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Texts -- Genesis 50:12-26 (NET)

Context
50:12 So the sons of Jacob did for him just as he had instructed them. 50:13 His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah , near Mamre . This is the field Abraham purchased as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite . 50:14 After he buried his father , Joseph returned to Egypt , along with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to bury his father . 50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead , they said , “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay us in full for all the harm we did to him?” 50:16 So they sent word to Joseph , saying , “Your father gave these instructions before he died : 50:17 ‘Tell Joseph this : Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly .’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father .” When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept . 50:18 Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said , “Here we are; we are your slaves .” 50:19 But Joseph answered them, “Don’t be afraid . Am I in the place of God ? 50:20 As for you , you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people , as you can see this day . 50:21 So now , don’t be afraid . I will provide for you and your little children .” Then he consoled them and spoke kindly to them. 50:22 Joseph lived in Egypt , along with his father’s family . Joseph lived 110 years . 50:23 Joseph saw the descendants of Ephraim to the third generation. He also saw the children of Makir the son of Manasseh ; they were given special inheritance rights by Joseph . 50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers , “I am about to die . But God will surely come to you and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give to Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob .” 50:25 Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said , “God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place.” 50:26 So Joseph died at the age of 110 . After they embalmed him, his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2500 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1-11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12-50). The ...
  • Genesis provides the historical basis for the rest of the Bible and the Pentateuch, particularly the Abrahamic Covenant. Chapters 1-11 give historical background essential to understanding that covenant, and chapters 12-50 re...
  • The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of"(toledotin Hebrew, from yaladmeaning "to bear, to generate") occurs ten times (really eleven times since 36:9 repeats 36:1), and in each case it introduce...
  • The Lord destroyed the corrupt, violent human race and deluged its world, but He used righteous Noah to preserve life and establish a new world after the Flood."Noah's experience presents decisively the author's assertion tha...
  • "The Babel account (11:1-9) is not the end of early Genesis. If it were, the story would conclude on the sad note of human failure. But as with earlier events in Genesis 1-11, God's grace once again supersedes human sin, insu...
  • One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. H...
  • A major theme of the Pentateuch is the partial fulfillment of the promises to the patriarchs. The promises in Genesis 12:1-3 and 7 are the fountainhead from which the rest of the Pentateuch flows.397Walter Kaiser labeled the ...
  • "These verses are of fundamental importance for the theology of Genesis, for they serve to bind together the primeval history and the later patriarchal history and look beyond it to the subsequent history of the nation."414"W...
  • The second crisis Abram faced arose because of a famine in Canaan. Abram chose to sojourn in the Nile Valley until it was past. In this incident Abram tried to pass Sarai off as his sister because he feared for his life. By d...
  • Abram asked God to strengthen his faith. In response Yahweh promised to give the patriarch innumerable descendants. This led Abram to request some further assurance that God would indeed do what He promised. God graciously ob...
  • The emphasis in this brief section is on the faithfulness and power of God in keeping His promise and providing an heir miraculously through Sarah (17:16; 18:14). Note the threefold repetition of "as He had said,""as He had p...
  • In obedience to God's command Abraham took his promised heir to Moriah to sacrifice him to the Lord. Because Abraham was willing to slay his uniquely begotten son God restrained him from killing Isaac and promised to bless hi...
  • Abraham's purchase of a burial site in the Promised Land demonstrated his intention to remain in Canaan rather than going back to his native homeland. Since he was a sojourner in Canaan his friends probably expected him to bu...
  • A new toledotbegins with 25:19. Its theme is "the acquisition of the blessing and its development and protection by the Lord."625Moses set up the whole Jacob narrative in a chiastic structure that emphasizes the fulfillment o...
  • Here begins the tenth and last toledotin Genesis. Jacob remains a major character throughout Genesis. Moses recorded his death in chapter 49. Nevertheless Joseph replaces him as the focus of the writer's attention at this poi...
  • Joseph emotionally revealed his identity to his brothers. He assured them of God's sovereign control of his life and directed them to bring Jacob to Egypt. He then demonstrated his love for his brothers warmly.This is one of ...
  • The structure of chapters 46 and 47 is also chiastic.887AGod appears to Jacob (46:1-4)BJacob journeys to Egypt (46:5-27)CJoseph meets Jacob (46:28-34)DJoseph's brothers meet Pharaoh (47:1-6)C'Jacob meets Pharaoh (47:7-10)B'Jo...
  • Jacob blessed all 12 of his sons and foretold what would become of each of them and their descendants. He disqualified Reuben, Simeon, and Levi from leadership and gave that blessing to Judah. He granted the double portion to...
  • The words of Joseph's brothers may or may not have been true (vv. 16-17). Jacob may have left such a message even though Moses did not record it in Genesis. Since Moses did not record it, he probably intended the reader to co...
  • Aalders, Gerhard Charles. Genesis. The Bible Student's Commentary series. 2 vols. Translated by William Heynen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas...
  • These final verses record the end of Joshua's life and ministry that terminated an important and successful era in Israel's history. Israel's success continued as long as the elders who had served Israel contemporaneously wit...
  • Ruth concluded that her prospects for loyal love and rest (vv. 8-9) were better if she identified with Israel than if she continued to identify with Moab. She had come to admire Israel's God. Elimelech and his family had fulf...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • David had warned Solomon to keep Shimei under close observation and to put him to death (vv. 8-9). Evidently David realized because of Shimei's past actions that it would only be a matter of time before he would do something ...
  • 105:7-11 God remembered His people (v. 7, cf. v. 42) so His people should remember Him (v. 5). God had been faithful to the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 15:18-21; 22:15-18; 28:13-15). He made this covenant with Abraham...
  • 12:16 A prudent person "ignores an insult"(RSV). The insult is dishonor to himself or herself. A fool's reaction is "like an injured animal and so his opponent knows that he has been wounded."11012:18 Thoughtless or critical ...
  • This pericope condemns Israel's foreign policy.7:8 Ephraim had mixed itself with the pagan nations, like unleavened dough mixed with leaven. She had done this by making alliances with neighbor nations as well as by importing ...
  • There is quite a bit of unique material in this pericope. This includes the details of the Roman soldiers' abuse of Jesus (vv. 1-5) and the situation that Pilate's learning that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God instigated (...
  • Stephen next proceeded to show what God had done with Joseph and his family. He selected this segment of the patriarchal narrative primarily for two reasons. First, it shows how God miraculously preserved His people in faithf...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Genesis 50:14-26Joseph's brothers were right in thinking that he loved Jacob better than he did them; and they knew only too well that he had reasons for doing so. But their fear that Jacob's death would be followed by an out...
  • Genesis 50:25This is the one act of Joseph's life which the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews selects as the sign that he too lived by faith. By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of ...
  • Genesis 50:26So closes the book of Genesis. All its recorded dealings of God with Israel, and all the promises and the glories of the patriarchal line, end with a coffin in Egypt.' Such an ending is the more striking, when we...
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