Genesis: 1a 1b 1c 1d 2a 2b 2c 2d 3 4a 4b 4c/5 6a 6b 7 8 9 10 11a 11b 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25a 25b 26a 26b 27 28a 28b 29 30a 30b 31a 31b/32a 32b 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44a 44b 45 46 47a 47b 48 49 50
וַיִּפֹּל יוֹסֵף עַל פְּנֵי אָבִיו וַיֵּבְךְּ עָלָיו וַיִּשַּׁק לוֹ
KJ (King James translation): And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
BN (BibleNet translation): And Yoseph fell on his father's face, and wept on him, and kissed him.
YEVCH: Used here in its most familiar sense, which is "weeping"; but in verse 4 it becomes the verb for "mourning" itself.
50:2 VA YETSAV YOSEPH ET AVADAV ET HA ROPH'IM LACHANOT ET AVIV VA YACHANTU HA ROPH'IM ET YISRA-EL
וַיְצַו יוֹסֵף אֶת עֲבָדָיו אֶת הָרֹפְאִים לַחֲנֹט אֶת אָבִיו וַיַּחַנְטוּ הָרֹפְאִים אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל
KJ: And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
BN: And Yoseph instructed his servants the physicians to embalm his father, and the physicians embalmed Yisra-El.
Was this a Yisra-Eli or a Mitsri (Egyptian) practice? It is hard to imagine that it was ever Yisra-Eli, even in the pre-Mosaic epoch. In fact, Jewish law prohibits embalming except under very specific circumstances, which are a) when a lengthy delay in the funeral service becomes mandatory; b) when the burial is to take place overseas; or c) if the law of the land requires it (a full exposition of the subject can be found here).
ROPH'IM (רפאים): slightly ironic this, as ROPHIM means "healers" - or maybe then it didn't.
50:3 VA YIMLE'U LO ARBA'IM YOM KI KEN YIMLE'U YEMEY HA CHANUTIM VA YIVKU OTO MITSRAYIM SHIV'IM YOM
וַיִּמְלְאוּ לוֹ אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם כִּי כֵּן יִמְלְאוּ יְמֵי הַחֲנֻטִים וַיִּבְכּוּ אֹתוֹ מִצְרַיִם שִׁבְעִים יוֹם
KJ: And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
BN: And forty days' mourning were fulfilled for him, for thus are fulfilled the days of embalming, and the Mitsrim wept for him for seventy days.
The magical numbers 40 and 70 again; Yoseph has clearly become (or always was) completely Egyptian; there is nothing Yisra-Eli about him at all. Is this why he couldn't be a tribe? The Jewish mourning rites now are very different, with an initial 7-day period (Shiva) - for which see verse 10 - followed by 30 days (Sheloshim) and an easing of the theoretical full year of mourning after eleven months, in order to allow a month of transition back into the daily life.
What makes this odd is that it is the Prime Minister's dad, an obscure old man of a hundred and something who nobody beyond the tribe and the court has ever met, and whose contribution to Egyptian life was fathering Yoseph, and then nothing - and yet a state of national mourning appears to have been declared for him. A moment of silence across the land on the day of his death, or of his departure for burial - that would make sense, out of respect for Yoseph, who after all now owns them. But the full seventy days? And the whole land, mind, not just Pharaoh and the court. On the other hand, if this were the Hyksos invasion...
50:4 VA YA'AVRU YEMEY VECHIYTO VA YEDABER YOSEPH EL BEIT PAR'OH LEMOR IM NA MATSA'TI CHEN BE EYNEYCHEM DABRU NA BE AZNEY PHAR'OH LEMOR
וַיַּעַבְרוּ יְמֵי בְכִיתוֹ וַיְדַבֵּר יוֹסֵף אֶל בֵּית פַּרְעֹה לֵאמֹר אִם נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֵיכֶם דַּבְּרוּ נָא בְּאָזְנֵי פַרְעֹה לֵאמֹר
KJ: 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,
BN: And when the days of mourning for him were over, Yoseph spoke to the house of Pharaoh saying, "If now I have found favour in your eyes, speak, I beseech you, in the ears of Pharaoh saying...
Why can't he do this for himself - or was this one of those occasions when politically it is more effective to have others make the case on your behalf? And who precisely was "the House of Pharaoh" – the Chamberlain and Steward presumably, rather than the gardener or the night-guard; or does it mean the members of the Royal Family? Or perhaps it was some kind of equivalent of going to the Beth Din or the Privy Council; that even the Vizier needs permission for certain things.
50:5 AVI HISHBIY'ANI LEMOR HINEH ANOCHI MET BE KIVRI ASHER KARIYTI LI BE ERETS KENA'AN SHAMAH TIKBERENI VE ATAH E'ELEH NA VE EKBERAH ET AVI VE ASHUVAH
אָבִי הִשְׁבִּיעַנִי לֵאמֹר הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי מֵת בְּקִבְרִי אֲשֶׁר כָּרִיתִי לִי בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן שָׁמָּה תִּקְבְּרֵנִי וְעַתָּה אֶעֱלֶה נָּא וְאֶקְבְּרָה אֶת אָבִי וְאָשׁוּבָה
KJ: My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.
BN: "'My father made me swear saying, "Lo I die. In the grave which I have dug in the land of Kena'an, there shall you bury me." Now therefore let me go up, I beseech you, and bury my father, and I will come back.'"
Ya'akov did in fact made this request twice, the first in Genesis 47:30, the second in Genesis 49:29; the first involving Yoseph alone, the second with his brothers.
KARIYTI: The choice of word is odd: he didn't physically "dig it" for himself; unless he isn't referring to Machpelah; and actually, either way. Av-Raham purchased it (Genesis 23). KANIYTI wouldmake more sense, rather than KARIYTI, and this is the verb used (KANAH) in verse 13.
50:6 VA YOMER PAR'OH ALEH U KEVOR ET AVIYCHA KA ASHER HISHBIY'ECH
וַיֹּאמֶר פַּרְעֹה עֲלֵה וּקְבֹר אֶת אָבִיךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר הִשְׁבִּיעֶךָ
BN: And Pharaoh said, "Go up, and bury your father, exactly as he made you promise."
50:7 VA YA'AL YOSEPH LIKBOR ET AVIV VA YA'ALU ITO KOL AVDEY PHAR'OH ZIKNEY VEITO VE CHOL ZIKNEY ERETS MITSRAYIM
וַיַּעַל יוֹסֵף לִקְבֹּר אֶת אָבִיו וַיַּעֲלוּ אִתּוֹ כָּל עַבְדֵי פַרְעֹה זִקְנֵי בֵיתוֹ וְכֹל זִקְנֵי אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם
KJ: 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,
BN: And Yoseph went up to bury his father; and all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Mitsrayim went up with him.
Such a group of VIPs could not have passed through the land of Kena'an if it were not Egyptian demesne. But the verse is confusing. If Yoseph is so important that the whole court goes too, why did he need them to ask Pharaoh - perhaps then it was a way of making a personal invitation for him to accompany the cortège? Was there ever such an occasion when a Kena'anite became Vizier of Mitsrayim (Egypt) and returned for a funeral with such dignity? Some authentic historical memory must lie at the bottom of this story, even if it wasn't actually Yoseph.
AVDEY PHAR'OH: We cannot ignore this phrase. All who were good, loyal citizens of Egypt were AVDEY PHAR'OH - but this does not get translated as "slaves". We have to take note, ahead of the Exodus story with all its ambiguities and ambivalences, of the very real likelihood that the Habiru were never "slaves" in Egypt atall, merely villeins and serfs, the peasant servants of their Pharonic master, a conquered people.
50:8 VE CHOL BEIT YOSEPH VE ECHAV U VEIT AVIV RAK TAPAM VE TSO'NAM U VEKARAM AZVU BE ERETS GOSHEN
וְכֹל בֵּית יוֹסֵף וְאֶחָיו וּבֵית אָבִיו רַק טַפָּם וְצֹאנָם וּבְקָרָם עָזְבוּ בְּאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן
KJ: And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
BN: And all the house of Yoseph, and his brothers, and his father's household; only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, did they leave in the land of Goshen.
Again an extremely minor role for the brothers; surely Re'u-Ven should be leading the burial of his father, not Yoseph? And while it is sad that the sheep and cattle were excluded from the funeral, their significance in this line is their indication that Yoseph was not returning to Kena'an permanently, but intended to come back to Mitsrayim. What about his brothers though? Answer, they must have come back, to be there for the change of historical circumstances when the Hyksos empire fell.
50:9 VA YA'AL IMO GAM RECHEV GAM PARASHIM VA YEHI HA MACHANEH KAVED ME'OD
KJ: And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
BN: And accompanying him there were both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great company.
It must have been quite a caravan; more like the funeral of a king; is it possible that the tales of Av-Raham in Mitsrayim, and those of Yitschak in Gerar, are based on the same event?
50:10 VA YAVO'U AD GOREN HA ATAD ASHER BE EVER HA YARDEN VA YISPEDU SHAM MISPED GADOL VE CHAVED ME'OD VA YA'AS LE AVIV EVEL SHIV'AT YAMIM
KJ: And they came to the threshingfloor 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.
BN: And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond the river Yarden, and they mourned there with loud keening and deep wailing; and he mourned there for his father seven days.
If they were heading for Chevron, as Ya'akov requested, and which is on the near side of the Yarden (Jordan) coming from Mitsrayim (Egypt), why did they go first to GOREN HA ATAD (גרן האטד), which is stated as being on the far side - the east side! - of the Yarden? Robert Graves answers: by a misreading of the text; the stream being not the Yarden but the so-called Torrent of Egypt (cf Genesis 15:18, though this is usually regarded as the Nile) which is the river Zior or Sihor or more accurately Shihor ("the lake of Hor/Horus") on the Kena'an-Mitsrayim border, now known as Wadi el Arish. W.H. Green has an even more absurd idea: that "beyond the Jordan" actually means the West Bank, because that was what it meant to Mosheh when he was forced to approach through Edom and Mo-Av. This part is fine, but he concludes: "this phrase therefore is another incidental confirmation of the Mosaic authorship of Genesis". Ah, what it is to have such perfect faith!
But there is also more to this. They have stopped here to make Shiva. Why here? Why a different mourning than in Egypt? And a threshing-floor links us to the corn-god again; are we again combining more than one tale?
ATAD: The root probably means "to make firm" or "to establish", though the Tanach offers only one other example of its usage, and this may not even be the same root, but an imported foreign word given the same spelling - ATAD = "buckthorn" or "bramble" in Judges 9:14 and 15 and Psalm 58:10. This presumed definition is taken from its meaning in the the Arabic.
50:11 VA YAR YOSHEV HA ARETS HA KENA'ANI ET HA EVEL BE GOREN HA ATAD VA YOMRU EVEL KAVED ZEH LE MITSRAYIM AL KEN KARA SHEMA AVEL MITSRAYIM ASHER BE EVER HA YARDEN
KJ: 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: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.
BN: And when the inhabitants of the land, the Kena'ani, saw the mourning on the threshing-floor of Atad, they said, "This is a grievous mourning to the Mitsrim". Which is why the place, which is beyond the Yarden, was named Avel Mitsrayim.
AVEL MITSRAYIM (אבל מצרים): again a misreading, or rather a failed attempt at aetiology; not Evel (אבל) = "mourning" but Avel (אבל) = "a meadow"; Syrian weddings and funerals still take place on the level surface of a threshing floor. And the threshing-floor links us again to the Osiris cults – Tammuz was born on the threshing-floor, as were David, Jesus...
Needing an aetiology for Avel Mitsrayim appears to be the reason for diverting Ya'akov's cortège in this manner, rather than any remote likelihood that it passed that way. Most likelihood its naming as "the meadow of Mitsrayim" was connected to its ownership by Pharaoh at this, or any one of several other points in history.
See my note to Genesis 37:34
50:12 VA YA'ASU VANAV LO KEN KA ASHER TSIVAM
50:9 VA YA'AL IMO GAM RECHEV GAM PARASHIM VA YEHI HA MACHANEH KAVED ME'OD
וַיַּעַל עִמּוֹ גַּם רֶכֶב גַּם פָּרָשִׁים וַיְהִי הַמַּחֲנֶה כָּבֵד מְאֹד
KJ: And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
BN: And accompanying him there were both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great company.
It must have been quite a caravan; more like the funeral of a king; is it possible that the tales of Av-Raham in Mitsrayim, and those of Yitschak in Gerar, are based on the same event?
50:10 VA YAVO'U AD GOREN HA ATAD ASHER BE EVER HA YARDEN VA YISPEDU SHAM MISPED GADOL VE CHAVED ME'OD VA YA'AS LE AVIV EVEL SHIV'AT YAMIM
וַיָּבֹאוּ עַד גֹּרֶן הָאָטָד אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן וַיִּסְפְּדוּ שָׁם מִסְפֵּד גָּדוֹל וְכָבֵד מְאֹד וַיַּעַשׂ לְאָבִיו אֵבֶל שִׁבְעַת יָמִים
KJ: And they came to the threshingfloor 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.
BN: And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond the river Yarden, and they mourned there with loud keening and deep wailing; and he mourned there for his father seven days.
If they were heading for Chevron, as Ya'akov requested, and which is on the near side of the Yarden (Jordan) coming from Mitsrayim (Egypt), why did they go first to GOREN HA ATAD (גרן האטד), which is stated as being on the far side - the east side! - of the Yarden? Robert Graves answers: by a misreading of the text; the stream being not the Yarden but the so-called Torrent of Egypt (cf Genesis 15:18, though this is usually regarded as the Nile) which is the river Zior or Sihor or more accurately Shihor ("the lake of Hor/Horus") on the Kena'an-Mitsrayim border, now known as Wadi el Arish. W.H. Green has an even more absurd idea: that "beyond the Jordan" actually means the West Bank, because that was what it meant to Mosheh when he was forced to approach through Edom and Mo-Av. This part is fine, but he concludes: "this phrase therefore is another incidental confirmation of the Mosaic authorship of Genesis". Ah, what it is to have such perfect faith!
But there is also more to this. They have stopped here to make Shiva. Why here? Why a different mourning than in Egypt? And a threshing-floor links us to the corn-god again; are we again combining more than one tale?
ATAD: The root probably means "to make firm" or "to establish", though the Tanach offers only one other example of its usage, and this may not even be the same root, but an imported foreign word given the same spelling - ATAD = "buckthorn" or "bramble" in Judges 9:14 and 15 and Psalm 58:10. This presumed definition is taken from its meaning in the the Arabic.
50:11 VA YAR YOSHEV HA ARETS HA KENA'ANI ET HA EVEL BE GOREN HA ATAD VA YOMRU EVEL KAVED ZEH LE MITSRAYIM AL KEN KARA SHEMA AVEL MITSRAYIM ASHER BE EVER HA YARDEN
וַיַּרְא יוֹשֵׁב הָאָרֶץ הַכְּנַעֲנִי אֶת הָאֵבֶל בְּגֹרֶן הָאָטָד וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵבֶל כָּבֵד זֶה לְמִצְרָיִם עַל כֵּן קָרָא שְׁמָהּ אָבֵל מִצְרַיִם אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן
KJ: 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: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.
BN: And when the inhabitants of the land, the Kena'ani, saw the mourning on the threshing-floor of Atad, they said, "This is a grievous mourning to the Mitsrim". Which is why the place, which is beyond the Yarden, was named Avel Mitsrayim.
AVEL MITSRAYIM (אבל מצרים): again a misreading, or rather a failed attempt at aetiology; not Evel (אבל) = "mourning" but Avel (אבל) = "a meadow"; Syrian weddings and funerals still take place on the level surface of a threshing floor. And the threshing-floor links us again to the Osiris cults – Tammuz was born on the threshing-floor, as were David, Jesus...
Needing an aetiology for Avel Mitsrayim appears to be the reason for diverting Ya'akov's cortège in this manner, rather than any remote likelihood that it passed that way. Most likelihood its naming as "the meadow of Mitsrayim" was connected to its ownership by Pharaoh at this, or any one of several other points in history.
See my note to Genesis 37:34
50:12 VA YA'ASU VANAV LO KEN KA ASHER TSIVAM
וַיַּעֲשׂוּ בָנָיו לוֹ כֵּן כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּם
KJ: And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:
BN: And his sons did for him as he had instructed them.
50:13 VA YIS'U OTO VANAV ARTSAH KENA'AN VA YIKBERU OTO BI ME'ARAH SEDEH HA MACHPELAH ASHER KANAH AV-RAHAM ET HA SADEH LA ACHUZOT KEVER ME ET EPHRON HA CHITI AL PENEY MAMRE
KJ: 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 buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֹתוֹ בָנָיו אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֹתוֹ בִּמְעָרַת שְׂדֵה הַמַּכְפֵּלָה אֲשֶׁר קָנָה אַבְרָהָם אֶת־הַשָּׂדֶה לַאֲחֻזַּת קֶבֶר מֵאֵת עֶפְרֹן הַחִתִּי עַל פְּנֵי מַמְרֵא
KJ: 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 buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
BN: For his sons carried him into the land of Kena'an, and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, the field which Av-Raham bought, in order to possess a burying place, from Ephron the Chiti, in front of Mamre.
Note that it is always called Ha Machpelah = "the double cave", though that has not become the convention in the Jewish world, let alone the English-speaking.
Why is such a fuss being made of this burial? Perhaps earth-burial was unusual in those times, and was another difference between the Beney Yisra-El and others. What did the Egyptians do - other than to the Pharaohs, which we know? The Indians we know cremated. Worth investigating. Devorah being buried under the weeping oak at Alon Bachot is key to this, hers being a tumulus grave of the megalithic type. See the notes at the link.
KJ: And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
KJ: And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
Surf The Site
Genesis: 1a 1b 1c 1d 2a 2b 2c 2d 3 4a 4b 4c/5 6a 6b 7 8 9 10 11a 11b 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25a 25b 26a 26b 27 28a 28b 29 30a 30b 31a 31b/32a 32b 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44a 44b 45 46 47a 47b 48 49 50
But the question remains open: did they bury him at Avel Mitsrayim, or did they only conduct a ceremony of mourning at Avel Mitsrayim, but then bury him in the Cave of Machpelah? In a dug grave, or a cave-tomb? We appear to have two versions again, but tradition reckons Machpelah.
50:14 VA YASHAV YOSEPH MITSRAYEMAH HU VE ECHAV VE CHOL HA OLIM ITO LIKBOR ET AVIV ACHAREY KAVRO ET AVIV
וַיָּשָׁב יוֹסֵף מִצְרַיְמָה הוּא וְאֶחָיו וְכָל הָעֹלִים אִתּוֹ לִקְבֹּר אֶת אָבִיו אַחֲרֵי קָבְרוֹ אֶת אָבִיו
KJ: And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
BN: And after he had buried his father, Yoseph returned to Mitsrayim, he, and his brothers, and everyone who had gone up with him to bury his father.
50:15 VA YIR'U ACHEY YOSEPH KI MET AVIYHEM VA YOMRU LU YISTEMENU YOSEPH VE HASHEV YASHIV LANU ET KOL HA RA'AH ASHER GAMALNU OTO
וַיִּרְאוּ אֲחֵי יוֹסֵף כִּי מֵת אֲבִיהֶם וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוּ יִשְׂטְמֵנוּ יוֹסֵף וְהָשֵׁב יָשִׁיב לָנוּ אֵת כָּל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר גָּמַלְנוּ אֹתוֹ
KJ: And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
BN: Now when Yoseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Yoseph will hate us, and will want to pay us back in full for all the terrible things we did to him."
Ah the guilty consciences!
50:16 VA YETSAVU EL YOSEPH LEMOR AVIYCHA TSIVAH LIPHNEY MOTO LEMOR
וַיְצַוּוּ אֶל יוֹסֵף לֵאמֹר אָבִיךָ צִוָּה לִפְנֵי מוֹתוֹ לֵאמֹר
KJ: And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
BN: And they sent a message to Yoseph saying, "Your father instructed us before he died, saying...
Story-telling technique again; we can assume the brothers are making this up.
50:17 KOH TOMRU LE YOSEPH ANAH SA NA PESHA ACHEYCHA VE CHATA'TAM KI RA'AH GEMALUCHA VE ATAH SA NA LE PHESHA AVDEY ELOHEY AVIYCHA VA YEVCH YOSEPH BE DABRAM ELAV
כֹּה תֹאמְרוּ לְיוֹסֵף אָנָּא שָׂא נָא פֶּשַׁע אַחֶיךָ וְחַטָּאתָם כִּי רָעָה גְמָלוּךָ וְעַתָּה שָׂא נָא לְפֶשַׁע עַבְדֵי אֱלֹהֵי אָבִיךָ וַיֵּבְךְּ יוֹסֵף בְּדַבְּרָם אֵלָיו
KJ: So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, 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 spake unto him.
BN: "Thus shall you say to Yoseph: Forgive, I beseech you now, the transgressions of your brothers, and their sins, and all the bad things that they did to you. And now we beseech you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the god of your father." And Yoseph wept when they spoke to him.
Of course Ya'akov could not have told them to say this, because at no point have they ever admitted to Ya'akov the terrible thing they did to Yoseph - though there was a hint in the Hikavtsu that he had worked it out for himself. But this is an excellent form of words for couching a mediocre apology - hence Yoseph's tears (he is quite a cry-baby; this is the third time). It may infer that they did in fact confess to their father. Either way, it puts the apology through their father, and may well be the phrase the Rabbis had in mind when they explained why the fifth commandment, "Honour your father and your mother", is included amongst the five divine commandments (the first five on the list of ten), rather than being the first of the human ones (the second five on the list of ten). One's father and mother, the Rabbis say, are akin to gods in the respect that they merit, because they too are your Creators.
50:18 VA YELCHU GAM ECHAV VA YIPLU LEPHANAV VA YOMRU HINENU LECHA LA AVADIM
וַיֵּלְכוּ גַּם אֶחָיו וַיִּפְּלוּ לְפָנָיו וַיֹּאמְרוּ הִנֶּנּוּ לְךָ לַעֲבָדִים
KJ: And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
BN: And his brothers even went and fell down on their faces before him; and they said, "Behold, we are your bondsmen."
GAM: Can mean "too" or "also", but in this context it is surely the word's third meaning - "even" - that is intended, fulfilling the childhood dream that started this epic. And giving us the real reason why Yoseph has no tribe: because he is the sun, and they the twelve constellations; in the same way that the king ruled from Yeru-Shala'im and was above the tribal confederation. Yoseph’s "tribe" or portion is the kingship itself, from David to the Messiah. But if he is the sun, who is the moon? Why, Bin-Yamin, obviously!
AVADIM: Yet again, the Beney Yisra-El already "slaves in Egypt" long before Yoseph died and a new Pharaoh supposedly enslaved them.
BONDSMEN: The translators appear unable to make up their minds whether the English word should be "bondmen" or "bondsmen".
50:19 VA YOMER AL'EHEM YOSEPH AL TIYRA'U KI HA TACHAT ELOHIM ANI
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם יוֹסֵף אַל תִּירָאוּ כִּי הֲתַחַת אֱלֹהִים אָנִי
KJ: And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
BN: And Yoseph said to them, "Fear not, for am I in the place of Elohim?..
The HA (ה) before TACHAT is vital here; this could be a statement of the most extraordinary arrogance; but the HA transforms it into a question. It also clarifies certain concerns we had earlier in the tale. The point of Yoseph's reply is that Elohim always forgives (as Heinrich Heine tells us, this is his profession), so how can he not?
50:20 VE ATEM CHASHAVTEM ALAI RA'AH ELOHIM CHASHAVAH LE TOVAH LEMA'AN ASOH KA YOM HA ZEH LEHACHAYOT AM RAV
וְאַתֶּם חֲשַׁבְתֶּם עָלַי רָעָה אֱלֹהִים חֲשָׁבָהּ לְטֹבָה לְמַעַן עֲשֹׂה כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה לְהַחֲיֹת עַם רָב
KJ: 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.
BN: And as for you, you intended evil against me; but Elohim meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive...
We are in the realm of Judas Iscariot here, but it is a most convoluted piece of theology, in which the god is always in the right, and good, no matter what. Put simply, it is necessary for the brothers to have done their evil deed, in order for Yoseph to go to Egypt and be in a position to save his tribe from severe famine - as Jesus must be crucified in order to bring redemption to the world. Thus evil is perceived as an unintentional agency of good; this is not a justification, nor even an advertisement for evil, but an almost atavistic, deterministic view of it. Even evil may lead to great good. And in the good it may be redeemed. A key Jewish notion this.
End of sixth fragment.
50:21 VE ATA AL TIYRA'U ANOCHI ACHALKEL ET'CHEM VE ET TAPCHEM VA YENACHEM OTAM VA YEDABER AL LIBO
KJ: Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
BN: Now therefore do not fear. I will support you, and your little ones." And he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.
50:22 VA YESHEV YOSEPH BE MITSRAYIM HU U VEIT AVIV VA YECHI YOSEPH ME'AH VA ESER SHANIM
KJ: And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
BN: And Yoseph dwelt in Mitsrayim, he and his father's house; and Yoseph lived a hundred and ten years.
Which just happens to be the length, in Egyptian writings, of the ideal life. To the later Rabbinic Jews of the Pirkei Avot, 100 was quite sufficient, and Psalm 90:10 famously prescribes 70, or 80 if your health holds out. But if Yoseph's dates are right (though we have no idea what numbering system is being used here), he survived his father by 54 years (within that numbering system).
Maphtir.
50:23 VA YAR YOSEPH LE EPHRAYIM BENEY SHILESHIM GAM BENEY MACHIR BEN MENASHEH YULDU AL BIRKEY YOSEPH
KJ: 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.
BN: And Yoseph saw Ephrayim's children of the third generation; the children of Machir ben Menasheh were also born on Yoseph's knees.
SHILESHIM (שלשים): third generation = great-grandfather.
MACHIR BEN MENASHEH (מכיר בן מנשה): the most powerful of the clans of Menasheh according to Judges 5:14. But why mention him? Because he became powerful? Or is there a sense of distinguishing Menasheh from Kayin, Esav and Yishma-El; they too were supplanted by their younger brothers, and afterwards left the tribe altogether, whereas Menasheh stayed in?
That phrase again: "born upon his knees". Hertz says that it means "adoption", but logic suggests that it is actually the opposite; kings adopted the sons who were not born upon their knees, surely? The more likely explanation for this is the father, or generally the grandfather, in the role of Sandek, holding the son upon his knees when the circumcision takes place.
50:24 VA YOMER YOSEPH EL ECHAV ANOCHI MET VE ELOHIM PAKOD YIPHKOD ET'CHEM VE HE'ELAH ET'CHEM MIN HA ARETS HA ZOT EL HA ARETS ASHER NISHBA LA AV-RAHAM LE YITSCHAK U LE YA'AKOV
KJ: And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
BN: And Yoseph said to his brothers, "I am dying; but Elohim will surely remember you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he promised to Av-Raham, to Yitschak and to Ya'akov."
Meaning that he, practically the youngest and yet a great-grandfather, failed to outlive any of Re'u-Ven or Shim'on or the others? No, we have to read "brethren" here in its widest meaning - the members of his tribe.
YA'AKOV: And if he were really talking to his brothers, or even his clan-members, he would not be likely to refer to their father by his first name; this is a story-teller in a later time.
50:25 VA YASHBA YOSEPH ET BENEY YISRA-EL LEMOR, PAKOD YIPHKOD ELOHIM ET'CHEM VE HA'ALITEM ET ATSMOTAI MI ZEH
KJ: 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.
BN: And Yoseph made the Beney Yisra-El swear an oath to him, saying, "Elohim will surely remember you, if you will carry my bones up from this place."
No suggestion that he too should be buried in the cave of Machpelah; no suggestion that he is a real patriarch; the line properly speaking ends here. Except that it doesn't - the fact that he is not a tribe is not without significance. Is he even a son? Is he a late addition, appended to provide a pre-history to Mosheh and the Exodus etc? Is Rachel likewise a late addition; was it originally just Le'ah? Definitely worth investigating further. But it does not say where he is to be buried: beside his mother in Ephratah or beside his father in Machpelah?
Indeed we have to wait until the texts beyond the Torah, Joshua 24:32 to be precise - and it feels rather like an add-on at the very end of the book even there - which tells us that
However, we also need to go back and re-examine Ya'akov's blessing of Yoseph in Genesis 48, where verse 22 states that "I have given to you one portion above your brothers which I took out of the hand of the Emorite with my sword and with my bow" - the word for "portion" there being Shechem. See also my note to Genesis 47:30.
50:26 VA YAMAT YOSEPH BEN ME'AH VA ESER SHANIM VA YACHANTU OTO VA YIYSEM BA ARON BE MITSRAYIM
KJ: So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
BN: So Yoseph died, being a hundred and ten years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Mitsrayim.
ARON (ארון): tomb or coffin or sarcophagus? The same word is used for the Ark of the Covenant - Aron ha Kodesh.
The Masoretic note states that Genesis has 1534 verses, is divided into 12 sedrahs (weekly portions), and has 50 chapters.
50:21 VE ATA AL TIYRA'U ANOCHI ACHALKEL ET'CHEM VE ET TAPCHEM VA YENACHEM OTAM VA YEDABER AL LIBO
וְעַתָּה אַל תִּירָאוּ אָנֹכִי אֲכַלְכֵּל אֶתְכֶם וְאֶת טַפְּכֶם וַיְנַחֵם אוֹתָם וַיְדַבֵּר עַל לִבָּם
KJ: Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
BN: Now therefore do not fear. I will support you, and your little ones." And he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.
50:22 VA YESHEV YOSEPH BE MITSRAYIM HU U VEIT AVIV VA YECHI YOSEPH ME'AH VA ESER SHANIM
וַיֵּשֶׁב יוֹסֵף בְּמִצְרַיִם הוּא וּבֵית אָבִיו וַיְחִי יוֹסֵף מֵאָה וָעֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים
KJ: And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
BN: And Yoseph dwelt in Mitsrayim, he and his father's house; and Yoseph lived a hundred and ten years.
Which just happens to be the length, in Egyptian writings, of the ideal life. To the later Rabbinic Jews of the Pirkei Avot, 100 was quite sufficient, and Psalm 90:10 famously prescribes 70, or 80 if your health holds out. But if Yoseph's dates are right (though we have no idea what numbering system is being used here), he survived his father by 54 years (within that numbering system).
Maphtir.
50:23 VA YAR YOSEPH LE EPHRAYIM BENEY SHILESHIM GAM BENEY MACHIR BEN MENASHEH YULDU AL BIRKEY YOSEPH
וַיַּרְא יוֹסֵף לְאֶפְרַיִם בְּנֵי שִׁלֵּשִׁים גַּם בְּנֵי מָכִיר בֶּן מְנַשֶּׁה יֻלְּדוּ עַל בִּרְכֵּי יוֹסֵף
KJ: 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.
BN: And Yoseph saw Ephrayim's children of the third generation; the children of Machir ben Menasheh were also born on Yoseph's knees.
SHILESHIM (שלשים): third generation = great-grandfather.
MACHIR BEN MENASHEH (מכיר בן מנשה): the most powerful of the clans of Menasheh according to Judges 5:14. But why mention him? Because he became powerful? Or is there a sense of distinguishing Menasheh from Kayin, Esav and Yishma-El; they too were supplanted by their younger brothers, and afterwards left the tribe altogether, whereas Menasheh stayed in?
That phrase again: "born upon his knees". Hertz says that it means "adoption", but logic suggests that it is actually the opposite; kings adopted the sons who were not born upon their knees, surely? The more likely explanation for this is the father, or generally the grandfather, in the role of Sandek, holding the son upon his knees when the circumcision takes place.
50:24 VA YOMER YOSEPH EL ECHAV ANOCHI MET VE ELOHIM PAKOD YIPHKOD ET'CHEM VE HE'ELAH ET'CHEM MIN HA ARETS HA ZOT EL HA ARETS ASHER NISHBA LA AV-RAHAM LE YITSCHAK U LE YA'AKOV
וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף אֶל אֶחָיו אָנֹכִי מֵת וֵאלֹהִים פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד אֶתְכֶם וְהֶעֱלָה אֶתְכֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב
KJ: And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
BN: And Yoseph said to his brothers, "I am dying; but Elohim will surely remember you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he promised to Av-Raham, to Yitschak and to Ya'akov."
Meaning that he, practically the youngest and yet a great-grandfather, failed to outlive any of Re'u-Ven or Shim'on or the others? No, we have to read "brethren" here in its widest meaning - the members of his tribe.
YA'AKOV: And if he were really talking to his brothers, or even his clan-members, he would not be likely to refer to their father by his first name; this is a story-teller in a later time.
50:25 VA YASHBA YOSEPH ET BENEY YISRA-EL LEMOR, PAKOD YIPHKOD ELOHIM ET'CHEM VE HA'ALITEM ET ATSMOTAI MI ZEH
וַיַּשְׁבַּע יוֹסֵף אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד אֱלֹהִים אֶתְכֶם וְהַעֲלִתֶם אֶת עַצְמֹתַי מִזֶּה
KJ: 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.
BN: And Yoseph made the Beney Yisra-El swear an oath to him, saying, "Elohim will surely remember you, if you will carry my bones up from this place."
No suggestion that he too should be buried in the cave of Machpelah; no suggestion that he is a real patriarch; the line properly speaking ends here. Except that it doesn't - the fact that he is not a tribe is not without significance. Is he even a son? Is he a late addition, appended to provide a pre-history to Mosheh and the Exodus etc? Is Rachel likewise a late addition; was it originally just Le'ah? Definitely worth investigating further. But it does not say where he is to be buried: beside his mother in Ephratah or beside his father in Machpelah?
Indeed we have to wait until the texts beyond the Torah, Joshua 24:32 to be precise - and it feels rather like an add-on at the very end of the book even there - which tells us that
"The bones of Yoseph, which the Beney Yisra-El brought up out of Mitsrayim, were buried in Shechem in a parcel of land that Ya'akov bought from the sons of Chamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver."If this is correct, then we need to go back and re-examine the tale of the rape of Dinah and the revenge of Shim'on and Levi, because this purchase is almost impossible to believe in the light of those circumstances. Exodus 13:19 and Joshua 24:32 both suggest that the promise was fulfilled, but no actual grave has yet been discovered by the archaeologists and, as noted previously, the one site claimed to be Yoseph's Tomb - and which has provided both Jews and Palestinians a convenient outlet for their political squabbles in recent years - is not Biblical Yoseph's tomb at all. Early Rabbinic aggadot claim both Tsefat (Safed or Zefat in English) and Chevron (Hebron) as his burial-place, while Arabic sources including ibn-Battuta preserve traditions that both Shechem (Nablus) and the Cave of the Patriarchs (i.e. Machpelah) at Chevron are the site, as well as Bait Ijza, about 6 miles north of Yeru-Shala'im. Indeed, so many are the sites associated with his grave, we might think to compare him with Jesus, Arthur, Osher - each of them has fourteen!
However, we also need to go back and re-examine Ya'akov's blessing of Yoseph in Genesis 48, where verse 22 states that "I have given to you one portion above your brothers which I took out of the hand of the Emorite with my sword and with my bow" - the word for "portion" there being Shechem. See also my note to Genesis 47:30.
50:26 VA YAMAT YOSEPH BEN ME'AH VA ESER SHANIM VA YACHANTU OTO VA YIYSEM BA ARON BE MITSRAYIM
וַיָּמָת יוֹסֵף בֶּן מֵאָה וָעֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים וַיַּחַנְטוּ אֹתוֹ וַיִּישֶׂם בָּאָרוֹן בְּמִצְרָיִם
KJ: So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
BN: So Yoseph died, being a hundred and ten years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Mitsrayim.
ARON (ארון): tomb or coffin or sarcophagus? The same word is used for the Ark of the Covenant - Aron ha Kodesh.
The Masoretic note states that Genesis has 1534 verses, is divided into 12 sedrahs (weekly portions), and has 50 chapters.
The End - Finis - (τέλος) Télos
CHAZAK CHAZAK VE NIT'CHAZEK
Surf The Site
Genesis: 1a 1b 1c 1d 2a 2b 2c 2d 3 4a 4b 4c/5 6a 6b 7 8 9 10 11a 11b 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25a 25b 26a 26b 27 28a 28b 29 30a 30b 31a 31b/32a 32b 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44a 44b 45 46 47a 47b 48 49 50
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