Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him, and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those who are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
4 Now when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.’”
6 And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as 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. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.
10 Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. 11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.
12 So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. 13 For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. 14 And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father. Genesis 50:1-14 NKJV
Israel has passed and Joseph commands his physicians to embalm his father's body. This was a customary process in Egypt but would also lend to the promise he had given his father. He is to return the body to Canaan, and embalming it will help reduce the effects of decomposition. Joseph request a leave of absence from Egypt in order to bury his father, and Pharaoh grants this. He does not go alone, but is accompanied by his family and all the elders of Egypt. How low they looked upon the Hebrew shepherds at one time, but here they honor the father of Joseph. Here, they bury and morn a great man, as though they had lost their own. There would appear to be a great mutual respect between the two peoples.
Israel has passed and Joseph commands his physicians to embalm his father's body. This was a customary process in Egypt but would also lend to the promise he had given his father. He is to return the body to Canaan, and embalming it will help reduce the effects of decomposition. Joseph request a leave of absence from Egypt in order to bury his father, and Pharaoh grants this. He does not go alone, but is accompanied by his family and all the elders of Egypt. How low they looked upon the Hebrew shepherds at one time, but here they honor the father of Joseph. Here, they bury and morn a great man, as though they had lost their own. There would appear to be a great mutual respect between the two peoples.
Romans 12:15-16King James Version (KJV)
15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
The Canaanites of the surrounding area witnessed the lament of the Egyptians, and so much was it, that they called the meadow after the mourning. Death always bears witness to a finite existence, but the burying of Israel in Canaan also bears faith to the promise of Abraham. His body is at home and his spirit is in it's new home. The shepherds tarry there but for a moment, and then all return to Egypt.
Job 14:5-7New Life Version (NLV)
5 A man’s days are numbered. You know the number of his months. He cannot live longer than the time You have set. 6 So now look away from him that he may rest, until he has lived the time set for him like a man paid to work.
7 “For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will grow again, and that its branches will not stop growing.
…6Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 7then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.8"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "all is vanity!" Ecclesiastes 12:6&7
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