Genesis 50

03 Mar 2026 - Theology

One Final Reconciliation

At the end of Genesis 49, we read about the death of Jacob after he had finished blessing his sons. In Genesis 50, we see the aftermath of his death on Joseph and his brothers.

Genesis 49:33 - “And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.”

Genesis 50:1 - “And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.”

This is the sixth instance of Joseph weeping in the story, this time over the body of his father who had just passed.

Genesis 50:5 - “My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.”

When did Jacob make Joseph swear that he would bury him there? Jacob made Joseph swear by the covenant of circumcision that he would bury Jacob there in Genesis 47.

Jacob did not dig his grave, but he may have prepared himself a place in the Cave of Machpelah. Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Leah were already buried there. Notably absent is Rachel, who was buried on the road to Ephrath (which is now Bethlehem) after dying in childbirth (Genesis 35:19-20).

Genesis 50:8 - “And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.”

The text goes out of the way to tell us that the burial procession did not include their little children (and likely some women to care for them), their flocks, and their herds. Why do we need to be told of all the arrangements for the burial?

Genesis 50:9 - “And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.”

Why would chariots and horseman from Egypt come up with the burial procession?

Genesis 50:10 - “And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.”

The actual location is called Goren Ha’atad, which translates to “Threshing Floor of the Brambles.” We see that this is almost half-translated here in the King James Version (KJV) as “threshingfloor of Atad.” The text places it “beyond Jordan”, with some translations reading “the other side of the Jordan River” - which is to say, on the east side of the Jordan River (Egypt being on the west side).

It appears that the funeral procession may have taken a less than direct route. Their starting point was Egypt; their destination, the tomb of Machpelah in Hebron. Both points are west of the Jordan River. Leaving Egypt, they would have had to swoop down to the south of Canaan, traverse the Sinai desert, swing up and around the Dead Sea, travel due north for the entire length of that sea, and then hook left to cross the Jordan River, ending up back on the west side of the river. Why did they take such a round-about route?

After the burial of their father Jacob, Joseph’s brothers were afraid of him because they thought he would take revenge on them for the evil done to him (15).

Genesis 50:16 - “And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father [Jacob] did command before he died, saying,” …

We see no evidence in the Scriptures of Jacob commanding his sons, but that does not mean that it did not happen. The brothers also could have lied in order to maintain their peace and safety.

Genesis 50:17 - … “So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.”

This is the seventh instance of Joseph weeping in the story.

Genesis 50:19-21 - “And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.”

Again we see Joseph showing forgiveness to his brothers. He does not excuse or justify their evil, but he recognizes the goodness of God in how it helped him save his brothers and his family during the period of famine. May we all be this confident in the caring hand of God in our own lives, that we are able to focus on others instead of just ourselves in a time of famine.

Genesis 50:26 - “So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.”

Joseph lived a long life, long enough to see three generations of his descendants born to his son Ephraim (meaning his great-grandchildren or great-great-grandchildren depending on interpretation). He also lived long enough to see the sons of Machir, who was Manasseh’s son (23).

Joseph Wept

Why did I track how many times Joseph wept in the Genesis story (from Genesis 37 to 50)?

1. Genesis 42:24
2. Genesis 43:30
3. Genesis 45:2
4. Genesis 45:14-15
5. Genesis 46:29
6. Genesis 50:1
7. Genesis 50:17

When the reader counts these scenes, it’s significant that there aren’t six or eight but seven scenes of Joseph weeping. This is a chiasm!

Chiasm:

• A: Joseph’s weeping takes place apart from his brothers. His weeping is preceded by his brothers talking about the wicked deed they committed against him, and whether a reckoning would come. (42:24)
• B: Joseph’s weeping is prompted by one person in particular - Benjamin (43:30)
• C: Joseph’s weeping occurs as he presents himself to people from whom he’s been relationally separated - to his brothers (45:2)
• D: Joseph weeps as he reunites with his brothers both physically and emotionally (45:14-15)
• C’: Joseph’s weeping occurs as he presents himself to people from whom he’s been relationally separated - to Jacob (46:29)
• B’: Joseph’s weeping is prompted by one person in particular - Jacob (50:1)
• A’: Joseph’s weeping takes place apart from his brothers. His weeping is preceded by his brothers talking about the wicked deed they committed against him, and whether a reckoning would come. (50:17)

The central scene of the chiasm involves Joseph and his brothers with no space between them as they embrace and weep together. The central scene, the heart of all Joseph’s tears, is reconciliation.

References

1. The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible (KJV Version)
2. The Torah Portion-by-Portion by Rabbi Seymour Rossel (2007)
3. Joseph Wept - The Gospel Coalition
4. The Exodus You Almost Passed over, by Rabbi David Fohrman (2021)