 50:11. 11 And when the inhabitants
of the land
the Canaanites
saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad
they said
“This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore its
name was called Abel Mizraim
[a] which is
beyond the Jordan.
YLT 11and the inhabitant of the land
the
Canaanite
see the mourning in the threshing-floor of Atad
and say
`A
grievous mourning [is] this to the Egyptians;' therefore hath [one] called its
name `The mourning of the Egyptians
' which [is] beyond the Jordan.
And when the
inhabitants of the land
the Canaanites
....
Who were at this time in
the possession of the country where the threshingfloor of Atad was: when they
saw the
mourning in the floor of Atad;
for so large a company of
people
and such a grand funeral procession
brought multitudes from all the
neighbouring parts to see the sight; and when they observed the lamentation
that was made
saw their mournful gestures and actions
and heard their doleful
moan:
they said
this
is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians;
they concluded they must
have lost some great man
to make such a lamentation for him:
wherefore the
name of it was called Abelmizraim
which is beyond Jordan;
they changed the name of
the place
and gave it another upon this occasion
which signifies the mourning
of Egypt or of the Egyptians
they being the principal persons that used the
outward and more affecting tokens of mourning; though the whole company might
be taken for Egyptians by the Canaanites
because they came out of Egypt.
Genesis 50:12. 12 So
his sons did for him just as he had commanded them.
YLT 12And his sons do to him so as he commanded
them
And his sons
did unto him according as he commanded them.
Not only Joseph
but all
the sons of Jacob were concerned in the burial of him
being all charged by him
with it
and who were obedient to his commands as follows; see Genesis 49:29.
Genesis 50:13. 13 For
his sons carried him to the land of Canaan
and buried him in the cave of the
field of Machpelah
before Mamre
which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron
the Hittite as property for a burial place.
YLT 13and his sons bear him away to the land of
Canaan
and bury him in the cave of the field of Machpelah
which Abraham
bought with the field for a possession of a burying-place
from Ephron the
Hittite
on the front of Mamre.
For his sons
carried him into the land of Canaan
....
That is
they took care
that he was carried there
as he desired to be; for it cannot be thought that
they carried him on their shoulders thither
in like manner as the devout men
carried Stephen to his burial
Acts 8:2.
and buried him
in the cave of the field of Machpelah
&c.
the very place where he
chose to be buried
Genesis 47:29.
Genesis 50:14. 14 And
after he had buried his father
Joseph returned to Egypt
he and his brothers
and all who went up with him to bury his father.
YLT 14And Joseph turneth back to Egypt
he and his
brethren
and all who are going up with him to bury his father
after his
burying his father.
And Joseph
returned into Egypt
....
As he promised he would
Genesis 50:5.
he and his
brethren;
the eleven sons of Jacob;
for though they had not made the same promise
nor Joseph for them
yet they
returned
having left their little ones
flocks and herds
in Egypt:
and all that
went up with him to bury his father;
the elders and great men
of the land of Egypt
with their attendants:
after he had
buried his father;
in the land of Canaan
which
though given to the seed of Jacob
the time was not come for them to
possess it
nor the time of their departure out of Egypt thither
which was to
be a good while hence
and after another manner.
Genesis 50:15. 15 When
Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead
they said
“Perhaps Joseph
will hate us
and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.”
YLT 15And the brethren of Joseph see that their
father is dead
and say
`Peradventure Joseph doth hate us
and doth certainly
return to us all the evil which we did with him.'
And when
Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead
....
And buried; for this and
what follows were after their return to Egypt
from the burial of their father;
though some think it was before
and as soon as they saw their father was dead
when they thought it a proper time
while Joseph's heart was tender and
affected with his father's death
to compromise matters with him: but there is
no reason to invert the order of the narration
for this "seeing" is
not to be understood of their bodily sight
but of the contemplation of their
minds; they considered with themselves that their father was now dead and
buried
they had lost an affectionate parent
who was concerned for the welfare
and peace of all his family
but what a turn things would now take they knew
not:
they said
Joseph will peradventure hate us
and will certainly requite us all the evil
which we did unto him;
their sin came fresh to
their remembrance
guilt arose in their consciences and flew in their faces
and this caused fear and distrust where there was no reason for it
and led
them to treat Joseph's character very ill; who was far from being of such a
temper and disposition suggested by them
as if he retained hatred in his
breast
and was of a revengeful spirit
only hid it during his father's life
because he would not grieve him.
Genesis 50:16. 16 So
they sent messengers to Joseph
saying
“Before your father died he
commanded
saying
YLT 16And they give a charge for Joseph
saying
`Thy father commanded before his death
saying
And they sent a
messenger unto Joseph
....
Not Bilhah
as the Targums
of Jonathan and Jerusalem
nor her sons
Dan and Naphtali
as Jarchi
grounding
it on Genesis 37:1 though
it is not improbable that some from among themselves were deputed
who were
most interested in Joseph; since it is not very likely they would commit such
an affair to a stranger or to a servant; and the most proper persons to be sent
on such an errand seem to be Judah and Benjamin
the latter as having had no
concern in the affair of selling him
and was his own brother by father and
mother's side
and very dear to him; and the former
because he saved his life
when the rest
excepting Reuben
were for shedding his blood
and had endeared
himself also to Joseph
by his tender concern both for his father and his
brother Benjamin; however
they thought fit first to sound Joseph by a
messenger
how he stood affected to them
before they appeared in a body in
person
to whom they gave a charge
as the words may be rendered
"they
commanded unto Joseph"F20ויצוו אל־יוסף "et mandaverunt ad Joseph"
Montanus;
"nuntio misso"
Pagninus; "aliquos ad Josephum"
Junius
& Tremellius
Piscator. ; that is
they commanded those that were deputed
by them to him:
saying
thy
father did command before he died;
some think
this was no
better than a lie
which their fear prompted them to; and that they framed the
following story
the more to work upon the mind of Joseph
and dispose it in
their favour; seeing it is a question whether Jacob ever knew anything of the
affair of their ill usage to Joseph; since otherwise it would have been
in all
likelihood
taken notice of in his last dying words
as well as the affair of
Reuben
and that of Simeon and Levi; and besides
had he been apprised of it
he knew such was the clemency and generosity of Joseph
that he had nothing to
fear from him
nor could he entertain any suspicion of a malevolent disposition
in him towards his brethren
or that he would ever use them ill for former
offences:
saying
as follows:
Genesis 50:17. 17 ‘Thus
you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you
please forgive the trespass of your
brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.”’ Now
please
forgive the trespass
of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to
him.
YLT 17Thus ye do say to Joseph
I pray thee
bear
I pray thee
with the transgression of thy brethren
and their sin
for they
have done thee evil; and now
bear
we pray thee
with the transgression of the
servants of the God of thy father;' and Joseph weepeth in their speaking unto
him.
So shall ye say
unto Joseph
forgive
I pray thee now
the trespass of thy brethren
and their
sin
....
Their very great sin
and
therefore more words than one are used to express it: unless this repetition
should be intended
and signifies that their crime was a trespass against God
and a sin against their brother; and however they are directed to ask
forgiveness for it
and urge the relation they stood in to Joseph
in order to
obtain it
which they were ready to acknowledge as a very great evil
and of
which they repented:
and now
we
pray thee
forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father;
they urge not only the
common relation they stood in to Jacob
but what they stood in to the God of
Jacob
being his servants
his worshippers
as Joseph also was; and therefore
being his brethren not only in nature but in religion and grace
they hoped he
would forgive their trespass:
and Joseph wept
when they spake unto him;
by their messenger; being
troubled that they should be in such anxiety and distress of mind
which he had
a fellow feeling with
and that they should have no better opinion of him
but
entertain such distrust of him
notwithstanding all the kindness he had shown
them
as to imagine that he should ever deal hardly with them for their former
ill usage of him
which was forgiven and forgotten by him long ago.
Genesis 50:18. 18 Then
his brothers also went and fell down before his face
and they said
“Behold
we are your servants.”
YLT 18And his brethren also go and fall before him
and say
`Lo
we [are] to thee for servants.'
And his
brethren also went
....
The messengers being
returned to them
and acquainting them with what Joseph had said
they took
courage and went from Goshen to Joseph's house or palace
be it where it may:
and fell down
before his face;
in an humble suppliant
manner:
and they said
behold
we be thy servants;
they were content to be
so
would he but forgive their sin
and not resent their ill behaviour to him;
thus they further fulfilled his dream of the eleven stars making obeisance to
him
Genesis 37:9.
Genesis 50:19. 19 Joseph
said to them
“Do not be afraid
for am I in the place of God?
YLT 19And Joseph saith unto them
`Fear not
for
[am] I in the place of God?
And Joseph said
unto them
fear not
....
That any hurt would be
done by him to them
or that he would use them ill for their treatment of him:
for am I in the
place of God?
to receive such homage
from you
that you should be my servants
as Saadiah Gaon gives the sense; or
rather to take vengeance for injury done
which belongs to God alone: or
"am I not under God"F21התחת אלהים אני "annon enim sub
Deo sum?" Vatablus. ? subject to him
a servant of his
and why should you
be mine? nor is it in my power
if I had a will to it
to change his purposes
to alter his providences
or contradict his will
and do hurt to those whom God
hath blessed; and so may have regard to the late patriarchal benediction of his
father
under the direction of the Holy Spirit: or
"am I in the place of
God?" and under him a father of them
as he had been a provider for them
and a supporter of them
and still would be.
Genesis 50:20. 20 But
as for you
you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good
in
order to bring it about as it is this day
to save many people alive.
YLT 20As for you
ye devised against me evil -- God
devised it for good
in order to do as [at] this day
to keep alive a numerous
people;
But as for you
ye thought evil against me
....
That must be said and
owned
that their intentions were bad; they thought to have contradicted his
dreams
and made them of none effect
to have token away his life
or however
to have made him a slave all his days:
but God meant it unto good;
he designed good should
come by it
and he brought good out of it: this shows that this action
which
was sinful in itself
fell under the decree of God
or was the object of it
and that there was a concourse of providence in it; not that God was the author
of sin
which neither his decree about it
nor the concourse of providence with
the action as such supposes; he leaving the sinner wholly to his own will in
it
and having no concern in the ataxy or disorder of it
but in the issue
through his infinite wisdom
causes it to work for good
as follows:
to bring to
pass
as it is this day
to save much people alive;
the nation of the
Egyptians and the neighbouring nations
as the Canaanites and others
and
particularly his father's family: thus the sin of the Jews in crucifying
Christ
which
notwithstanding the determinate counsel of God
they most freely
performed
was what wrought about the greatest good
the salvation of men.
Genesis 50:21. 21 Now therefore
do not be
afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and
spoke kindly to them.
YLT 21and now
fear not: I do nourish you and your
infants;' and he comforteth them
and speaketh unto their heart.
Now therefore
fear ye not
....
Which
is repeated to
dispossess them of every fear they might entertain of him on any account
whatever:
I will nourish
you
and your little ones;
provide food for them
and
their families
not only for themselves and their sons
now grown up
but their
grandchildren and even the youngest and latest of their families should share
in his favours:
and he
comforted them
and spake kindly to them;
even "to their
heart"F23על לבם
"ad cor eorum"
Pagninus
Montanus
Drusius
&c. ; such things as
were quite pleasing and agreeable to them
served to banish their fears
revive
their spirits
and afford comfort to them. Just so God and Christ do with
backsliding sinners
and would have done with his own people by his servants;
see Isaiah 40:1.
Genesis 50:22. 22 So
Joseph dwelt in Egypt
he and his father’s household. And Joseph lived one
hundred and ten years.
YLT 22And Joseph dwelleth in Egypt
he and the
house of his father
and Joseph liveth a hundred and ten years
And Joseph
dwelt in Egypt
he
and his father's house
....
Comfortably
quietly
and
in great prosperity
not only he
but his brethren and their families
as long
as he lived:
and Joseph
lived one hundred and ten years;
and all but seventeen of
them in Egypt
for at that age it was when he was brought thither: thirteen
years he lived in Potiphar's house
and in prison
for he was thirty years of
age when he was brought to Pharaoh
and stood before him
and fourscore years
he lived in the greatest honour and prosperity that a man could well wish for.
Genesis 50:23. 23 Joseph
saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. The children of Machir
the son of Manasseh
were also brought up on Joseph’s knees.
YLT 23and Joseph looketh on Ephraim's sons of the
third [generation]; sons also of Machir
son of Manasseh
have been born on the
knees of Joseph.
And Joseph saw
Ephraim's children of the third generation
....
His great grandchildren's
children; and which shows
as most interpreters observe
that Jacob's
prediction
that Ephraim should be the greatest and most numerous
very early
began to take place:
and the
children also of Machir
the son of Manasseh
were brought up upon Joseph's
knees;
Machir had but one son by
his first wife
whose name was Gilead; but marrying a second wife
he had two
sons
Peresh and Sheresh; see 1 Chronicles 7:14
who might be born before the death of Joseph
and be said to be brought up upon
his knees
being educated by him
and often took up in his lap
and dandled on
his knees
as grandfathers
being fond of their grandchildren
are apt to do.
Genesis 50:24. 24 And
Joseph said to his brethren
“I am dying; but God will surely visit you
and
bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham
to Isaac
and to Jacob.”
YLT 24And Joseph saith unto his brethren
`I am
dying
and God doth certainly inspect you
and hath caused you to go up from
this land
unto the land which He hath sworn to Abraham
to Isaac
and to
Jacob.'
And Joseph said
unto his brethren
I die
....
Some time before his death
he called them together
and observed to them
that he expected to die in a
little time
as all must:
and God will
surely visit you;
not in a way of wrath and
vindictive justice
as he sometimes does
but in a way of love
grace
and
mercy:
and bring you
out of this land;
the land of Egypt
in
which they then dwelt:
unto the land
which he sware to Abraham
to Isaac
and to Jacob;
meaning the land of
Canaan
which he swore to those patriarchs that he would give to their
posterity.
Genesis 50:25. 25 Then
Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel
saying
“God will surely visit
you
and you shall carry up my bones from here.”
YLT 25And Joseph causeth the sons of Israel to
swear
saying
`God doth certainly inspect you
and ye have brought up my bones
from this [place].'
And Joseph took
an oath of the children of Israel
....
Not of his brethren only
but of their posterity
as many of them as were now grown up
that so it might
be communicated from one to another
and become well known to that generation
which should depart out of Egypt:
saying
God
will surely visit you;
which he repeats for the
certainty of it
and that it might be observed:
and ye shall carry
up my bones from hence;
when they should go from
thence to Canaan's land; he did not desire them to carry him thither when he
should die
which he knew would give umbrage to the Egyptians
and they would
not be so able to obtain leave to do it as he had for his father. This was
accordingly done; when Israel went out of Egypt
Moses took the bones of Joseph
with him
and they were buried in Shechem; see Exodus 13:19.
Genesis 50:26. 26 So
Joseph died
being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him
and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
YLT 26And Joseph dieth
a son of an hundred and ten
years
and they embalm him
and he is put into a coffin in Egypt.
So Joseph died
being an hundred and ten years old
....
The exact age assigned him
by PolyhistorF24Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 21. p. 425.
from Demetrius an Heathen. The Jewish writersF25Shalshalet Hakabala
fol. 4. 1. & T. Bab. Sotah
fol. 13. 2. say
that he died the first of the
twelve patriarchs
though he was the youngest of them; he died
according to
Bishop UsherF26Annalea Vet. Test. A. M. 2369.
in the year of the
world 2369
and before Christ 1635:
and they
embalmed him;
his servants
the
physicians
according to the manner of the Egyptians
and as his father Jacob
had been embalmed; see Gill on Genesis 50:2
and he was put
into a coffin in Egypt;
in an ark or chest
very
probably into such an one in which the Egyptians had used to put dead bodies
when embalmed; which HerodotusF1Euterpe
sive
l. 2. c. 86
91.
calls a θηκα
or chest
and
which they set up against a wall: in what part of Egypt this coffin was put is
not certain
it was most likely in Goshen
and in the care and custody of some
of Joseph's posterity; so Leo Africanus saysF2Descriptio Africae
l.
8. p. 722.
that he was buried in Fioum
the same with the Heracleotic nome
supposed to be Goshen; See Gill on Genesis 47:11
and
was dug up by Moses
when the children of Israel departed. The Targum of
Jonathan says
it was sunk in the midst of the Nile of Egypt; and an Arabic
writerF3Patricides
p. 24. apud Hottinger. Smegma Oriental. c. 8. p.
379. says
the corpse of Joseph was put into a marble coffin
and cast into the
Nile: the same thing is said in the TalmudF4T. Bab. Sotah
c. 1.
fol. 13. 1.
from whence the story seems to be taken
and where the coffin is
said to be a molten one
either of iron or brass; which might arise
as Bishop
Patrick observes
from a mistake of the place where such bodies were laid;
which were let down into deep wells or vaults
and put into a cave at the
bottom of those wells
some of which were not far from the river Nile; and such
places have been searched for mummies in late times
where they have been
found
and the coffins and clothes sound and incorrupt. And so some of the
Jewish writers sayF5Sepher Hajaschar
p. 118. apud Wagenseil Sotah
p. 300. he was buried on the banks of the river Sihor
that is
the Nile; but
othersF6In T. Bab. Sotah
ut supra. (c. 1. fol. 13.1.) say he was
buried in the sepulchre of the kings
which is much more likely.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Genesis 50:11
Literally Mourning of Egypt