Genesis 50
The Burials of Jacob
1 Then Joseph hugged his father’s face. He wept over him and kissed him.
Jacob was able to spend his last 17 years together with his favorite son. Jacob died not in the Promised Land, but in Egypt. God had promised Jacob that he would receive the land of Israel during the Messianic Kingdom. Since Jacob never received this allotment of land which was promised to him, Jehovah will have to raise Jacob from the dead and literally give him the exact dimensions of the land which was promised to the patriarchs. Since God does not lie, these prophecies must be fulfilled, even if amillenialists and postmillennialists heretically disagree.
2 Joseph instructed the physicians in his service to embalm his father, so the physicians embalmed Israel.
Notice that Joseph used physicians and not professional embalmers. The professional embalmers were indoctrinated with the superstitious beliefs of the pagan Egyptian afterlife system. Egyptian medicine was more advanced than 19th century American medicine, but it was also mixed with occultic practices. Joseph did not want to turn his father into a mummy which would be worshipped by other Egyptians. Joseph's goal was to get Jacob’s body to the land of Canaan (Israel) for burial.
3 They took forty days, for that is the full time needed for embalming. The Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
Egyptian embalming was a combination of medical and magical procedures. Joseph most likely did not allow the magical rituals to be performed on Jacob.
4 When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s royal court, “If I have found favor in your sight, please say to Pharaoh,
Joseph used intermediaries to speak for him to Pharaoh. Even though Joseph was the Vizier of Egypt, he was required to communicate to Pharaoh through his royal court. The royal court helped the Pharaoh in making decisions for Egypt. It is important to note that Egypt was one of the first nations in history. There were other city states, such as Ur, Babylon, Ninevah, and others. City states forced neighboring cities, towns, and villages to pay tribute to them. Egypt was the first nation of city states.
5 ‘My father made me swear an oath. He said, “I am about to die. Bury me in my tomb that I dug for myself there in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go and bury my father; then I will return.’”
Joseph made a promise to Jacob. Therefore, Joseph made his request to Pharaoh. Pharaoh most likely did not like this request, because the travel during famine would place his prophetic vizier in danger.
6 So Pharaoh said, “Go and bury your father, just as he made you swear to do.”
Pharaoh authorized permission for Jacob to travel to Canaan and bury his father. Joseph was very valuable to the Egyptian kingdom as a prophet of the one true God, so this was a huge request to grant. While Joseph was gone, Pharaoh would lose temporary divine communication with Joseph from the one true God.
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; all Pharaoh’s officials went with him – the senior courtiers of his household, all the senior officials of the land of Egypt,
All of the Egyptian officials went on this funeral procession. This act showed that the Egyptian leaders not only respected Joseph, but they respected Jacob as well. These officials also made sure that Joseph returned safely back to Egypt. They did not want to lose their divine connection with the one true God.
8 all Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household. But they left their little children and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen.
The entire family (except for the children who were too young to travel), joined the funeral procession. Another possibility is that all of the children were kept in Egypt as a kind of ransom. Egypt did not want to lose their divine communication with the one true God.
It is important to note that many nations (such as Russia) will allow husbands to travel to America on visas, but the rest of the family must stay behind. The purpose of these solo visas is to make sure that there will not be a mass exodus of citizens to America.
9 Chariots and horsemen also went up with him, so it was a very large entourage.
Pharaoh provided a royal bodyguard for Joseph. Egypt and Canaan were still experiencing heavy famine, so military protection was needed for long distance travel. This large military entourage would keep marauders and bandits from attacking Joseph's caravan. This military expedition was also a great witness of Jehovah to the surrounding city states of Canaan. Rumors would be spread throughout the entire land area of Mesopotamia and possibly even to the other surrounding River Valley civilizations which existed at this time.
10When they came to the threshing floor of Atad on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there with very great and bitter sorrow. There Joseph observed a seven day period of mourning for his father.
Atad was on the west side of the Jordan River. The Canaanites were in the land. This was a dangerous journey in times of great famine. The seven days of mourning by Egyptians in Canaanite lands most likely brought a lot of attention to Jacob.
11 When the Canaanites who lived in the land saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a very sad occasion for the Egyptians.” That is why its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.
“Abel Mizraim” means “the mourning of Egypt.” It was unusual for an Egyptian official to be buried in Canaan. This funeral procession and grave site must have caused a lot of curiosity to the native Canaanites and to the traveling caravans who used these roads. If the people of these land regions asked the right questions to the right people, the answers may have led them to the one true God.
It is important to remember that the cup of iniquity of the Canaanites was not yet full, so evangelism was still possible at this time. The Canaanites would actually have 400 more years of probation before God would vomit them out of the land. The global famine conditions may have driven other people away from their pagan gods and to Jehovah. These other tribes and city states would all have to travel to Egypt to obtain grain. As the Vizier of Egypt, Joseph may have shared the gospel with these visiting nations. God's famine brought the leaders of all of the nations to hear Joseph's testimony of the one true God. The ancient nations had no excuse.
12 So the sons of Jacob did for him just as he had instructed them.
Jacob was buried by his sons in the land of Canaan. Jacob desired to be resurrected from the dead in the land which God promised to him.
13 His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. This is the field Abraham purchased as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite.
The only land that Abraham owned was that land which he bought at an inflated price from the Hittites. Therefore, God will have to raise Abraham from the dead and literally give him the land which was promised to him. It is impossible to understand the remainder of the Bible without understanding of the Abrahamic Covenant. About 95% of most modern churches spiritualize these types of passages in order to replace Israel with the church. This type of exegesis is heretical, because it is adding human speculation to the text.
14After he buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, along with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to bury his father.
The royal escort returned to Egypt. Their travel most likely spread a lot more curiosity about the identity of Jacob and the nature of his God. During a severe global famine, Egyptians traveling to Canaan to bury a dead Hebrew patriarch had to raise serious questions from the locals. Jacob's grave site may have become a memorial to the one true God for several centuries. There is no recording from Scripture of the Hebrew people coming back to Canaan until the Exodus.
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay us in full for all the harm we did to him?”
Now with Jacob dead, Joseph’s brothers thought that Joseph might take revenge upon them. The brothers no longer had their father to protect them.
16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave these instructions before he died:
This was a lie. These eleven brothers of Joseph were still not trusting in the Abrahamic Covenant. They are not trusting in the Word of God. The brothers already heard their future prophetic role from their father Jacob, but they did not believe these prophecies. They were still living by human viewpoint.
17 ‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father.” When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept.
This message saddened Joseph, because his brothers did not trust him, the Abrahamic Covenant, the Word of God, or the prophecies of Jacob.
Secular history is biased in that it reveals only the strengths of its leaders. Biblical history reveals the strengths as well as the weaknesses of its leaders. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is an unbiased historical author who reveals 100% truth. All other secular historical documents are filled with bias, truth, and error. When a secular historical document disagrees with the Bible, then the Bible is right and the secular history document is wrong. Men are totally depraved and evil, so they mix truth with error in their historical documents. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, so He does not make these human mistakes.
18Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.”
This was another fulfillment of Joseph’s two dreams. The brothers figured that it was better to be Joseph’s slaves than to be executed as criminals of the state.
19 But Joseph answered them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
Joseph was not God. God was the one who would judge the brother’s action.
20 As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.
Joseph understood God’s sovereignty. This divine plan saved not only Jews, but the Egyptians and the Canaanites as well. This famine may have even affected Mesopotamia and the other River Valley Civilizations of ancient history as well.
21 So now, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children.” Then he consoled them and spoke kindly to them.
Joseph promised to take care of his family. God was protecting Israel from the demonc influences of the Canaanites.
22 Joseph lived in Egypt, along with his father’s family. Joseph lived 110 years.
Joseph lived 54 more years after Jacob’s death. After the global flood, the lifetimes of men were beginning to diminish. Eventually, the average lifetime of man would diminish to 70 years. It is possible that all believers live to the age of 70, unless they are called to wear the martyrs crown, or unless they commit the sin unto death.
23 Joseph saw the descendants of Ephraim to the third generation. He also saw the children of Makir the son of Manasseh; they were given special inheritance rights by Joseph.
Joseph lived to see his great grandchildren. His great grandchildren would be given special inheritance rights.
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
God never spoke directly to Joseph. However, Joseph believed in the Abrahamic Covenant which was taught to him by Jacob.
25 Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, “God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place.”
Joseph wanted his body carried back to Canaan. He wanted to be resurrected in the land which was promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and his descendants.
26So Joseph died at the age of 110. After they embalmed him, his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
Joseph’s body was embalmed and placed inside of a mummy casket. The Book of Genesis began with life in the Garden of Eden and ended with death in an Egyptian mummy casket.
The history of Israel and the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant would continue in Exodus. There would be 400 years of history left unrecorded between these two books. Exodus begins when the cup of iniquity is full in both Egypt and Canaan. The curses of the Abrahamic Covenant would visit these two nations.