Verse by Verse

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.”

¹⁶ So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying,

¹⁷ ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

¹⁸ Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

¹⁹ Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?

²⁰ But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

²¹ Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

²² So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father’s household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.

²³ Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph’s knees.

²⁴ And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

²⁵ Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”

²⁶ So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

[Jacob’s brothers] decided to send word to Joseph to remind him that Jacob had urged him to forgive them. This time [for the first time in the record of Scripture], their message did include a clear and definite confession of sin and plea for forgiveness. … It was significant that they called themselves “the servants of the God of thy father.” They had all by this time apparently become sincere in their understanding of God’s special calling for them. [They followed up their message] by coming directly into [Joseph’s] presence with an offer to become his slaves. … God had clearly used their deed to accomplish His own good purpose to preserve life through the famine, [and] Joseph assured them he would see that they and their children were protected and nourished, speaking (literally) “to their hearts.” — Morris, pages 666-667.

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Jacob died when Joseph was fifty-six years old (Genesis 41:46, 53; 45:6; 47:28). Joseph continued to live for another fifty-four years after that, finally dying at the age of 110. … Joseph lived to know some of his great-grandchildren. His older son, Manasseh, seems to have had two sons of his own, Machir, and Asriel (Numbers 26:29-31; 1 Chronicles 7:14), and possibly others. The children of Machir included Gilead, the ancestor of the Gileadites (Numbers 26:29). Joseph also saw the “children of the third generation” of his younger son, Ephraim. Joseph could see that he would have a numerous progeny, in accord with God’s promises (Genesis 48:19-20). — Morris, page 667.

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Joseph asked his brothers, the children of Israel, to promise that they would bury him in Canaan as they had buried Jacob there. They took an oath to do this, an oath finally fulfilled by their heirs (Exodus 13:19; Joshua 24:32). Joseph realized, now that he was dying, it would be impossible for his brothers to organize and expedition to bury him in Canaan right after his death. However, he fully believed that they would someday move back to Canaan, and it would be at that time that he wanted them to take his bones with them. For this confidence and faith, he was mentioned in the “faith” chapter of Hebrews (Hebrews 11:22). Joseph then died and his body, like that of Jacob, was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. — Morris, page 668.

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Though Jacob’s family returns to their privileged place in Goshen in the land of Egypt, the focus on returning to the Promised Land continues with Joseph, who binds the sons of Israel with the charge that “God will surely visit you and you will carry up my bones from here”—the key words here being “visit” (from a root verb which, when used of God, implies an active interest on behalf of His people) and “carry up” (which verb, when used directionally, refers to movement toward the Promised Land, and within the Promised Land to Jerusalem and the Temple—i.e., closer to the Presence of the Lord). Thus Genesis comes to a close by anticipating the return not only of Israel to the ideal of the Promised Land, but also, therefore, of “all families of the earth” (per Genesis 12:3, etc.) to the ideal of Creation as it was in the pre-fall Garden, when all of God’s servants “shall see His face” and as co-heirs “reign forever and ever” (Romans 8:17; Revelation 22:4-5). — Wechsler, pages 366-267.

1 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him, and kissed him.

² And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel.

³ Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those who are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

⁴ Now when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying,

⁵ ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.’ ”

⁶ And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

⁷ 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,

⁸ as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, 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 gathering.

¹⁰ Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father.

¹¹ And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

¹² So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them.

¹³ For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place.

¹⁴ 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.

As God had promised Jacob, Joseph “closed [Jacob’s] eyes in death” (Genesis 46:4), and Jacob died content (Genesis 45:28; 46:30). … It was customary in Egypt to embalm the dead, using an elaborate process of alteration and treatment of the body which ensured that its mummified remains would be preserved almost indefinitely. Joseph had his personal physicians undertake this process with his father’s body, a process which lasted forty days. It was also customary in Egypt to have approximately a seventy-day period of mourning, especially for a person of national importance. — Morris, pages 662-663

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After the seventy-day period was over, Joseph and his brothers determined to set about obeying their father’s request that he be buried not in Egypt but in Canaan. … Joseph assured Pharaoh that the Israelites would all return after the burial was accomplished. … Pharaoh could see that the request was well-intentioned and reasonable, especially in view of the oath [Joseph made to Jacob], and so readily granted permission. Evidently, he also gave orders that it should be recognized as an official Egyptian state funeral, with all due honors accorded to the dead.

The funeral procession consisted not only of Joseph and his brothers and their households (only the little ones remained behind in Goshen, as well as the flocks and herds—a fact which [likely] assured any Egyptians who might be skeptical that they would, indeed, return), but also the servants and elders of Pharaoh’s household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt. There were many cavalrymen for protection, as well as chariots (probably “wagons”) for transportation of food and supplies. — Morris, page 664.

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The caravan seems to have stopped just east of the Jordan, at the site known as “the threshing floor of Atad,” Atad presumably being a man’s name. There the whole assemblage carried out a formal seven-day period of mourning. To all appearances it was an official Egyptian mourning ceremony, and was the object of much attention and discussion by the Canaanites of the area. The latter, in fact, gave the place the name Abel-mizraim (“Meadow of the Egyptians”) as a result. They may have wondered what a great body of Egyptians was doing there, instead of carrying out their funeral in Egypt; however, there is some evidence that Egypt actually controlled this region in those days.

When the mourning was done, Jacob’s sons took his body across the Jordan, into Canaan, and to the cave of Machpelah near Mamre. They they buried him, as he had commanded, giving testimony not only of love for their father but also of faith in God’s promises concerning the land, which someday would go to their seed for an everlasting possession. — Morris, page 665.

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With Pharaoh’s assent, Joseph and his brothers then carry Jacob’s body to the land of Canaan and bury him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, where were buried Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Leah (Genesis 49:31)—this last of which, though unpreferred in her life (see Genesis 29:31) is thus granted enduring distinction in her death as the matriarchal representative of the third-interred “pair” in the Abrahamic line (Rachel was buried in the vicinity of Bethlehem; see Genesis 35:19).  In Canaan Jacob’s family mourns him for a period of seven days, which, together with the similar reference in 1 Samuel 31:13, underlies the contemporary Jewish practice of shivah—i.e., setting aside seven days exclusively for the purpose of mourning over a deceased family member. — Wechsler, page 266.

Not only is Leah buried with Jacob in the grave of the patriarchs, but as Judah’s mother, she’s also in the line of the Messiah.

¹⁴ “Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two burdens;

¹⁵ He saw that rest was good, and that the land was pleasant; he bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, and became a band of slaves.

¹⁶ “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁷ Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider shall fall backward.

¹⁸ I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!

¹⁹ “Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, but he shall triumph at last.

²⁰ “Bread from Asher shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties.

²¹ “Naphtali is a deer let loose; he uses beautiful words.

²² “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall.

²³ The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him.

²⁴ But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

²⁵ By the God of your father who will help you, and by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

²⁶ The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

²⁷ “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.”

²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

²⁹ Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

³⁰ in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place.

³¹ There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.

³² The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.”

³³ And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

[Jacob] said that Zebulun would be for a haven of ships, with his northern border facing toward the ancient and great seaport of Zidon. The tract actually assigned to Zebulun by Joshua was “up toward the sea” (Joshua 19:11) and “reached to the river that is before Jokneam.” It is usually assumed that Zebulun was located between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean, but whether its borders actually reached either or both theses seas is not known. Matthew 4:13 suggests that its borders extended to Capernaum, on the shore of Galilee.

Jacob compared Issachar to a strong ass “bowing down beneath a double burden” (or, as some translations [have it], “settled down between the sheepfolds”) … The meaning seems to be that Issachar was strong , but docile and lazy. … Historically, Issachar had rich lands and rich crops, which attracted marauders and captors. Again, however, there is little specific information. — Morris, page 657.

Dan shall judge (v.16) — Samson, a Danite (cf. Judges 13:2ff.), judged Israel for 20 years. But the tribe of Dan also officially introduced idolatry into Israel (Judges 18:30-31). This may be the reason Dan is omitted from the tribes in Revelation 7:4-8.

[Perhaps because] there might have been some question as to whether these sons of the concubines would actually share in the inheritance, Jacob assured the first one of them, Dan, that he would indeed “judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.” But then he compared Dan to a venomous snake that would defeat a mounted soldier by striking at the heel of his horse. … The reference to the serpent may refer symbolically to the fact that it was the Danites who introduced idolatry into the land of Israel on a regular official basis (Judges 18:30-31). It was also in Dan that Jeroboam, who led the rebellion that culminated in the divided kingdom, set up one of his two golden calves (1 Kings 12:28-30). It may be that this is why Dan is not listed among the tribes in Revelation 7:4-8.

This latter interpretation is strengthened by the fact that Jacob, immediately after his reference to the serpent, must have thought of the one whom the serpent throughout Scripture typifies—that old serpent, the Devil. … Jacob [perhaps thought] of God’s primeval promise of the coming Seed whose heel would be bitten by the Serpent, but who would in turn finally crush his head and bring the long-awaited salvation (Genesis 3:15). It was in reference to this Messianic promise that he had just spoken to Judah. It is natural, therefore, that right at this point, he would cry out: “I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord!” It would not be too imaginative to suggest that, in Jacob’s mind, this Salvation for which he was waiting was actually a person. The word itself is the Hebrew yeshuah, which is none other than the name “Jesus!” [This is] the first mention of the word “salvation” in the Bible.

Of Gad, Jacob prophesied that, although invading troops might assault his home, he (whose name itself meant “troop”) would in turn repel them and press on the heel of the enemy. Gad’s realm was east of the Jordan, on the edge of the kingdom of the Ammonites and other desert peoples, and thus was especially open to attack. However, the Gadites were well able to fight (1 Chronicles 5:18; 12:8, etc.).

Asher was to have and enjoy rich food and royal delicacies. As it turned out, Asher’s lot fell on the rich northern seacoast north of Mount Carmel, all the way to Tyre and Zidon (Joshua 19:24-31). However, they failed even to take possession of the Tyre-Sidon region, and the tribe soon became insignificant.

Naphtali, the brother of Dan, is described as “a hind let loose.” That is, his descendants would be known for swiftness, as warriors fleet of foot. They would also be known as composers of eloquent speech and beautiful literature. … The best known of his descendants was Barak, who, with Deborah, won a mighty victory over Jabin and Sisera of the Canaanites (Judges 4:10; 5:18). — Morris, pages 658-659

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[Jacob] compared his favorite son [Joseph] to a bough from a fruitful vine, with an abundant supply of water and with branches climbing over the wall, in this way predicting that his tribe (actually the twofold tribe, Ephraim and Manasseh) would be strong and numerous. He also compared him to a man beset by enemy archers who had tried to destroy him as a hated foe, but nevertheless as one whose own bow was strong and steady, and whose hands were made strong by the strong God who had strengthened his father Jacob. This description applied directly to Joseph himself and to his triumph over the enmity of his brothers, but it also was prophetic of the experience of Joseph’s descendants.

The one who had strengthened Joseph’s hand, and who would be likewise the strength of his tribe, is said to be both the Shepherd and the Stone of Israel. Although there had been a reference to the shepherding work of the Lord in Jacob’s words to Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48:15), this is the first time when God is actually called the Shepherd. Likewise, this is the first time when God is called either the Stone or the Rock. … Jacob also stressed again that this God was the same God as his God, the God of his fathers.

All of the blessings which Jacob had experienced would likewise be showered on Joseph and his descendants. He was the one “separate from” his brothers, and thus marked out for special distinction and service. These prophecies were fulfilled in the later histories of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, especially the former. Many of Israel’s leaders were from these tribes. Joshua, Deborah, and Samuel were from Ephraim; and Gideon and Jephthah were from Manasseh. Both tribes were strong in war, and their lands were fertile and productive. Jeroboam, and Ephraimite led the rebellion which produced the divided kingdom; and the northern kingdom came to be called alternatively by the names Israel and Ephraim, as the southern kingdom was called by the name Judah. — Morris, pages 659-660.

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The tribe of Benjamin would be bold and strong, successful in warfare, but at the same time it might become cruel and voracious. Both attributes were later evident in the tribe, as demonstrated by the strange story in Judges 20, which almost cost the Benjamites their very identity as one of the twelve tribes. … The first king of Israel was Saul, a Benjamite, whose character quite precisely corresponded to Jacob’s prophecy.— Morris, page 661

Paul who tried to destroy the believers before he was saved, was also a Benjamite.

1 And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:

² “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father.

³ “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

⁴ Unstable as water, you shall not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.

⁵ “Simeon and Levi are brothers; instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

⁶ Let not my soul enter their council; let not my honor be united to their assembly; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

⁷ Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

1 Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

² And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed.

³ Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me,

⁴ and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’

⁵ And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

⁶ Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.

⁷ But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

⁸ Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”

⁹ Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”

¹⁰ Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

¹¹ And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

¹² So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth.

¹³ And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him.

¹⁴ Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day,

¹⁶ The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

¹⁷ Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

¹⁸ And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹ But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

²⁰ So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.

²² Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

[When Joseph arrived at his death bed, Jacob] rehearsed … how God Almighty had first appeared to him at Luz, whose name he had therefore changed to Bethel. There God had confirmed to him the promises made to Abraham and Isaac: he would become a multitude of people, and the good land of Canaan would be given to his seed for an everlasting possession. Actually, God had appeared to Jacob at Bethel twice (Genesis 28:10-19 and 35:6-13). … It was on the second occasion that these specific promises had been made. — Morris, page 645.

By adopting Joseph’s two sons (v.5) , Ephraim and Manasseh, as his own, Jacob made them equal with his other sons and insured that Joseph’s descendants would receive a double inheritance.

Again God bypassed the older son (v.14) in favor of the younger, as he had with Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, and Joseph over Reuben.

It may have been at this time (v.15)  that Jacob transferred the rights of the firstborn from Reuben to Joseph, the firstborn of his favorite wife, Rachel (1 Chronicles 5:1).

Jacob … desired that Joseph be recognized in a special way, partly because of all he had done for the family, but probably primarily because he was the firstborn son of his wife Rachel. Jacob had fully intended, in the beginning, that Rachel be his only wife; in that case, Joseph would indeed have been the firstborn. It had been by Laban’s deception, not by Jacob’s choice, that things had developed differently.

As … in the case of Esau and Jacob, it was customary that the oldest son receive a double portion of the inheritance; but the father, as head of the family, could change this arrangement if the situation, in his opinion, warranted such a change. Jacob, therefore, was perfectly within his rights to transfer this birthright from Reuben (who had clearly shown, through both his incestuous relation with Bilhah and general weakness of character, that he was not really fit for such a responsibility) to Joseph, who should have been the firstborn and who had shown beyond question that he was indeed fit for the responsibility. “[Reuben] was the firstborn, but forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel” (1 Chronicles 5:1). Joseph decided it would be most effective to convey this double inheritance directly to Joseph’s two sons, rather than to Joseph himself. This he would do by adopting them as his own sons, so that they would each be equal in rank to Reuben and Simeon, the two who were firstborn chronologically, and to his other sons. — Morris, page 646

Angel (v.16) = the preincarnate Christ.

fed (v.16) = lit. “shepherd” — The first reference in the Bible to God as a shepherd.

redeemed (v.16) — first use in the Bible of “redeem.” It means “to save,” or “to be a savior or deliverer.”

After the division of the kingdom, the tribe of Ephraim (as predicted in v.19) did become dominant in the north and its name was used for all of Israel (Isaiah 7:2; Hosea 4:17; 13:1).

The Holy Spirit in Hebrews 11:21 points to Jacob’s action in this chapter as as the great faith action of his life. Feeble and dying, and having nothing except the staff on which he leant and worshiped, he yet  bestowed vast and unseen possessions on his grandsons. — Williams, page 41.

Also, Williams believes this is the occasion when Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph while leaning on his staff (as per Hebrews 11:21), while in Genesis 47:31, he “bowed himself on the head of the bead.” In other words, this isn’t a contradiction, but two separate occasions. I think that’s possible.

Jacob concluded … by promising Joseph that God would be with him and bring even him again back to the land of his fathers. Joseph did indeed return there to bury his father (Genesis 50:7), and eventually he himself would be buried there, but Jacob had primary reference to the return of his descendants to inhabit the land. He then mentioned a very special tract of ground, which he himself had conquered from the Amorites. This was apparently not a large tract, and is nowhere else referred to (except possibly John 4:5), but represented to Jacob a token that God would eventually give his descendants all the land. Of this tract, he deeded to Joseph a double portion — Morris, page 650.

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Jacob exhorts Joseph to bring [his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh] closer so that he might bless them. In blessings his two grandsons—whom he in fact elevates to the status of sons begotten by himself (see v.5)—Jacob intentionally follows the pattern of blessing and election expressed by God towards both himself and Esau as well as towards Isaac and Ishmael in the first generation born under the covenant—to with: granting the preeminent (i.e. messianic) blessing to the younger rather than, per convention, to the older. This serves not only to further highlight the sovereignty of God in election (cf. Romans 9:10-11), but also anticipates the similar “unconventional” election of Jacob’s fourth-oldest son (Judah) as the recipient of the messianic blessing in the next generation [next chapter]. Moreover, before turning to his final pronouncements over his twelve sons, Jacob grants to Joseph one portion more than his brothers, signifying that, although the preeminent (i.e., messianic) blessing would go to Judah, the birthright (i.e., the bulk of the material inheritance, here denoted by the “one portion more”) would go to Joseph (as affirmed in 1 Chronicles 5:2; cf. also the distinction between the blessing and the birthright in Genesis 27:36). — Wechsler, pages 262-263.

²⁷ So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.

²⁸ And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.

²⁹ When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,

³⁰ but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.”

³¹ Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.

The writer skillfully transitions (v.27) from a reference to Israel the person—i.e., “And Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen,” in which the verb is singular—to the first biblical reference to Israel the people—i.e., “and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became exceedingly numerous,” in which the verbs are all plural. the wording of this latter statement also recalls that of God’s promise to Abraham—e.g., as in Genesis 17:6: “I will make you exceedingly fruitful”—thus connecting this future state of affairs to (and hence reiterating) the important theme of God’s covenant faithfulness. — Wechsler, page 262.

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Joseph took a solemn oath that he would indeed do as his father asked [and bury him in Canaan]. Jacob bowed himself against the bed’s head and offered a prayer of worship and thanksgiving to God. This was, according to Hebrews 11:21, a true act of faith on Jacob’s part. In this reference in Hebrews, the “bed’s head” is called “the top of his staff,” following the Septuagint translation. It may be that Jacob supported himself by his staff and the bed’s headboard, as he was very old and feeble by this time. — Morris, page 643.

Bultema thinks perhaps Jacob leaned on his staff while in bed and leaning on the headboard. Williams thinks there were two different occasions—on in bed and one out of it. Treasury thinks it’s just a matter of translation, as the Hebrew word for bed is mittah and that for staff is matteh. I have no idea, but I have no issue with the idea of Jacob holding his staff in his hands while leaning on his bed.

¹³ Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.

¹⁴ And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

¹⁵ So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.”

¹⁶ Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.”

¹⁷ So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.

¹⁸ When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.

¹⁹ Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.”

²⁰ Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.

²¹ And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end.

²² Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.

²³ Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.

²⁴ And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”

²⁵ So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”

²⁶ And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.

Though Joseph presumably asked a fair price for the grain, it was only a matter of time until [the Egyptians] had spent all their savings on food … Joseph worked out a barter system, allowing [the Egyptians] to exchange their horses, cattle, and other animals for food. This kept the people going another year, but finally all their animals were gone too.

The people therefore desired to dedicate themselves and their land for service to Pharaoh in return for food on a regular basis, as well as seed with which to sow their lands. … Some people have felt that this was a scheme of Joseph not only to get wealth but also to enslave the people. However, it was their proposal, not Joseph’s, and whatever gain was involved accrued to Pharaoh, not to Joseph. It is true that it created what amounted to a feudalistic economy, but the alternative—that of placing everyone on a dole system—would have destroyed personal and national morale, [and probably] would have bankrupted the government. …

In order to expedite distribution of grain and seed, and to best utilize the labor purchased in this manner, Joseph relocated many of the people, moving them nearer the various cities where the storehouses were situated. — Morris, pages 639-640.

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The priests who administered the Egyptian religious system had extensive land holdings of their own, and they did not turn any of these over to Pharaoh. In effect, Egypt had an official state religion, and the members of its hierarchy were essentially state employees. Thus, they received an ample allocation of grain for their own needs in return for their services and it was unnecessary for them to sell their lands. … This exception [probably] came about on orders of Pharaoh himself. Their portion of grain was that “which Pharaoh gave them.” This suggests that Joseph did not agree with this exception, but was overruled by Pharaoh. …

Since the title to the lands now belonged to Pharaoh, it was agreed that the people would continue to work their own lands, using seed furnished by the government, and that they could keep for their own use 80 percent of what they produced, with 20 percent going to Pharaoh. In effect, this amounted to a permanent annual income tax of 20 percent of gross income. …

The citizens were grateful to Joseph for saving their lives, recognizing that they were being treated fairly and generously  and that there could really be no other plan which would work as well under the circumstances. — Morris, pages 641-642.

1 Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.”

² And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.

³ Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.”

⁴ And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”

⁵ Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.

⁶ The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”

⁷ Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

⁸ Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”

⁹ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”

¹⁰ So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

¹¹ And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

¹² Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread, according to the number in their families.

dwell (v.4, first usage) = sojourn, dwell as a newcomer for a time (The second use of the word in the verse simply means to live.)

one hundred and thirty (v.9) — Jacob was 130 when he arrived in Egypt and died 17 years later, at 147. Abraham lived to 175, and Isaac to 180.

Though Pharaoh was the more wealthy and powerful, Jacob clearly was the superior, for he “blessed Pharaoh.” Melchizedek had blessed Abraham (Genesis 14:19), thus showing his superiority to Abraham, for “the less is blessed of the better” (Hebrews 7:7). — Morris, page 637.

land of Rameses (v.11) — a name given later to Goshen, probably added here to help locate the place where the Israelites settled.

This region seems to have been bordered on the west by the Nile, since the Israelites “did eat fish freely in Egypt (Numbers 11:5. According to Psalm 78:12, their property must have included “the field of Zoan,” which was on one of the outlet channels of the Nile fairly near the sea. In general it was close to Egypt’s northeast corner, more or less isolated from the bulk of the Egyptian population, which tended to concentrate more to the south and west. — Morris, pages 638-639.

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Not only does the sojourn in Egypt enable Jacob and his family to be physically reunited with Joseph and his family, but it also provides the ideal venue within which the family of Jacob can grow into the “great people/nation” that God had promised to make them. Whereas in the land of Canaan the patriarchal family was one among a plethora of tribes and peoples (most of them stronger and more numerous) constantly contending for land and resources, in Egypt they were given—at Pharaoh’s order—a privileged place in the best of the land … in the land of Goshen. Here they would have the room to expand and grow, free from molestation and with abundant provision, so that after 400 years had passed they would have “increased greatly and multiplied, and become exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7)—a people then numerous to likewise spread throughout and fill the land of their inheritance under the dominion of their Law-giving King. — Wechsler, page 261.