Genesis 50:16 T 57
26 Your father’s blessings are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
a the bounty of the age-old hills.
than
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince among b his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning he devours the prey,
in the evening he divides the plunder.”
28 All t hese are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said
to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.
The Death of Jacob
29 Then he gave them t hese instructions: “I am a
bout to be gathered to
my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the
Hittite, 30 the cave in the f ield of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which
Abraham bought along with the f ield as a burial p
lace from E
phron the Hit
tite. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, t here I saac and his wife
Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it
were b
ought from the Hittites. c ”
33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet
up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and k
issed him.
2 Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his fa
ther Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, 3 taking a full forty days, for that
was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him
seventy days.
4 When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court,
“If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, 5 ‘My
father made me s wear an oath and said, “I am a
bout to die; bury me in the
tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my
father; then I will return.’ ”
6 Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”
7 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 — 8 besides
all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging
to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and h
erds were
left in Goshen. 9 Chariots and horsemen d also went up with him. It was a very
large company.
10 When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they
lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period
of mourning for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who l ived t here saw the
mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are hold
ing a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that p
lace near the Jordan
is called Abel Mizraim. e
12 So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: 13 They carried him to
the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near
Mamre, which Abraham had b
ought a
long with the f ield as a burial p
lace from
Ephron the Hittite. 14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, to
gether with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury
his father.
50
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that t heir father was dead, they said, “What
if Joseph holds a grudge a
gainst us and pays us back for all the wrongs we
did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left t hese
a 26 Or
of my progenitors, / as great as b 26 Or of the one separated from c 32 Or the
descendants of Heth d 9 Or charioteers e 11 Abel Mizraim means mourning of the
Egyptians.