The First Book of Moses: Genesis

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- Chapter 50 -

Joseph, realizing this, fell upon his father’s face, weeping and kissing him.

And he instructed his servant physicians to embalm his father with aromatics.

And while they were fulfilling his orders, forty days passed. For this was the method of embalming dead bodies. And Egypt wept for him for seventy days.

And when the time for mourning was fulfilled, Joseph spoke to the family of Pharaoh: “If I have found favor in your sight, speak to the ears of Pharaoh.

For my father made me swear, saying: ‘See, I am dying. You shall bury me in my sepulcher which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Therefore, I shall go up and bury my father, and then return.”

And Pharaoh said to him, “Go up and bury your father, just as he made you swear.”

So as he went up, all the elders of the house of Pharaoh went with him, along with every patriarch in the land of Egypt,

and the house of Joseph with his brothers, except their little ones and flocks and also the herds, which they left behind in the land of Goshen.

Likewise, he had in his company chariots and horsemen. And it became a crowd without restraint.

And they arrived at the threshing place of Atad, which is situated beyond the Jordan. There they spent seven full days celebrating the funeral rites with a great and vehement lamentation.

And when the inhabitants of the land of Canaan had seen this, they said, “This is a great Lamentation for the Egyptians.” And for this reason, the name of that place was called, “The Lamentation of Egypt.”

And so, the sons of Jacob did just as he had instructed them.

And carrying him into the land of Canaan, they buried him in the double cave, which Abraham had bought along with its field, from Ephron the Hittite, as a possession for burial, opposite Mamre.

And Joseph returned into Egypt with his brothers and all those of his company, having buried his father.

Joseph Comforts His Brothers

Now that he was dead, his brothers were afraid, and they said to one another: “Perhaps now he may remember the injury that he suffered and requite us for all the evil that we did to him.”

So they sent a message to him, saying: “Your father instructed us before he died,

that we should say these words to you from him: ‘I beg you to forget the wickedness of your brothers, and the sin and malice that they practiced against you.’ Likewise, we petition you to release the servants of the God of your father from this iniquity.” Hearing this, Joseph wept.

And his brothers went to him. And reverencing prostrate on the ground, they said, “We are your servants.”

And he answered them: “Do not be afraid. Are we able to resist the will of God?

You devised evil against me. But God turned it into good, so that he might exalt me, just as you presently discern, and so that he might bring about the salvation of many peoples.

Do not be afraid. I will pasture you and your little ones.” And he consoled them, and he spoke mildly and leniently.

The Death of Joseph

And he lived in Egypt with all his father’s house; and he survived for one hundred and ten years. And he saw the sons of Ephraim to the third generation. Likewise, the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born onto Joseph’s knees.

After these things happened, he said to his brothers: “God will visit you after my death, and he will make you ascend from this land into the land which he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

And when he had made them swear and had said, “God will visit you; carry my bones with you from this place,”

he died, having completed one hundred and ten years of his life. And having been embalmed with aromatics, he was laid to rest in a coffin in Egypt.

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.

Joseph Comforts His Brothers

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.

The Death of Joseph

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.