Genesis 50

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

Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Israel.

Forty days were used for him, for that is how many days it takes to embalm. The Egyptians wept for Israel for seventy days.

When the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s staff, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,

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

Pharaoh said, “Go up, and bury your father, just like he made you swear.”

Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, all the elders of the land of Egypt,

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.

Both chariots and horsemen went up with him. It was a very great company.

They came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they lamented with a very great and severe lamentation. He mourned for his father seven days.

When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

His sons did to him just as he commanded them,

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, as a possession for a burial site, from Ephron the Hittite, near Mamre.

Joseph returned into Egypt—he, and his brothers, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.”

They sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded before he died, saying,

‘You shall tell Joseph, “Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

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

Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for am I in the place of God?

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today.

Now therefore don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” He comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.

Joseph lived in Egypt, he, and his father’s house. Joseph lived one hundred ten years.

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

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am dying, but God will surely visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

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

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

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This final chapter of Genesis records the death and burial of Jacob, the reconciliation of Joseph with his brothers after their father’s passing, and the death of Joseph himself. It closes the patriarchal narrative by affirming God’s faithfulness to His promises, even as the family of Israel remains in Egypt, anticipating the future fulfillment of the divine oath to bring them into the land of Canaan.

Flow.

Joseph honors his father with proper burial rites, leading a grand procession from Egypt to Canaan to bury Jacob in the cave of Machpelah (vv. 1–14).
Joseph’s brothers, fearing retribution in their father’s absence, seek reconciliation; Joseph reassures them, interpreting their betrayal as part of God’s sovereign plan to preserve life (vv. 15–21).
Before his own death, Joseph reaffirms the promise of God to deliver His people from Egypt and makes the Israelites swear to carry his bones out of the land when that day comes (vv. 22–26).

Connections.
Following chapter 49, where Jacob blesses his sons and gives instructions for his burial, chapter 50 carries out those final desires, completing the patriarch’s earthly journey. The mourning and burial at Machpelah link back to Abraham’s purchase of the plot (Gen. 23), reinforcing the continuity of the covenant promise. Joseph’s final words of hope point forward to the book of Exodus, where God “visits” His people in bondage and begins the work of redemption. This chapter thus bridges the patriarchal age with the national destiny of Israel, preparing the reader for the unfolding story of deliverance.

What it teaches.
The chapter demonstrates the sovereignty of God in working through human sin and suffering to accomplish His saving purposes (WCF 3.7; HC LD 10). Though Joseph’s brothers acted in evil, God ordained their actions to preserve life during famine (Gen. 50:20), exemplifying how divine providence upholds and governs all events (WCF 5.1). Joseph’s forgiveness reflects God’s mercy, and his final charge about the exodus confirms the ongoing validity of the covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (HC LD 7). The burial of Joseph in a coffin in Egypt becomes a sign of hope, bearing witness to faith in God’s future fulfillment of His word (Heb. 11:22; cf. BC 11).

Apply.
The promise of resurrection and final inheritance calls us to live with confidence in God’s unseen purposes, even when waiting through long seasons of uncertainty.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.