Genesis 50:10 | 93
23
With bitterness archers attacked him ; they shot at him with hostility .
24
But his bow remained steady , his strong arms stayed a limber , because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob , because of the Shepherd , the Rock of Israel ,
25 because of your father ’ s God , who helps you , because of the Almighty , b who blesses you with blessings of the skies above , blessings of the deep springs below , blessings of the breast and womb .
26
Your father ’ s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains , than c the bounty of the age-old hills .
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph , on the brow of the prince among d his brothers .
27
“ Benjamin is a ravenous wolf ; in the morning he devours the prey , in the evening he divides the plunder .”
28
All these are the twelve tribes of Is ra el , and this is what their fa ther said to them when he blessed them , giv ing each the bless ing ap propri ate to him .
The Death of Jacob
29
Then he gave them these in struc tions : “ I am about to be gath ered to my peo ple . Bury me with my fa thers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hit tite , 30 the cave in the field of Mach pe lah , near Mam re in Ca naan , which Abra ham bought along with the field as a buri al place from Ephron the Hit tite . 31 There Abra ham and his wife Sar ah were bur ied , there Isaac and his wife Re bek ah were bur ied , and there I bur ied Leah . 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hit tites . e ”
33
When Ja cob had fin ished giv ing in structions to his sons , he drew his feet up into the bed , breathed his last and was gath ered to his peo ple .
50
Jo seph threw him self on his fa ther and wept over him and kissed him . 2 Then Joseph di rect ed the phy si cians in his ser vice to embalm his fa ther Is ra el . So the phy si cians em balmed him , 3 tak ing a full for ty days , for that was the time re quired for em balm ing . And the Egyp tians mourned for him sev en ty days .
4
When the days of mourn ing had passed , Joseph said to Phar aoh ’ s court , “ If I have found fa vor in your eyes , speak to Phar aoh for me . Tell him ,
5
‘ My fa ther made me swear an oath and said , “ I am about to die ; bury me in the tomb I dug for my self in the land of Ca naan .” Now let me go up and bury my fa ther ; then I will re turn .’ ”
6
Phar aoh said , “ Go up and bury your fa ther , as he made you swear to do .”
7
So Jo seph went up to bury his fa ther . All Pharaoh ’ s of fi cials ac com pa nied him — the dig ni tar ies of his court and all the dig ni tar ies of Egypt —
8 be sides all the mem bers of Jo seph ’ s house hold and his broth ers and those be long ing to his father ’ s house hold . Only their chil dren and their flocks and herds were left in Go shen . 9 Char i ots and horse men f also went up with him . It was a very large com pa ny .
10
When they reached the thresh ing floor of Atad , near the Jor dan , they la ment ed loud ly and bit ter ly ; and there Jo seph ob served a sev en-day
a
23,24 Or archers will attack . . . will shoot . . . will remain . . . will stay b
25 Hebrew Shaddai c
26 Or of my progenitors , / as great as d
26 Or of the one separated from e
32 Or the descendants of Heth f
9 Or charioteers
49:22 – 26 The ambiguous and cryptic nature of the Hebrew text of these verses makes interpretation difficult ; Jacob could be referring to Joseph positively or negatively , or both .
49:22 Joseph is a fruitful vine The Hebrew phrase used here , ben porath , could refer to a “ fruitful vine ” ( or “ fruitful bough ”) or a “ wild donkey ” ( or “ wild colt ”). Genesis 49:21 uses animal imagery , and vv . 23 – 24 use military imagery , which may suggest that a translation referring to an animal is more fitting .
49:24 This verse ascribes the success of Jacob to God , using various metaphors and titles for God to do so .
49:24 the Shepherd Shepherd imagery for God and rulers is found throughout the OT ( e . g ., Nu 27:17 ; 2Sa 5:2 ; 1Ki 22:17 ; Eze 34:23 ; 37:24 ). 49:27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf Given the portrayal of young Benjamin in the Joseph story ( Ge 43 – 45 ), this description is unexpected . However , it fits later events . For example , in the book of Judges troops from the tribe of Benjamin are described as experts with the sword and sling ( Jdg 20:15 – 25 ).
49:28 – 33 Following Jacob ’ s blessings and curses , he gives instructions concerning his death and burial . His death causes anxiety for Joseph ’ s brothers — which they express in Ge 50 . The end of ch . 49 leaves the reader unsure of how things will turn out .
50:1 – 26 Joseph ’ s brothers view Jacob as a restraining force — Joseph will never hurt his father by punishing his brothers . But when Jacob dies , the brothers fear reprisals for their past actions . Apparently they were unsure of the forgiveness that Joseph had already offered ( 45:4 – 15 ). To ensure their survival , they concoct a story that Joseph ultimately accepts . Their story does not affect the way Joseph treats his brothers ; he has already forgiven them . But it does provide Joseph with an opportunity to once again affirm how God has used the situation for good .
50:2 embalm his father Joseph orders his father to be embalmed in the Egyptian manner . 50:3 seventy days Other passages indicate that the normal Hebrew period of mourning was 30 days ( see Nu 20:29 ; Dt 34:8 ). This means that this period of time likely includes 40 days for embalming . 50:10 the threshing floor of Atad This site is not