Genesis 50:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

NIV: After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.

NASB: And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

CSB: After Joseph buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him to bury his father.

NLT: After burying Jacob, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to his father’s burial.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.

Once the burial of Jacob was completed (Genesis 50:7–13), the large company of Joseph, his brothers, all his father's household, and the enormous delegation of Egyptians who had come along to mourn with them headed back to Egypt.

This must have been a bittersweet trip for Joseph. Of course, he was mourning the loss of his father (Genesis 49:33; 50:1). This trip was also the first time he had been in the Promised Land of Canaan in 39 years—since the day his brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:26–28). Though Joseph is now the second-in-command over all of Egypt (Genesis 41:44), he is still a slave to Egypt's ruler, the Pharaoh (Genesis 50:4–6). Joseph knew this was likely the last time he would see Canaan in his lifetime.

As the following passage reveals, Joseph's brothers also remembered the past. This brings anxiety. Though Joseph has been kind and gracious to them (Genesis 47:11–12), they fear this might have been entirely out of respect for their father. Now that Jacob was gone, they fear Joseph may seek revenge on them. He will put those fears to rest with a beautiful expression of faith in God's sovereign plans (Genesis 50:20).

Genesis 50:1–14 begins with Joseph weeping by his father's deathbed. Jacob is embalmed and an official period of mourning is observed in Egypt. With Pharaoh's blessing and a large company of Egyptian mourners, Jacob's sons travel to Canaan. There, as requested, they bury their father in the family tomb, alongside Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob's wife Leah. Then they all return to Egypt.

Genesis 50 begins with Joseph's weeping over his father's body, followed by the embalming of Jacob, a 70–day period of state mourning, and a trip to Canaan to bury Jacob with his fathers. Joseph's brothers, worried that he would take his revenge on them for selling him into slavery, seek Joseph's forgiveness. He assures them he will not harm them. The chapter skips to the end of Joseph's life. After assuring his people that God will return them to Canaan one day, Joseph dies and is embalmed.

After settling in Egypt, under his son's protection (Genesis 47—49), Jacob dies (Genesis 49:33). He is embalmed and all of Egypt mourns. Joseph buries his father in the family tomb in Canaan, then returns to Egypt. He asks that his body be taken back to Canaan someday. This sets up the events of the book of Exodus. Over centuries, Israel will grow into a prosperous people, only to be enslaved by a jealous Egyptian monarchy. This provides a context for God to rescue Israel and demonstrate His power.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.