Northern Kentucky's Evening Interdenominational Community Bible Study Text of Presentation, Lesson 25b-26, Gen 49-50 Click Here for Lesson 25b-26 Photos Click Here to return to GENESIS Home Page

Genesis 49:1-50:26
Joseph’s Final Years: Forgiveness, Love, and Hope
Israel Blesses His Sons

Last week covered about 17 years. With the blessing of pharaoh, Joseph brought his family to Egypt, and settled them in a city later known as Rameses, in the land of Goshen on the eastern Nile delta. There Joseph and his father had a tearful reunion. For 17 years Joseph’s economic policies brought most of Egypt to feudalism: pharaoh acquired the land, and the people became sharecroppers; but the family of Israel became prosperous.

Then, as the time approached for Israel to die, he required Joseph to take an oath to bury him in Hebron – in the Cave of Machpelah with Abraham and Isaac. He also granted Joseph the rights of primogeniture in a private meeting which included Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manesseh. Although Joseph is the 11th son, he will become head of household when Israel dies, and he will receive a double portion of the inheritance, because Israel recognizes Ephraim and Manesseh as his own sons.

Sometime after Israel met with Joseph, he calls a meeting with all 12 sons for the traditional fatherly blessing; this is where tonight’s lesson begins in chapter 49. Recall Esau’s plaintive plea to Isaac after Jacob stole his blessing: “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?” (27:36). Indeed Jacob (now Israel) has a blessing for each of his 12 sons.

How many of Israel’s sons do we know anything about? Joseph, of course . . . and Benjamin, his full brother who became Israel’s favorite after Joseph was taken away. We know Judah, the #4 son, suggested selling Joseph into slavery to save his life (37:26-27); had an adulterous affair with his widowed daughter-in-law Tamar (Gen 38); and has now emerged as the leader among Joseph’s 10 half-brothers. Reuben the firstborn slept with Israel’s concubine Bilhah (35:22) and tried to rescue Joseph from his brothers in Dothan (37:21-22). Simeon and Levi, #2 and #3 sons, led the slaughter of the Canaanites in Shechem after their sister Dinah was raped (34:25); and Simeon was the one held in prison in Egypt by Joseph until Benjamin came (42:24). The bible has told us nothing about Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Dan, Napthali – but two of these names are familiar from a strange verse in Matthew 4 introducing the ministry of Jesus: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali . . . the people living in darkness have seen a great light” (4:15-16).

Israel’s “blessing” in chapter 49 is actually inspired prophesy, introduced by the term “in days to come” (49:1 NIV, NAS) – which the Jewish bible translates “in the end of days” (49:1 JPS). Israel is foretelling what is to come of the offspring of each son – and this chapter is useful in reading the books of Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles.

The sons are blessed in an unusual order. The usual listing is – in order of birth – the sons of Leah, then Rachel, then Bilhah, and finally Zilpah. But Israel mixes them up, and mentions Rachel’s sons last.

Reuben is addressed first. He started strong (49:3), but will finish weakly because he is “turbulent” like boiling water (49:4). The bible does not record a leader from the tribe of Reuben who had a substantive impact on the nation of Israel; and in the promised land the tribe ultimately integrated into the tribe of Gad. Reuben forfeits his rights of primogeniture because of the incident with Bilhah (49:4).

Simeon and Levi are discussed together . . . and are “cursed” (49:7) because of the incident in Shechem when they “killed men in their anger” (49:6). They will be “scatter(ed) . . . and disperse(d) . . . in Israel” (49:7). Sure enough . . . the tribe of Simeon was the weakest during the Exodus (Num 26:14) and in the promised land they became scattered within the tribe of Judah. The tribe of Levi became the tribe of priests, dispersed throughout the land, with no territory of their own.

The first positive blessing is for Judah; Israel speaks more words and more favorably of him than anyone but Joseph. Judah’s role in selling Joseph into slavery is not mentioned; if Israel knows about it, Judah presumably has convinced him that what he did was truly out of compassion, to prevent his brothers from killing Joseph. In any case, Israel proclaims that Judah’s “brothers will praise” him and “bow down to” him because of his success in warfare (49:8). He is “a lion’s cub,” a “lion,” and “a lioness – who dares to rouse him?” (49:9). Judah is influential and powerful; not overbearing, but someone not to be trifled with!

But an important Messianic prophesy is the most significant part of Israel’s words about Judah:

The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the obedience of the nations is his (49:10).

Judah – though neither heir nor head of household when Israel dies – will sire the kingly line of Israel . . . including the great King David, and his most prominent ancestor: Jesus the Messiah, who commands obedience from all peoples wishing reconciliation with God. The meaning of “Shiloh” is hotly debated among scholars, and the NIV editorially translates it “until he comes to whom it belongs” (49:10), reflecting the interpretation of most Christians and Jews that “Shiloh” refers to the Messiah.

Israel then shifts to his 6th son, Zebulun, whom he describes as seafaring . . . which is puzzling because his territory in the promised land – bordering “Sidon” (49:13) – is landlocked. Nevertheless, since the great east-west caravan route passes through the territory of Zebulun, his offspring have contact and trade with seafaring peoples. Isaiah prophesies the Messiah will “honor” Zebulun and his half-brother Naphtali – though they were apparently considered insignificant by their brothers (Is 9:1).

#5 Issachar is described as “a scrawny donkey” (49:15). His tribal allotment is the fertile Jezreel Valley – a prime agricultural area. Israel says “when he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden” (49:16) and become focused on agriculture and the material wealth it can produce.

Dan is next, 1st son through the slave Bilhah. Israel’s prophesy that “Dan will provide justice for his people” (49:16) may refer to the fact that the judge Samson was a Danite, and that the tribe of Dan conquered the city of Laish after Napthali was unable to do so; the city was renamed Dan and became part of their territory. Nevertheless, Dan is also described as “a serpent by the roadside” (49:17); some commentators claim this means Dan fell into idolatry, and explains why it is the only tribe not mentioned in Revelation 7.

Israel says Gad, the 1st son through the slave Zilpah, “will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels” (49:19). The tribe of Gad settled east of the Jordan, where they were subjected to many raids by Ammonites and Moabites, but they hung on tenaciously, and drove out their opponents.

Gad’s brother Asher “will provide delicacies fit for a king.” His territory in the promised land is fertile western Galilee and modern Lebanon, but the tribe had limited success driving out the local Canaanites, and they eventually assimilated (Jud 1:31-32).

Dan’s brother Naphtali “is a doe set free” who uses “beautiful words” (49:21 NAS) – using the NAS and Jewish translations, rather than the NIV. His territory in the promised land is fertile Galilee.

Israel’s blessing of his favorite son Joseph is the longest . . . and here the father dwells more on past struggles than on prophesy. Joseph was a man of great ability (49:22), attacked because of jealousy (49:23); but God strengthened him and he was able to stay the course (49:24-25). Now his father showers him with blessings “greater than . . . the bounty of the age-old hills”; he is “the prince among his brothers” (49:26): Israel’s heir and head of household-designate.

Last is Benjamin, described as “a ravenous wolf” who “divides the plunder” (49:26). The offspring of this spoiled stay-at-home son became a warrior class among the Israelites. Ehud the Judge and Saul the first King were from Benjamin – as was the apostle Paul.

Israel concludes by reiterating his request – which Joseph as head of household-designate has promised to carry out – that the family will take him back to Hebron when he dies, and bury him with Abraham and Isaac in the Cave of Machpelah. Apparently Israel buried his first wife Leah there before the family migrated to Egypt, when she would have been about 70 (49:31). Perhaps in the absence of sisterly competition, Israel and Leah finally grew close in the 20-25 years since Rachel died.

When he “finished giving instructions to his sons,” Israel “breathed his last” (49:33). This causes a display of extreme grief by Joseph; as chapter 50 opens, he “threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him” (50:1). This fulfills God’s promise to Israel that “Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes” (46:4). Joseph directs the “physicians in his service” to embalm Israel, using the normal Egyptian process (50:2-3); so the tomb of Israel – assuming it’s the real thing – contains a mummy! We don’t care that they embalmed Israel for 40 days . . . but it’s details like this which lend credibility to the biblical account, because it matches up with secular writings about mummification.

Senusret III is still pharaoh, but Joseph’s role now seems different. The famine has been over for 12 years, and Joseph may no longer have direct access to pharaoh. In any case, Joseph asks “Pharaoh’s court” to intercede for him to get permission to take Israel to Hebron for burial (50:4-5) because of the oath he took to his father. Pharaoh answers: “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do” (50:6).

So the family goes to Hebron – accompanied by a large entourage of “Pharaoh’s officials” (50:7) with so many “chariots and horsemen” (50:9) that the local Canaanites memorialized the place of their 7-day mourning ceremony (50:10-11). Then they bury Israel in the Cave of Mechpelah, and return to Egypt (50:13-14).

In 50:15, we learn that Joseph’s 10 half-brothers claim they also had a private meeting with Israel before he died. Israel made his meeting with Joseph public (49:26), but he did not mention a 2nd meeting. Nevertheless, the 10 half-brothers “sent word to Joseph” they also met with their father. They claim “Your father left these instructions before he died: . . . ‘say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly’” (50:16-17). The brothers are afraid to meet with Joseph directly; they think he may hold “a grudge against” them and want to pay them “back for all the wrongs (they) did to him” (50:15). Now that Joseph is head of household, he has the authority to do just that!

Joseph weeps when he receives this message (50:17) – showing the emotional side we have seen in him before (42:24, 43:30, 45:2) – but he apparently doesn’t respond. The brothers take this non-response as confirming their worst fears; they come to Joseph and prostrate themselves before him. “We are your slaves,” they say (50:18).

But Joseph responds as someone who has indeed been communicating with God. His first reaction is: “Am I in the place of God” to punish you for your sins (50:19). Then he makes one of the greatest statements of forgiveness and trust of God found in the bible:

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (50:20)

And Joseph “assures” his brothers that as head of household, “I will provide for you and your children” (50:21).

Genesis concludes with the death of Joseph at the age of 110 – considered the ideal lifespan by the Egyptians. As he is dying, he makes a strange request of the family – of which he is now head. They are aware of God’s promise to Abraham of the land of Canaan – but they must leave Egypt and conquer the land by force of arms. They aren’t in a position to do this now . . . and in fact, God’s promise to Abraham is that his descendants must endure 400 years of slavery “in a country not their own,” from which God will bring them out to conquer Canaan (15:13-14).

Senusret III is dead; Amenemhet III is pharaoh, and Joseph may not have enough clout with him to request burial in Hebron – even if he wants to. So Joseph requests his family to “swear an oath” that when God comes to their aid and brings them out of Egypt to conquer Canaan, they “must carry (his) bones up from” Egypt (50:25).

And sure enough, Exodus 13 records that hundreds of years later “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him (when he left Egypt) because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath” that they must “carry (his) bones up with you” (Ex 13:19). And Joshua 24 records that “Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought . . . from the sons of Hamor . . . (which) became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants” (Jos 24:32). The web site shows the traditional tomb of Joseph in Shechem, headquarters for the tribe of his son Ephraim.

But for the present, the bible says Joseph was “embalmed . . . (and) placed in a coffin in Egypt” (50:22-26); so if he is ever exhumed from his tomb in Shechem, we would expect to find a mummy!

Last week we discussed Tell el-Dab'a, the excavation of ancient Ramses, and evidence that Semitic peoples – possibly the Israelites – were there in the mid-19th century BC. We also discussed a small villa there, built on the floor plan of an Israelite home of a later period, and presumably occupied by an important official.

About 270 feet from the villa was a monumental tomb, unlike anything ever found in Egypt, including a main burial chamber and a chapel annex. Robbers had sunk a pit into the chapel, and excavators found fragments of a colossal statue of a seated dignitary, 1½ times life size. The skin was painted yellow and the statue had a mushroom-shaped hairstyle painted red – both typical representations of Semitics in Egyptian art. On the right shoulder was the Egyptian hieroglyph for a foreigner. The statue was intentionally smashed and defaced. It’s logical to assume this tomb held the occupant of the villa.

Remarkably, the tomb contains no body. It was common in antiquity for tombs to be broken into and the valuables removed, but it’s highly unusual to have the body taken. Yet a tunnel was apparently dug into the burial chamber, the sarcophagus broken, and the body removed. And the missing body suggests this may have been the tomb of Joseph himself, who was indeed the occupant of the villa.

Was the statue broken at the time the bones were removed, or was that done at another time?  Archaeology cannot answer this question, but one archaeologist (Bryant Wood) speculates the statue may have been broken when the Hyksos took over the region . . . that the first Hyksos king, who came to power around 1663 BC was the “new king, who did not know about Joseph,” referred to in Exodus, who subjected the Israelites to intense oppression (Exod 1:8-11). If this is true, the Hyksos may have destroyed the statue when they overthrew local Egyptian authorities, and faithful Israelites may have removed the body for safekeeping, to take it to Canaan as they had promised Joseph. There is no way we will know this for sure; the best we can do is to generate a logical scenario, consistent with the bible and with archaeology – but it seems clear we indeed have that!

Genesis began with the creation of the universe. It has described how control of God’s good creation was seized by the forces of evil . . . how evil spread, requiring a flood to wipe out all but one good man and his family . . . then how God chose Abraham as the one man through whom he will provide redemption for mankind. To Abraham, a childless octogenarian, God promised many offspring; He also promised the land of Israel (after hundreds of years), and a blessing to all mankind. Now, as Genesis comes to an end, after several false starts Abraham’s offspring are in Egypt, where they have already been a blessing to mankind, and are poised to increase greatly in numbers until they become “a nation” which will conquer God’s promised land some 400 years later . . . and almost 2000 years later they will provide mankind with the ultimate blessing: God’s Messiah for the salvation of all who believe in Him.