1 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
If Joseph was the visor Imhotep, he also had some medical knowledge which would explain why they were “his servants the physicians” instead of “Pharaoh’s servants the physicians.” Imhotep was known as the first great doctor of Egypt.
This embalming would be necessary for them to be able to carry out Jacob’s last wish of burial in Canaan. Without it, he would have decayed and been quite, uhh, unpleasant by the time they got there.
3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him 70 days.
The whole country mourned for Jacob, out of either love for him or respect for Joseph.
4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
5 “ ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Lo, I die: in my grave which I have dug for me in the land of Canaan, there shall thou bury me.” Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.’ “
Joseph promised he would come back and serve Pharaoh again.
6 And Pharaoh said, “Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.”
Most, if not all, societies hold the final oath to the dead as sacred. At any rate, Pharaoh trusted Joseph’s word that he would return and he cared enough to allow Joseph this final closure.
7 And 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 And all the house of Joseph, and his brothers, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
9And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
Can you imagine being a common Canaanite and seeing this procession? It must have been very impressive.
10 And they came to the threshing floor 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.
11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians:” which is why the name of it was called Abelmizraim (The Mourning of the Egyptians), which is beyond Jordan.
This would have brought great respect to Jacob from the Canaanites. “This was an important man indeed!”
12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:
13 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 for a possession of a burying place of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
14 And 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.
15 And when Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Joseph will now hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.”
They still are afraid and don’t believe his forgiveness was sincere even after seventeen years.
16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, “Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17 “So shall ye say unto Joseph, ‘Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brothers, 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 spoke unto him.
His brothers beg for forgiveness. But Joseph had forgiven them long ago and it broke his heart that they still felt guilt and fear.
18 And his brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, “Behold, we be thy slaves.”
19 And Joseph said unto them, “Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20 “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.
21 “Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones.” And he comforted them, and spoke kindly unto them.
Maybe he finally got through to them.
22 And Joseph lived in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an 110 years.
Joseph, then, served Pharaoh’s house for eighty years; more than enough time to accomplish all that is attributed to either Imhotep or Mentuhotep.
23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
24 And Joseph said unto his brothers, “I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
Joseph reminds them of God’s promise to Abraham that four hundred years after the promise, He would bring them as conquerors back to Canaan.
25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.”
He wanted to be buried by his father. We read in the book of Exodus that Israel did indeed carry Joseph’s mummy back to Canaan and buried him in the family tomb.
26 So Joseph died, being an 110 years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
The year 2369 (1677BC).
Because of Adam’s sin in the beginning of this Book, we know that we are all in the same rebellion to God. We are all under the curse of death.
We can also know that we have hope through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on the Cross paid the price for our sin and provides the way for us to go to heaven. He is the Seed that God promised will bless all nations.
“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said not, 'And to seeds,' as of many; but as of one, 'And to thy seed,' which is Christ.” Galatians 3:16
Through Christ we have the same promises that God gave to Abraham.
“6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, “In thee shall all nations be blessed.”
9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” Galatians 3:6-9
If we believe God and accept Christ’s sacrifice as our own, we have salvation.
2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
If Joseph was the visor Imhotep, he also had some medical knowledge which would explain why they were “his servants the physicians” instead of “Pharaoh’s servants the physicians.” Imhotep was known as the first great doctor of Egypt.
This embalming would be necessary for them to be able to carry out Jacob’s last wish of burial in Canaan. Without it, he would have decayed and been quite, uhh, unpleasant by the time they got there.
3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him 70 days.
The whole country mourned for Jacob, out of either love for him or respect for Joseph.
4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
5 “ ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Lo, I die: in my grave which I have dug for me in the land of Canaan, there shall thou bury me.” Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.’ “
Joseph promised he would come back and serve Pharaoh again.
6 And Pharaoh said, “Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.”
Most, if not all, societies hold the final oath to the dead as sacred. At any rate, Pharaoh trusted Joseph’s word that he would return and he cared enough to allow Joseph this final closure.
7 And 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 And all the house of Joseph, and his brothers, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
9And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
Can you imagine being a common Canaanite and seeing this procession? It must have been very impressive.
10 And they came to the threshing floor 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.
11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians:” which is why the name of it was called Abelmizraim (The Mourning of the Egyptians), which is beyond Jordan.
This would have brought great respect to Jacob from the Canaanites. “This was an important man indeed!”
12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:
13 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 for a possession of a burying place of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
14 And 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.
15 And when Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Joseph will now hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.”
They still are afraid and don’t believe his forgiveness was sincere even after seventeen years.
16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, “Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17 “So shall ye say unto Joseph, ‘Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brothers, 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 spoke unto him.
His brothers beg for forgiveness. But Joseph had forgiven them long ago and it broke his heart that they still felt guilt and fear.
18 And his brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, “Behold, we be thy slaves.”
19 And Joseph said unto them, “Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20 “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.
21 “Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones.” And he comforted them, and spoke kindly unto them.
Maybe he finally got through to them.
22 And Joseph lived in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an 110 years.
Joseph, then, served Pharaoh’s house for eighty years; more than enough time to accomplish all that is attributed to either Imhotep or Mentuhotep.
23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
24 And Joseph said unto his brothers, “I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
Joseph reminds them of God’s promise to Abraham that four hundred years after the promise, He would bring them as conquerors back to Canaan.
25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.”
He wanted to be buried by his father. We read in the book of Exodus that Israel did indeed carry Joseph’s mummy back to Canaan and buried him in the family tomb.
26 So Joseph died, being an 110 years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
The year 2369 (1677BC).
This ends the story of the beginning.
Because of Adam’s sin in the beginning of this Book, we know that we are all in the same rebellion to God. We are all under the curse of death.
We can also know that we have hope through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on the Cross paid the price for our sin and provides the way for us to go to heaven. He is the Seed that God promised will bless all nations.
“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said not, 'And to seeds,' as of many; but as of one, 'And to thy seed,' which is Christ.” Galatians 3:16
Through Christ we have the same promises that God gave to Abraham.
“6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, “In thee shall all nations be blessed.”
9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” Galatians 3:6-9
If we believe God and accept Christ’s sacrifice as our own, we have salvation.