Genesis 50
50
1Then Joseph fell on his father's face, and wept over him, and kissed him. 2And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel; 3forty days were required for it, for so many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.
4And when the days of weeping 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, 5My father made me swear, saying, ‘I am about to die: in my tomb which I hewed out 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; then I will return.” 6And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” 7So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household; only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. 9And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen; it was a very great company. 10When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and sorrowful lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father seven days. 11When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim;#50.11 That is meadow (or mourning ) of Egypt it is beyond the Jordan. 12Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them; 13#Acts 7.16. for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field at Mach-pelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite, to possess as a burying place. 14After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
15When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.” 16So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died, 17‘Say to Joseph, Forgive, I pray you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ And now, we pray you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18His brothers also came and fell down before him, and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19But Joseph said to them, “Fear not, for am I in the place of God? 20As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he reassured them and comforted them.
22So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's house; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. 23And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation; the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were born upon Joseph's knees. 24And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die; but God will visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25Then Joseph took an oath of the sons of Israel, saying, “God will visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Genesis 50
50
Chapter 50
1Joseph bent down near his father's face. He wept over him and he kissed him. 2Then Joseph told some of his servants to take Jacob's body. They knew how to put special oil on the body so that it would not become spoiled. Joseph's servants did what he told them to do. 3The servants took care of the body for 40 days, which is the usual time. The Egyptians wept for 70 days because of Jacob's death. #50:3 ‘The Egyptians wept for 70 days’ shows that they were very sad. They did this when someone important died. Jacob was an important person in Egypt because he was Joseph's father.
4The time for them to weep came to an end. Joseph said to Pharaoh's officers, ‘If you agree, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him this: 5My father made me make a promise. He said, “I will soon die. Bury me in the grave that I prepared for myself in Canaan.” So please let me go and bury my father there. Then I will return.’ 6Pharaoh said, ‘Go and bury your father's body in the way that you promised him.’
7So Joseph went to Canaan to bury his father. All Pharaoh's officers went with him. The important people who lived in Pharaoh's palace, as well as the important Egyptian officers, all went with Joseph. 8Everyone in Joseph's family also went with him. His brothers and their families went, but they did not take their young children or their animals. They left those in Goshen. 9Many soldiers also went with them. Some of them rode in chariots and some rode on horses.
10They came to Atad's threshing floor, near the Jordan River. They stayed there for seven days to weep for the death of Jacob. They were very sad. 11The Canaanite people who lived near there saw how sad Joseph and his people were. So they gave Atad's threshing floor a different name. They called it ‘Abel Mizraim’. #50:11 ‘Abel Mizraim’ means ‘Egyptians are sad’. They said, ‘The Egyptians are showing that they are very sad because an important person has died.’
12So Jacob's sons did what he had told them to do. 13They carried his body to Canaan. They buried him there in the cave, in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre. That is the cave that Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite. He had bought it as a grave for him and for his family.
14When Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt together with his brothers. Everyone who had gone to Canaan with him also returned to Egypt.
15Now Jacob was dead and Joseph's brothers became frightened. They said to each other, ‘We did a bad thing to Joseph. Now he will be angry and he will punish us for what we did.’ 16So they sent a message to Joseph. They said, ‘Your father said this to us before he died. 17He told us to say to you, “Please forgive your brothers for the very bad thing that they did against you. They did a very cruel thing to you.” So please forgive our sin. We are servants of your father's God.’
When Joseph received their message, he was very upset and he wept. 18His brothers came to see him. They bent down low to the ground in front of Joseph. They said to him, ‘We are your slaves.’ 19But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid of me. It is God who has the authority to punish people. I am not God! 20You decided to hurt me. But God caused a good thing to happen because of that. God brought me here to save the lives of many people. You can see how that has really happened! 21So do not be afraid. I will continue to take care of you. You and your children will receive what you need.’ In this way Joseph comforted them and he spoke kind words to them.
Joseph dies
22Joseph lived in Egypt, together with his father's family. He lived for 110 years. 23And he was still alive to see Ephraim's children and grandchildren. He also saw Makir's children. Makir was Manasseh's son. Joseph took Makir's children to be his own children. #50:23 When Joseph died, Makir's children would receive what Joseph's own children received.
24Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I will soon die. But God will come to you and he will help you. He will take you out of Egypt. He will take you back to the land that he promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ 25He also said, ‘God will help you to leave Egypt. When that happens, you must carry my bones away from here.’ Joseph made the other sons of Israel promise that they would do that.
26So Joseph died when he was 110 years old. They put special oil on his body so that it would not become spoiled. Then they put his body in a box there in Egypt. #50:26 See Exodus 13:19.
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