Genesis-Chapter-50
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THE WORD which I command you, NEITHER SHALL
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“Genesis Chapter 50”
With Rabbi,
Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Introduction:
Genesis 50 brings the epic book of Genesis to
a majestic and reassuring conclusion. The narrative details the massive
Egyptian mourning ritual and state funeral procession organized to honour
Jacob, honouring his final wish to be buried in Canaan.
Following their father’s death, the brothers panic,
fearing Joseph will finally unleash his long-suppressed revenge. Joseph
responds with profound theological clarity and deep compassion, uttering the
immortal words that anchor the entire narrative of Genesis: what humanity
intended for evil, אֱלֹהִים - Elohim
(God) intended for good to save lives. The book concludes with
Joseph’s own death, as he makes his brothers swear to carry his bones up out of
Egypt
when אֱלֹהִים - Elohim eventually leads them back to the promised land.
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Let us read Genesis
Chapter 50, verses 1 to 26: (JPS-1917 version of the Torah).
Below this chapter you will find my commentary for this study.
1 “And
Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm
his father. And the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 And
forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of embalming.
And the Egyptians wept for him threescore and ten days. 4 And
when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke unto the house of
Pharaoh, saying: ‘If now I have found favour in your eyes, speak, I pray you,
in the ears of Pharaoh, saying: 5 My father made me
swear, saying: Lo, I die; in my grave which I have digged
for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go
up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come back’. 6 And
Pharaoh said: ‘Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee 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
brethren, and his father’s house; only their little ones, and their flocks, and
their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there
went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great
company. 10 And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they wailed with
a very great and sore wailing; and he made a mourning
for his father seven days. 11 And when the inhabitants
of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said: ‘This is a grievous mourning to the
Egyptians’. Wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim,
which is beyond the Jordan. 12 And his sons did unto him according as he 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, for a possession
of a burying-place, of Ephron the Hittite, in front
of Mamre. 14 And Joseph
returned into Egypt,
he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after
he had buried his father. 15 And when Joseph’s
brethren saw that their father was dead, they said: ‘It may be that Joseph will
hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did unto him’. 16 And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying: ‘Thy father
did command before he died, saying: 17 So shall ye say unto Joseph: Forgive, I pray thee now, the
transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for that they did unto thee evil.
And now, we pray thee, forgive the transgression of
the servants of the אֱלֹהִים - Elohim of thy father’. And Joseph wept
when they spoke unto him. 18 And his brethren also
went and fell down before his face; and they said: ‘Behold, we are thy bondmen’. 19 And Joseph said unto them: ‘Fear not; for am I in the place
of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim? 20 And
as for you, ye meant evil against me; but אֱלֹהִים - Elohim meant it for good, to bring to
pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21 Now
therefore fear ye not; I will sustain you, and your little ones’. And he
comforted them, and spoke kindly unto them. 22 And
Joseph dwelt in Egypt,
he, and his father’s house; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation;
the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were
born upon Joseph’s knees. 24 And Joseph said unto his
brethren: ‘I die; but אֱלֹהִים - Elohim will surely remember you, and
bring you up out of this land unto the land which He swore to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob’. 25 And Joseph took an oath of
the children of Israel,
saying: ‘God will surely remember you, and ye shall carry up my bones from
hence’ 26 So 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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My Commentary on Genesis Chapter 50, verses 1 to 26:
Verses 1-3: Joseph throws
himself on his father’s face, weeping over him and kissing him. He commands the
physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel, a process taking forty
days, while the Egyptians observe a formal national mourning period of seventy days.
Verses 4-6: When the days of mourning pass, Joseph asks Pharaoh’s court to
speak directly to the monarch on his behalf. He relays Jacob’s solemn deathbed
oath regarding his burial in Canaan, and
Pharaoh grants permission, commanding Joseph to go up
and honour his father’s oath.
Verses 7-9: Joseph travels up to bury his father, accompanied by all of
Pharaoh’s officials, the elders of his court, and all the dignitaries of Egypt.
His entire household, his brothers, and his father’s household join the
procession, leaving only their children, flocks, and herds in Goshen, creating a massive caravan of
chariots and horsemen.
Verses 10-14: The procession arrives at the threshing floor of Atad near the Jordan, where they observe a
bitter, loud seven-day mourning ritual, prompting the local Canaanites to
remark on this solemn Egyptian mourning and name the place Abel Mizraim. Joseph
and his brothers carry Jacob into Canaan, burying him in the cave of Machpelah
as instructed, before Joseph and the entire funeral party return to Egypt.
Verses 15-17: With Jacob dead, Joseph’s brothers fear he will harbour a grudge
and repay them for all the wrongs they committed against him. They send a
fabricated message to Joseph, claiming Jacob left instructions before his death
pleading for Joseph to forgive his brothers’ crimes, causing Joseph to weep
when he hears their words.
Verses 18-21: The brothers come directly, throw themselves down before Joseph, and
say, “We are your slaves”. Joseph immediately reassures them, saying, “Don’t be
afraid. Am I in the place of אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim? You intended to harm me, but אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of
many lives”, promising to fully provide for them and their children.
Verses 22-23: Joseph remains in Egypt
with his father’s entire household, living to the age of one hundred and ten
years. He lives long enough to see the third generation of Ephraim’s children,
and places the children of Manasseh’s son Makir onto
his knees at birth.
Verses 24-26: Joseph tells his brothers he is about to die, but guarantees אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim will surely come to their aid and take them out of Egypt to the land swore to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. Joseph makes the sons of Israel
swear a solemn oath: “When אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim comes to your aid, you must carry my bones up from this place”, and he
dies, is embalmed, and is placed in a coffin in Egypt.
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My Closing Message:
Genesis 50 provides the ultimate blueprint
for forgiveness and emotional freedom. Joseph’s brothers were still imprisoned
by their guilt decades later, but Joseph lived in absolute freedom because he
viewed his life through the lens of Divine providence. He realized that holding
a grudge meant putting himself in the place of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim. By recognizing that אֱלֹהִים - Elohim redirected human malice into a life-saving mission, he replaced
bitterness with active kindness. When people hurt you, remember that human
actions do not have the final say over your life. Trust that אֱלֹהִים - Elohim can take the broken, painful pieces of your past and transform them
into a vehicle for redemption, purpose, and life.
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Rabbi,
Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
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