Genesis 50 – The Death of Jacob and Joseph’s Final Words
Genesis 50 concludes the book of beginnings, recording Jacob’s burial, Joseph’s final reassurance to his brothers, and the transition of Israel’s story toward Egypt. This chapter highlights forgiveness, divine providence, and God’s continued plan for His people.
Closure, Forgiveness, and Future Hope
As the patriarch Jacob is laid to rest, Joseph’s brothers fear retribution for their past betrayal. However, Joseph assures them that God’s plan was greater than their sin. His final words look toward the future exodus, revealing his unwavering trust in God’s promises.
✔ Jacob’s body is embalmed and given a grand burial in Canaan.
✔ Joseph reassures his brothers, extending full forgiveness.
✔ God’s sovereignty over human actions is reaffirmed.
✔ Joseph’s final prophecy points to Israel’s coming deliverance.
📖 Key Verse: “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” – Genesis 50:20
🔎 Even in human failures, God’s redemptive plan remains unshaken.
Genesis Chapter 50 Overview
Genesis 50:1-14 – Jacob’s Burial in Canaan
📖 Genesis 50:2-3 – “And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father… And the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.”
🔎 Jacob’s embalming and Egyptian mourning reflect his honored status in the land.
📖 Genesis 50:7-9 – “And with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh… and there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.”
🔎 A royal procession escorts Jacob, signifying his legacy’s importance.
📖 Genesis 50:13 – “For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah.”
🔎 Jacob’s burial affirms his faith in God’s covenant promise.
Genesis 50:15-21 – Joseph’s Reassurance & Forgiveness
📖 Genesis 50:15 – “And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.”
🔎 Guilt lingers, yet Joseph’s heart reflects Christ-like forgiveness.
📖 Genesis 50:19-20 – “Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”
🔎 One of the greatest affirmations of divine providence in Scripture.
📖 Genesis 50:21 – “Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.”
🔎 Joseph’s mercy mirrors God’s grace toward repentant sinners.
Genesis 50:22-26 – Joseph’s Final Words & Death
📖 Genesis 50:24 – “God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
🔎 Joseph prophesies the Exodus, keeping faith in God’s promise.
📖 Genesis 50:25 – “And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.”
🔎 Joseph’s request shows his belief in Israel’s eventual deliverance.
📖 Genesis 50:26 – “So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.”
🔎 Genesis ends with Joseph in Egypt, setting the stage for Israel’s next chapter.
Genesis Chapter 50 - Deeper Study
Overview: The End of an Era, The Beginning of a Nation
🔹 Timeframe: Joseph’s final years in Egypt.
🔹 Setting: Egypt, with Jacob’s burial in Canaan.
🔹 Theme: Forgiveness, divine providence, and God’s unfolding promise.
Key Takeaways
🔑 God’s plan turns even evil into good.
🔑 True forgiveness frees both the giver and the receiver.
🔑 Faith extends beyond life—Joseph believed in future redemption.
Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment
🔮 Joseph’s Forgiveness – A type of Christ’s mercy toward sinners.
🔮 Joseph’s Prophecy of Deliverance – Foretelling Israel’s Exodus and Christ’s redemption.
🔮 Burial in Canaan – Symbolizing faith in the eternal Promised Land.
Historical & Cultural Context
📜 Egyptian Burial Customs – Joseph’s embalming aligned with Egyptian practices.
📜 Mourning Periods – The 70-day mourning reflected Egypt’s deep respect for Jacob.
📜 Faith in the Promised Land – Joseph’s burial request affirmed Israel’s true inheritance.
💡 Final Reflection: Faith Beyond the Grave
Genesis ends with a promise yet to be fulfilled—Israel will one day leave Egypt and enter the Promised Land. Likewise, believers today live in hope of Christ’s return and the eternal kingdom.
📌 Do we trust God’s hand in both trials and triumphs?
📌 Have we embraced the power of true forgiveness?
📌 Are we living with the future promise of God’s kingdom in mind?
🚀 Genesis 50 reminds us that God’s promises never fail—He is always leading His people forward.
Gen 50:1 And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
Gen 50:2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
Gen 50:3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
Gen 50:4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
Gen 50:5 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 again.
Gen 50:6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
Gen 50:7 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,
Gen 50:8 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.
Gen 50:9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
Gen 50:10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
Gen 50:11 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 Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.
Gen 50:12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:
Gen 50:13 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 buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
Gen 50:14 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.
God’s Good Purposes
Gen 50:15 And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
Gen 50:16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
Gen 50:17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
Gen 50:18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
Gen 50:19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
Gen 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Gen 50:21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
The Death of Joseph
Gen 50:22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
Gen 50:23 And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph’s knees.
Gen 50:24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Gen 50:25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
Gen 50:26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Date Written
1446-1406 BC
Written By
Moses (written under divine inspiration)
Language
Hebrew
Verses
26