1 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.
The fact that Jacob was embalmed shows his high status in Egypt, for only the very rich or noble were
embalmed. Also the fact that Egypt mourned for 70 days for him is a high tribute to him
GENESIS 50:4-14
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.
Pharaoh allows Joseph to go and bury his father, noting that Joseph carefully said that he would return.
And in honor of Jacob, a huge procession was sent with him where they mourned just east of the
Jordan river, before crossing into Canaan to the burial site.
GENESIS 50:15-18
15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him."
16 So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, "Before your father died he commanded, saying,
17 'Thus you shall say to Joseph: "I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you."' Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
18 Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, "Behold, we are your servants."
Joseph knew his brothers were lying, and it deeply saddened him to think that they were still in fear of
retribution at his hands.
GENESIS 50:19-21
19 Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?
20 "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
21 "Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
Joseph reiterates that God turned their evil intentions into a blessing and salvation for many people. He
also points out that as God has already judged and punished them for their wickedness, he has no right
or desire to judge and punish them further.
GENESIS 50:22-26
22 So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.
23 Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph's knees.
24 And Joseph said to his brethren, "I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."
25 Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here."
26 So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Joseph lived until 1805 BC (54 years after Israel died). When Joseph died the ruling Pharaoh would
probably have been Amenemhet III (1843-1798 BC). Joseph like his father, made the Israelites
promise to take his bones with them when they left Egypt and bury him in Canaan.
The tombs surrounding the housing structure previously mentioned were constructed of mud bricks in Egyptian fashion, but the contents were strictly Asiatic. Although they had been thoroughly plundered, 50% of the male burials still had weapons of Asian Middle Bronze Age type in them. Typically, the deceased males were equipped with two javelins, battle-axes and daggers. Tomb 8 contained a fine example of a duckbill-ax and an embossed belt of bronze.
One of the tombs, however, was totally unique and unlike anything ever found in Egypt.
At the southwest end of the burial area, some 83 meters (270 feet) from the villa compound, was a
monumental tomb, Tomb 1. It was composed of a nearly square superstructure containing the main
burial chamber, and a chapel annex. In a robbers' pit sunk into the chapel, excavators found fragments
of a colossal statue depicting an Asiatic dignitary. The likeness was of a seated official life size. It was
made of limestone and exhibited excellent workmanship. The skin was yellow, the traditional color of
Asiatics in Egyptian art. It had a mushroom-shaped hairstyle, painted red, typical of that shown in
Egyptian artwork for Asiatics. A throw stick, the Egyptian hieroglyph for a foreigner, was held against
the right shoulder. The statue had been intentionally smashed and defaced.
In his book Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest, David Rohl suggests that this is the tomb of Joseph
himself. The evidence seems to support this hypothesis. We must assume that Tomb 1 was that of the
occupant of the villa, and thus possibly of Joseph himself. The Bible is very specific as to what became
of Joseph's body. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him during the Exodus because Joseph had
made the sons of Israel swear an oath to that effect.
Inside the burial chamber excavators found fragments of an inscribed limestone sarcophagus and a few
bone fragments, but no intact skeleton as in the other tombs in the cemetery. Sometime after the burial,
a pit was dug at the end of the chapel and a tunnel dug into the burial chamber. The "coffin"
(sarcophagus) was then broken and the remains of the deceased removed by these "tomb robbers". It
was common for tombs to be broken into in antiquity and the valuables removed, but to have the body
taken is highly unusual.
Archaeology cannot tell us the answer; we can only speculate. It is likely that the statue was broken
during a time of political turmoil, possibly when the Hyksos took over rule of the region. It appears
most likely that the "new king, who did not know about Joseph" (Exodus 1:8) was the first Hyksos
king who came to power ca. 1663 BC. At that time, the Israelites came under intense oppression.
Perhaps the Hyksos destroyed the statue when they overthrew local Egyptian authority. Since the
remains in the tomb would also have been in danger, faithful Israelites may have removed them for
safekeeping.