Genesis 50:3-10

50:3 They took forty days, for that is the full time needed for embalming. ¹  The Egyptians mourned ²  for him seventy days. ³ 

50:4 When the days of mourning ⁴  had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s royal court, ⁵  “If I have found favor in your sight, please say to Pharaoh, ⁶  50:5 ‘My father made me swear an oath. He said, ⁷  “I am about to die. Bury me ⁸  in my tomb that I dug for myself there in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go and bury my father; then I will return.’” 50:6 So Pharaoh said, “Go and bury your father, just as he made you swear to do.” ⁹ 

50:7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; all Pharaoh’s officials went with him – the senior courtiers ¹⁰  of his household, all the senior officials of the land of Egypt, 50:8 all Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household. But they left their little children and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen. 50:9 Chariots and horsemen also went up with him, so it was a very large entourage. ¹¹ 

50:10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad ¹²  on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there with very great and bitter sorrow. ¹³  There Joseph observed a seven day period of mourning for his father.

Jeremiah 9:17-20

9:17 The Lord who rules over all ¹⁴  told me to say to this people, ¹⁵ 

“Take note of what I say. ¹⁶ 

Call for the women who mourn for the dead!

Summon those who are the most skilled at it!” ¹⁷ 

9:18 I said, “Indeed, ¹⁸  let them come quickly and sing a song of mourning for us.

Let them wail loudly until tears stream from our own eyes

and our eyelids overflow with water.

9:19 For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion.

They will wail, ¹⁹  ‘We are utterly ruined! ²⁰  We are completely disgraced!

For our houses have been torn down

and we must leave our land.’” ²¹ 

9:20 I said, ²² 

“So now, ²³  you wailing women, hear what the Lord says. ²⁴ 

Open your ears to the words from his mouth.

Teach your daughters this mournful song,

and each of you teach your neighbor ²⁵  this lament.

Mark 5:38-39

5:38 They came to the house of the synagogue ruler where ²⁶  he saw noisy confusion and people weeping and wailing loudly. ²⁷  5:39 When he entered he said to them, “Why are you distressed and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.”

[50:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and forty days were fulfilled for him, for thus are fulfilled the days of embalming.”

[50:3]  ² tn Heb “wept.”

[50:3]  ³ sn Seventy days. This probably refers to a time of national mourning.

[50:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “weeping.”

[50:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “the house of Pharaoh.”

[50:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “in the ears of Pharaoh.”

[50:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “saying.”

[50:5]  ⁸ tn The imperfect verbal form here has the force of a command.

[50:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “he made you swear on oath.”

[50:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “dignitaries”; Heb “elders.”

[50:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “camp.”

[50:10]  ¹² sn The location of the threshing floor of Atad is not certain. The expression the other side of the Jordan could refer to the eastern or western bank, depending on one’s perspective. However, it is commonly used in the OT for Transjordan. This would suggest that the entourage came up the Jordan Valley and crossed into the land at Jericho, just as the Israelites would in the time of Joshua.

[50:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “and they mourned there [with] very great and heavy mourning.” The cognate accusative, as well as the two adjectives and the adverb, emphasize the degree of their sorrow.

[9:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[9:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies.” However, without some addition it is not clear to whom the command is addressed. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity and to help resolve a rather confusing issue of who is speaking throughout vv. 16-21. As has been evident throughout the translation, the speaker is not always indicated. Sometimes it is not even clear who the speaker is. In general the translation and the notes have reflected the general consensus in identifying who it is. Here, however, there is a good deal of confusion about who is speaking in vv. 18, 20-21. The Greek translation has the Lord speaking throughout with second plural pronouns in vv. 18, 21 and the absence of the first line in v. 22. It would be hard to explain how the MT arose if it were the original text. Critical commentators such as J. Bright, W. Holladay, and W. McKane resolve the issue by dropping out the introductory formula in v. 17 and the first line of v. 22 and assigning the whole lament to Jeremiah. It seems obvious from the first plural pronouns and the content of v. 18 (and probably v. 21 as well) and the fact that the Lord is referred to in other than the first person in v. 20 that he is not the speaker of those verses. I have attempted to resolve the issue by having Jeremiah report the Lord’s command in v. 17 and have the rest of the speech be essentially that of Jeremiah. It should be admitted, however, that the issue is far from resolved. Most English versions simply ignore the problem. The GNB (= TEV) is a rare exception.

[9:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Consider!”

[9:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Call for the mourning women that they may come and send for the wise/skilled women that they may come.” The verbs here are masculine plural, addressed to the people.

[9:18]  ¹⁸ tn The words “And I said, ‘Indeed” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to try and help clarify who the speaker is who identifies with the lament of the people.

[9:19]  ¹⁹ tn The words “They will wail” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to make clear that this is the wailing that will be heard.

[9:19]  ²⁰ tn Heb “How we are ruined!”

[9:19]  ²¹ tn The order of these two lines has been reversed for English stylistic reasons. The text reads in Hebrew “because we have left our land because they have thrown down our dwellings.” The two clauses offer parallel reasons for the cries “How ruined we are! [How] we are greatly disgraced!” But the first line must contain a prophetic perfect (because the lament comes from Jerusalem) and the second a perfect referring to a destruction that is itself future. This seems the only way to render the verse that would not be misleading.

[9:20]  ²² tn The words “I said” are not in the text. The text merely has “Indeed, yes.” The words are supplied in the translation to indicate that the speaker is still Jeremiah though he now is not talking about the mourning woman but is talking to them. See the notes on 9:17-18 for further explanation.

[9:20]  ²³ tn It is a little difficult to explain how the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is functioning here. W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:311) may be correct in seeing it as introducing the contents of what those who call for the mourning women are to say. In this case, Jeremiah picks up the task as representative of the people.

[9:20]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Listen to the word of the Lord.”

[9:20]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Teach…mournful song, and each woman her neighbor lady…”

[5:38]  ²⁶ tn Grk “and,” though such paratactic structure is rather awkward in English.

[5:38]  ²⁷ sn This group probably includes outside or even professional mourners, not just family, because a large group seems to be present.