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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Genesis 50
50
Joseph Buries His Father
1Joseph threw himself on his father, cried over him, and kissed him. 2Then Joseph ordered the doctors in his service to embalm his father. So the doctors embalmed Israel. 3The embalming was completed in the usual time—40 days. The Egyptians mourned for him 70 days.
4When the time of mourning for Jacob was over, Joseph spoke to the Pharaoh’s palace staff. He said, “Please speak directly to Pharaoh. Tell him, 5‘My father made me swear an oath. He said, “I’m about to die. Bury me in the tomb I bought for myself in Canaan.” Please let me go there and bury my father; then I’ll come back.’ ”
6Pharaoh replied, “Go and bury your father, as you have promised him.”
7So Joseph left to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials, the leaders in his palace staff, and all the leaders of Egypt went with him. 8Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household also went with him. (Only their children, their flocks, and their cattle were left in Goshen.) 9Chariots and horsemen went with him. It was a very large group.
10When they came to the threshing floor #50:10 A threshing floor is an outdoor area where grain is separated from its husks. of Atad, which is on the east side of the Jordan River, they began a great and solemn ceremony to mourn Jacob’s death. Joseph took seven days to mourn his father’s death. 11When the Canaanites living there saw the funeral ceremonies at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “These funeral ceremonies are taken very seriously by the Egyptians.” That’s why that place on the east side of the Jordan was named Abel Mizraim [Egyptian Funeral Ceremonies].
12Jacob’s sons did for him what he had told them to do. 13They carried him back to Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre. Abraham had bought this tomb from Ephron the Hittite.
14After Joseph had buried his father, he went back to Egypt along with his brothers and everyone who had gone there with him to bury his father.
Joseph Forgives His Brothers
15Joseph’s brothers realized what their father’s death could mean. So they thought, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us? What if he decides to pay us back for all the evil we did to him?” 16They sent a messenger to Joseph to say, “Before your father died, he commanded us, 17‘This is what you should say to Joseph, “I’m begging you to forgive the crime and the sin your brothers committed against you. What they did to you was very evil.” ’ So now, please forgive our crime, because we are servants of your father’s God.” Joseph cried when he got their message.
18Then his brothers also came and immediately bowed down in front of him. “We are your slaves!” they said.
19Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I can’t take God’s place. 20Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it. This was to keep many people alive, as he is doing now. 21Don’t be afraid! I will provide for you and your children.” In this way he reassured them, setting their minds at ease.
22Joseph and his father’s family stayed in Egypt. Joseph lived to be 110 years old. 23He saw his grandchildren, Ephraim’s children. Even the children of Machir, son of Manasseh, were adopted by Joseph at birth.
24At last Joseph said to his brothers, “I’m about to die. God will definitely take care of you and take you out of this land to the land he swore with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 25Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath. He said, “God will definitely take care of you. So be sure to carry my bones back with you.”
26Joseph died when he was 110 years old. His body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.
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