Genesis 47:28-50:26

English Standard Version

²⁸ And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. ^(A)So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.

²⁹ And ^(B)when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now ^(C)I have found favor in your sight, ^(D)put your hand under my thigh and ^(E)promise to deal kindly and truly with me. ^(F)Do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and ^(G)bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” ³¹ And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then ^(H)Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.^[a]

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

48 After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. ³ And Jacob said to Joseph, ^(I)“God Almighty^[b] appeared to me at ^(J)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴ and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you ^(K)for an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ And now your ^(L)two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, ^(M)are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. ⁶ And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷ As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow ^(N)Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance^[c] to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

⁸ When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these?” ⁹ Joseph said to his father, ^(O)“They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that ^(P)I may bless them.” ¹⁰ Now ^(Q)the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, ^(R)and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ And Israel said to Joseph, ^(S)“I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” ¹² Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. ¹³ And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. ^14 (T)And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, ^(U)crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). ¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph and said,

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father ^(AA)laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. ¹⁸ And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” ¹⁹ But his father refused and said, ^(AB)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, ^(AC)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude^[e] of nations.” ²⁰ So he blessed them that day, saying,

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but ^(AE)God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. ²² Moreover, I have given to ^(AF)you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope^[f] that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

Jacob Blesses His Sons

49 ^(AG)Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you ^(AH)in days to come.

Jacob's Death and Burial

²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. ²⁹ Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be ^(BY)gathered to my people; ^(BZ)bury me with my fathers ^(CA)in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, ^(CB)which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. ^31 (CC)There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There ^(CD)they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— ³² the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” ³³ When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and ^(CE)was gathered to his people.

50 Then Joseph ^(CF)fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. ² And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to ^(CG)embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. ³ Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians ^(CH)wept for him seventy days.

⁴ And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, ^(CI)“If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb ^(CJ)that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’” ⁶ And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” ⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left ^(CK)in the land of Goshen. ⁹ And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. ¹⁰ When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, ^(CL)they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he ^(CM)made a mourning for his father seven days. ¹¹ When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim;^[p] it is beyond the Jordan. ¹² Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, ¹³ for ^(CN)his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham ^(CO)bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

God's Good Purposes

¹⁵ When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ¹⁷ ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of ^(CP)the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ His brothers also came and ^(CQ)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for ^(CR)am I in the place of God? ²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but ^(CS)God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people^[q] should be kept alive, as they are today. ²¹ So do not fear; ^(CT)I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

The Death of Joseph

²² So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. ²³ And Joseph saw Ephraim's children ^(CU)of the third generation. The ^(CV)children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were ^(CW)counted as Joseph's own.^{[r] 24} And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but ^(CX)God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land ^(CY)that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” ²⁵ Then ^(CZ)Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” ²⁶ So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They ^(DA)embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.