17 Thus ye do say to Joseph, I pray thee, bear, I pray thee, with the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for they have done thee evil; and now, bear, we pray thee, with the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father;' and Joseph weepeth in their speaking unto him.
Wherefore, having in Christ much boldness to command thee that which is fit -- because of the love I rather entreat, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ; I entreat thee concerning my child -- whom I did beget in my bonds -- Onesimus, who once was to thee unprofitable, and now is profitable to me and to thee, whom I did send again, and thou him (that is, my own bowels) receive, whom I did wish to retain to myself, that in thy behalf he might minister to me in the bonds of the good news, and apart from thy mind I willed to do nothing, that as of necessity thy good deed may not be, but of willingness, for perhaps because of this he did depart for an hour, that age-duringly thou mayest have him, no more as a servant, but above a servant -- a brother beloved, especially to me, and how much more to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord! If, then, with me thou hast fellowship, receive him as me, and if he did hurt to thee, or doth owe anything, this to me be reckoning; I, Paul did write with my hand, I -- I will repay; that I may not say that also thyself, besides, to me thou dost owe. Yes, brother, may I have profit of thee in the Lord; refresh my bowels in the Lord;
Put on, therefore, as choice ones of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humble-mindedness, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any one with any one may have a quarrel, as also the Christ did forgive you -- so also ye;
`Take heed to yourselves, and, if thy brother may sin in regard to thee, rebuke him, and if he may reform, forgive him, and if seven times in the day he may sin against thee, and seven times in the day may turn back to thee, saying, I reform; thou shalt forgive him.'
`For, if ye may forgive men their trespasses He also will forgive you -- your Father who `is' in the heavens; but if ye may not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
He looketh on men, and saith, `I sinned, And uprightness I have perverted, And it hath not been profitable to me. He hath ransomed my soul From going over into the pit, And my life on the light looketh.'
And Joseph saith unto his brethren, `Come nigh unto me, I pray you,' and they come nigh; and he saith, `I `am' Joseph, your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt; and now, be not grieved, nor let it be displeasing in your eyes that ye sold me hither, for to preserve life hath God sent me before you.
And they say one unto another, `Verily we `are' guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul, in his making supplication unto us, and we did not hearken: therefore hath this distress come upon us.' And Reuben answereth them, saying, `Spake I not unto you, saying, Sin not against the lad? and ye hearkened not; and his blood also, lo, it is required.' And they have not known that Joseph understandeth, for the interpreter `is' between them; and he turneth round from them, and weepeth, and turneth back unto them, and speaketh unto them, and taketh from them Simeon, and bindeth him before their eyes.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 50
Commentary on Genesis 50 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 50
Ge 50:1-26. Mourning for Jacob.
1. Joseph fell upon his father's face, &c.—On him, as the principal member of the family, devolved the duty of closing the eyes of his venerable parent (compare Ge 46:4) and imprinting the farewell kiss.
2. Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father, &c.—In ancient Egypt the embalmers were a class by themselves. The process of embalmment consisted in infusing a great quantity of resinous substances into the cavities of the body, after the intestines had been removed, and then a regulated degree of heat was applied to dry up the humors, as well as decompose the tarry materials which had been previously introduced. Thirty days were alloted for the completion of this process; forty more were spent in anointing it with spices; the body, tanned from this operation, being then washed, was wrapped in numerous folds of linen cloth—the joinings of which were fastened with gum, and then it was deposited in a wooden chest made in the form of a human figure.
3. the Egyptians mourned, &c. It was made a period of public mourning, as on the death of a royal personage.
4, 5. Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, &c.—Care was taken to let it be known that the family sepulchre was provided before leaving Canaan and that an oath bound his family to convey the remains thither. Besides, Joseph deemed it right to apply for a special leave of absence; and being unfit, as a mourner, to appear in the royal presence, he made the request through the medium of others.
7-9. Joseph went up to bury his father—a journey of three hundred miles. The funeral cavalcade, composed of the nobility and military, with their equipages, would exhibit an imposing appearance.
10. they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, &c.—"Atad" may be taken as a common noun, signifying "the plain of the thorn bushes." It was on the border between Egypt and Canaan; and as the last opportunity of indulging grief was always the most violent, the Egyptians made a prolonged halt at this spot, while the family of Jacob probably proceeded by themselves to the place of sepulture.
15-21. When Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, &c.—Joseph was deeply affected by this communication. He gave them the strongest assurances of his forgiveness and thereby gave both a beautiful trait of his own pious character, as well as appeared an eminent type of the Saviour.
22, 23. Joseph dwelt in Egypt—He lived eighty years after his elevation to the chief power [see on Ge 41:46] witnessing a great increase in the prosperity of the kingdom, and also of his own family and kindred—the infant Church of God.
24. Joseph said unto his brethren, I die—The national feelings of the Egyptians would have been opposed to his burial in Canaan; but he gave the strongest proof of the strength of his faith and full assurance of the promises, by "the commandment concerning his bones" [Heb 11:22].
26. and they embalmed him—[See on Ge 50:2]. His funeral would be conducted in the highest style of Egyptian magnificence and his mummied corpse carefully preserved till the Exodus.