Genesis 50:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,

NIV: So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh's officials accompanied him--the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt--

NASB: So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt,

CSB: Then Joseph went to bury his father, and all Pharaoh's servants, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt went with him,

NLT: So Joseph went up to bury his father. He was accompanied by all of Pharaoh’s officials, all the senior members of Pharaoh’s household, and all the senior officers of Egypt.

KJV: 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,

NKJV: So 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,

By the time Jacob got the unexpected news that his son, Joseph, was alive, he was already 130 years old (Genesis 47:9). He had made some preparations for his own death, by then (Genesis 50:5). Some seventeen years later, his burial will be an event well beyond anything Jacob might have imagined.

In addition to a seventy-day period of official mourning for Jacob (Genesis 50:3), Pharaoh sent a huge delegation to Canaan for the funeral. The Egyptians sent on this journey included Pharaoh's servants, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt. At the time Jacob's family moved into Egypt, they numbered seventy people (Genesis 46:27). Even seventeen years later (Genesis 47:28), it's likely there were more Egyptian dignitaries at Jacob's funeral than members of his own family. Pharaoh truly held Joseph and his father in great esteem.

Of course, God is the one ultimately responsible for returning Jacob's body to the Promised Land of Canaan. As Jacob was leaving Canaan 17 years earlier, God told him directly, "I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again" (Genesis 46:4). God has kept another of His promises to Jacob.

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.