Chapter Fifty

The Mourning of Jacob

Genesis 50:1. And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept over him, and kissed him. The picture of Joseph’s mourning over his father is inexpressibly moving. “Do you see the tender love of a son? Do you see the burning love?” (John Chrysostom, 721).

Genesis 50:2–3. And Joseph ordered his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Israel. And it took forty days for him, for that is the time it takes for embalming, and the Egyptians mourned him for seventy days. Embalming—this specifically Egyptian custom—was performed on Jacob’s body not so much in consequence of his positive testament to have him embalmed, as the rabbis supposed, but—to express respect for him, as the father of the first official of Egypt, and also to preserve the body from decay in view of the impending transport to Canaan. Embalming was performed by physicians (Hebrew: ropheim, ἐνταφιασταί, Slavic: “embalmers”) from the court officials of Joseph. According to Herodotus, who described embalming in detail, it was performed by specialists, ταφιχευταί, and had 3 forms, differing in the degree of labor intensity and costliness of materials (the first and most expensive method cost a talent of silver, the 2nd only 50 minas). The duration of the embalming operation was, according to Diodorus Siculus and Herodotus, from 30 to 70 days; according to the biblical account—40 days, which with the addition of 30 other days of mourning (30 days the Hebrews mourned Aaron, Num 20:29, and Moses, Deut 34:8), are designated as 70 days of mourning over Jacob.

Genesis 50:4–6. When the days of mourning for him were completed, Joseph spoke to the officials of Pharaoh, saying: If I have found favor in your eyes, please speak to Pharaoh: My father made me swear, saying: Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I have dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you must bury me. And now I would like to go and bury my father and return. [Joseph’s words were reported to Pharaoh.] And Pharaoh said: Go and bury your father, as he made you swear. For his own reasons and being in a state (cf. Esth 4:2) of uncleanness (from contact with the dead), Joseph does not dare ask Pharaoh for leave personally, but does so through Pharaoh’s officials, communicating to them (in free paraphrase) Jacob’s testament (Gen 47:29-31) of his burial in Canaan and thereby deflecting the suspicion of the Egyptians of treason to the state, which was quite possible given their intensely hostile attitude toward the Hittites of Palestine. Pharaoh permits Joseph’s journey to Canaan, but (verses 7–8), probably not merely for the pomp of the funeral procession and out of consideration for Joseph’s family sorrow, but also to guarantee himself against Joseph’s defection and the possible attempt of Joseph to remain in Canaan, sends with him a large convoy and many officials, and for the same purpose leaves in Egypt the children of the Hebrews and their livestock, which a later pharaoh, the oppressor of the Hebrews, also demanded from Moses and the Hebrews (Exod 10:11).

The Transportation of Jacob’s Body to Canaan

Genesis 50:7–9. And Joseph went up to bury his father. And with him went all the officials of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the household of Joseph, and his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little children and their flocks and herds they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, so the caravan was very great. A long journey could not be undertaken without a considerable armed convoy; hence Joseph and his brothers are accompanied not only by the magnates of Pharaoh (verse 7), but also by “chariots and horsemen.” Tradition adds that the caravan indeed had a clash with the descendants of Esau and defeated them.

Genesis 50:10. And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, on the east side of the Jordan, and there they made a great lamentation, very loud; and Joseph made a mourning for his father lasting seven days. In view of the fact that the place of the caravan’s stop is indicated as “on the east side of the Jordan,” beeber hajiarden, that is, according to the most common biblical usage—on the eastern side of the Jordan (cf. Deut 1:1; Josh 2:10), according to blessed Jerome—this place was called Beth-ogla and was situated between Jericho and the Jordan. In the biblical text it is named Goren-haatad, rendered in Russian as “threshing floor of thorns,” perhaps a locality abounding in thorns, atad, cf. Judg 9:14, (from the combination of goren with the word Kidon there exists a name, in 1 Chr 13:9 goren-kidon). Thus, the solemn funeral cortege with Jacob’s body chose for its journey to Canaan the same circuitous—southeastern path (instead of the direct—southern), by which the Hebrews later entered the land of Canaan under the guidance of Moses and Joshua. At that place, which was not, however, the place of Jacob’s burial, Joseph and his companions conducted a seven-day mourning for Jacob, which some commentators relate to the time after Jacob’s burial. Mourning continued for 7 days, as it did, for example, at the time of mourning for Saul (1 Sam 31:13).

Genesis 50:11. And the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, and they said: This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians. Therefore the name of the place was called Abel-mizraim, which is east of the Jordan. The name Abel (in the expression Abel-Mizzaim) appears, like Goren, in several place names, for example, Abel-Shittim on the plains of Moab (Num 33:49), Abel-Beth-Maacah (2 Sam 20:14), Abel-Meholah (Judg 7:22). The inhabitants of Palestine naturally call all members of the caravan Egyptians, not distinguishing the Hebrews from them (tradition has it that the descendants of Ishmael and Keturah also participated in the mourning), but it is possible that only the nearest relatives and the Hebrews in general accompanied the body of Jacob to the grave in Hebron (verse 13).

Genesis 50:12–13. And his sons did to him as he had instructed them; and they carried him into the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham had purchased as a possession for a burial ground from Ephron the Hittite, facing Mamre. It is noted how precisely Joseph and his brothers fulfilled Jacob’s dying testament (Gen 47:29-30). Tradition represents Jacob’s sons surrounding the coffin three on each side (instead of Joseph places Ephraim and Manasseh, Levi is also removed from the coffin, probably out of regard for the priesthood that would descend from him, for which there were restrictions in mourning).

Genesis 50:14. And Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all those who had gone up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father. A general conclusion to the account of the journey to Canaan.

The Explanation Between the Brothers and Joseph, and Joseph’s Magnanimous Forgiveness of Their Guilt

Genesis 50:15. And when Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said: It may be that Joseph will hate us and repay us for all the evil which we did to him. After the death of their father, who had been the connecting link, mediator, and reconciler between Joseph and his brothers, the latter began to fear that the goodwill which Joseph had shown them during their father’s lifetime might have concealed hidden enmity (Hebrew verb satam), cf. Gen 27:41, which now, after the father’s death, might resolve itself in vengeance upon them from Joseph (Gen 42:28).

Genesis 50:16–17. And they sent word to Joseph, saying: Your father gave a command before he died, saying: Thus you shall say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers their transgression and their sin, which they did to you in their evil toward you. And now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father. And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Not daring to come directly before Joseph for an explanation, his brothers select representatives from among themselves (according to tradition, Dan and Naphtali—sons of Bilhah, with whom Joseph was especially close in childhood, according to Gen 37:2), confess their transgression against Joseph, and in the name of their father beg forgiveness. “See,” remarks holy John Chrysostom, “how they become accusers of themselves, noticing how great is the accusing power of conscience” (p. 722–723). Sincerely acknowledging their guilt, they beg forgiveness not only for the sake of the memory of their dead father, but in the name of the one God they all serve (a motive, powerful in itself, gained special persuasiveness in a land of idolatry—Egypt).

Genesis 50:18. And his brothers also went and fell down before him and said: Behold, we are your servants. Learning that Joseph was moved by their repentance, his brothers then appeared before him and, completing their repentance, fell prostrate before him, expressing the thought that if formerly one of them had wanted to remain a slave, now they all are ready to do so.

Genesis 50:19–21. And Joseph said to them: Do not be afraid, for I fear God; although you intended evil against me, God intended it for good, in order to accomplish this day, to keep much people alive. So do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your children. And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Joseph’s answer repeats the thought already expressed by him when he first revealed himself to his brothers (Gen 45:5), that human evil is powerless to stop the beneficent action of the paths of Divine Providence, which turns even the action of evil will to good consequences. Verse 19, from the Hebrew: “Am I in the place of God?”—a thought organically connected with the foregoing—Joseph is only an instrument of Providence; can he act contrary to its workings by taking vengeance (cf. Deut 32:35). In Russian: “for I fear God” is taken from Gen 42:18, and also can be brought into connection with that fundamental thought—both of the ancient biblical tradition, in essence running through the whole Bible and remarkably brought to the fore at the end of the book of Genesis. With regard to Joseph’s person, his answer is also very characteristic of his magnanimity, submission to God’s will, and special insight into the mystery of God’s ways. “This wonderful man, adorned with all virtues, was so far from remembering their deeds that he was troubled by their words” (holy John Chrysostom), and with heartfelt speech he comforted their hearts.

The Deathbed Testament and Death of Joseph

Genesis 50:22–25. And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father’s house; and Joseph lived one hundred ten years. And Joseph saw his sons’ children down to the third generation; the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also born on Joseph’s knees. And Joseph said to his brothers: I am dying, but God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land into the land which He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying: God will surely visit you, and you shall carry out my bones from here. Concluding remarks on the life of Joseph, to which a significant portion of the book of Genesis is devoted. He saw in his lifetime a third generation of his descendants, and some of them he adopted and raised. The last verses of the chapter and of the entire book, 24–26, are permeated with living and exalted faith in the great future of Israel—in the deliverance of this people from Egypt as a free nation—for the purpose of the establishment of the Old Testament Kingdom of God. Out of this faith (Heb 11:22) Joseph, like his father (Gen 49:29), bequeathed to his brothers—those who had not yet died, and in general to all members of the descendants of Jacob—to carry out from Egypt, at the time of the future exodus of the Hebrews from there, his bones (it was apparently not possible now to transport Joseph’s body to Canaan: the privileged position of the Hebrews in Egypt was drawing to an end). Moses indeed, at the exodus of Israel from Egypt, took with him the bones of Joseph (Exod 13:19), and Joshua buried them in Shechem (Josh 24:32).

Genesis 50:26. So Joseph died, at the age of one hundred ten years. And they embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt. According to Egyptian custom, Joseph’s body was embalmed and placed in a sarcophagus (Hebrew arou), usually made of sycamore wood—a resinous acacia. With Joseph’s death, the Hebrews in Egypt, though set upon the path of independent development into a whole people with their own distinctive national characteristics, lost a powerful support of their honored position. Now they faced the bitter life of the “house of bondage” (Exod 20:2).