Genesis 49–50

49TH CHAPTER

Jacob ^[Israel^[ Blesses His 12 Sons

¹Jacob called for his sons and said, “Come here, and let me tell you what will happen to you in the days to come. 

²“Gather around and listen, sons of Jacob. 

Listen to your father Israel. 

³“Reuben, you are my firstborn, 

my strength, the very first son I had, 

first in majesty and first in power. 

⁴You will no longer be first 

because you were out of control like a flood 

and you climbed into your father’s bed. 

Then you dishonored it. 

He climbed up on my couch. 

⁵“Simeon and Levi are brothers. 

Their swordsare weapons of violence. 

⁶Do not let me attend their secret meetings. 

Do not let me join their assembly. 

In their anger they murdered men. 

At their whim they crippled cattle. 

⁷May their anger be cursed because it’s so fierce. 

May their fury be cursed because it’s so cruel. 

I will divide them among ⸤the sons of⸥ Jacob 

and scatter them among ⸤the tribes of⸥ Israel. 

⁸“Judah, your brothers will praise you. 

Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. 

Your father’s sons will bow down to you. 

⁹Judah, you are a lion cub. 

You have come back from the kill, my son. 

He lies down and rests like a lion. 

He is like a lioness. Who dares to disturb him? 

¹⁰A scepter will never depart from Judah 

nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet 

until Shiloh comes 

and the people obey him. 

¹¹He will tie his donkey to a grapevine, 

his colt to the best vine. 

He will wash his clothes in wine, 

his garments in the blood of grapes. 

¹²His eyes are darker than wine. 

His teeth are whiter than milk. 

¹³“Zebulun will live by the coast. 

He will have ships by the coast. 

His border will go as far as Sidon. 

¹⁴“Issachar is a strong donkey, 

lying down between the saddlebags. 

¹⁵When he sees that his resting place is good 

and that the land is pleasant, 

he will bend his back to the burden 

and will become a slave laborer. 

¹⁶“Dan will hand down decisions^bfor his people 

as one of the tribes of Israel. 

¹⁷Dan will be a snake on a road, 

a viper on a path, 

that bites a horse’s heels 

so that its rider falls off backwards. 

¹⁸“I wait with hope for you to rescue me, O Lord. 

¹⁹“Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, 

but he will strike back at their heels. 

²⁰“Asher’s food will be rich. 

He will provide delicacies fit for a king. 

²¹“Naphtali is a doe set free 

that has beautiful fawns. 

²²“Joseph is a fruitful tree, 

a fruitful tree by a spring, 

with branches climbing over a wall. 

²³Archers provoked him, 

shot at him, 

and attacked him. 

²⁴But his bow stayed steady, and his arms remained limber 

because of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob, 

because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 

²⁵because of the God of your father who helps you, 

because of the Almighty who gives you 

blessings from the heavens above, 

blessings from the deep springs below the ground, 

blessings from breasts and womb. 

²⁶The blessings of your father are greater than 

the blessings of the oldest mountains 

and the riches of the ancient hills. 

May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, 

on the crown of the prince among his brothers. 

²⁷“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. 

In the morning he devours his prey. 

In the evening he divides the plunder.” 

²⁸These are the 12 tribes of Israel and what their father said to them when he gave each of them his special blessing. 

²⁹Then he gave them these instructions, “I am about to join my ancestors in death. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. ³⁰Abraham bought the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre in Canaan, from Ephron the Hittite to use as a tomb. ³¹Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there. Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there. I also buried Leah there. ³²The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.” 

³³When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet into his bed. He took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death. 

50TH CHAPTER

Joseph Buries His Father

¹Joseph threw himself on his father, cried over him, and kissed him. ²Then Joseph ordered the doctors in his service to embalm his father. So the doctors embalmed Israel. ³The embalming was completed in the usual time—40 days. The Egyptians mourned for him 70 days. 

⁴When the time of mourning for Jacob was over, Joseph spoke to the Pharaoh’s palace staff. He said, “Please speak directly to Pharaoh. Tell him, ⁵‘My father made me swear an oath. He said, “I’m about to die. Bury me in the tomb I bought for myself in Canaan.” Please let me go there and bury my father; then I’ll come back.’ ” 

⁶Pharaoh replied, “Go and bury your father, as you have promised him.” 

⁷So Joseph left to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials, the leaders in his palace staff, and all the leaders of Egypt went with him. ⁸Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household also went with him. (Only their children, their flocks, and their cattle were left in Goshen.) ⁹Chariots and horsemen went with him. It was a very large group. 

¹⁰When they came to the threshing floor^aof Atad, which is on the east side of the Jordan River, they began a great and solemn ceremony to mourn Jacob’s death. Joseph took seven days to mourn his father’s death. ¹¹When the Canaanites living there saw the funeral ceremonies at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “These funeral ceremonies are taken very seriously by the Egyptians.” That’s why that place on the east side of the Jordan was named Abel Mizraim ^[Egyptian Funeral Ceremonies^[. 

¹²Jacob’s sons did for him what he had told them to do. ¹³They carried him back to Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre. Abraham had bought this tomb from Ephron the Hittite. 

¹⁴After Joseph had buried his father, he went back to Egypt along with his brothers and everyone who had gone there with him to bury his father. 

Joseph Forgives His Brothers

¹⁵Joseph’s brothers realized what their father’s death could mean. So they thought, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us? What if he decides to pay us back for all the evil we did to him?” ¹⁶They sent a messenger to Joseph to say, “Before your father died, he commanded us, ¹⁷‘This is what you should say to Joseph, “I’m begging you to forgive the crime and the sin your brothers committed against you. What they did to you was very evil.” ’ So now, please forgive our crime, because we are servants of your father’s God.” Joseph cried when he got their message. 

¹⁸Then his brothers also came and immediately bowed down in front of him. “We are your slaves!” they said. 

¹⁹Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I can’t take God’s place. ²⁰Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it. This was to keep many people alive, as he is doing now. ²¹Don’t be afraid! I will provide for you and your children.” In this way he reassured them, setting their minds at ease. 

²²Joseph and his father’s family stayed in Egypt. Joseph lived to be 110 years old. ²³He saw his grandchildren, Ephraim’s children. Even the children of Machir, son of Manasseh, were adopted by Joseph at birth. 

²⁴At last Joseph said to his brothers, “I’m about to die. God will definitely take care of you and take you out of this land to the land he swore with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” ²⁵Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath. He said, “God will definitely take care of you. So be sure to carry my bones back with you.” 

²⁶Joseph died when he was 110 years old. His body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.