Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Genesis 50:3
3. the Egyptians mourned, &c. It was made a period of public mourning, as on the death of a royal personage. read more
3. the Egyptians mourned, &c. It was made a period of public mourning, as on the death of a royal personage. read more
E. What Became of Jacob 37:2-50:26Here begins the tenth and last toledot in Genesis. Jacob remains a major character throughout Genesis. Moses recorded his death in chapter 49. Nevertheless Joseph replaces him as the focus of the writer’s attention at this point. [Note: For some enriching insights into the similarities between the stories of Jacob and Joseph, see Peter Miscall, "The Jacob and Joseph Stories As Analogies," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 6 (February 1978):28-40.]... read more
The Burial of Jacob, and Death of Joseph2. For the importance attached by the Egyptians to the preservation of the corpse see on Genesis 40:19. The process, which was so thorough that mummies of Joseph’s time may be seen in our museums in a state of good preservation, was briefly as follows. The brain and intestines were removed, and the stomach cleansed and filled with spices (embalmed). The body was then steeped in a mixture of salt and soda (called natron), for forty or more days, to... read more
L.BURIAL OF JACOB, AND HAPPY OLD AGE OF JOSEPH.(2) The physicians embalmed Israel.—The command given first by Jacob to Joseph (Genesis 47:29-30), and then urged earnestly upon all his sons, and with the reminder that the cave of Machpelah had been purchased and belonged to him by right (Genesis 49:29-32), made it specially necessary that the patriarch’s body should be prepared for so long a journey. It was also usual at that period to embalm the dead; and during the many centuries while the... read more
(3) Forty days.—Herodotus (ii. 86) describes the process of embalming as occupying seventy days, but he was speaking of what he saw at Thebes, whereas Memphis was the Egyptian capital in Joseph’s time; and the mummies of Thebes are, we are told, far more perfectly preserved than those of Memphis. Diodorus agrees very nearly with the periods mentioned here, saying (i. 91) that the embalming took somewhat more than thirty days, and the mourning for a king seventy-two. The usual period of mourning... read more
Joseph's Faith Genesis 50:25 Taking this incident, with the New Testament commentary upon it, it leads us to a truth which we often lose sight of, but which is indispensable if we would understand the relations of the earlier and the later days. I. Faith is always the same though knowledge varies. There is a vast difference between a man's creed and a man's faith. The one may vary, does vary within very wide limits; the other remains the same. It is difficult to decide how much Joseph's gospel... read more
CHAPTER 50 The Burial of Jacob and Joseph’s Return and Death 1. The grief of Joseph (Genesis 50:1-3 ) 2. The burial (Genesis 50:4-13 ) 3. The return to Egypt (Genesis 50:14-23 ) 4. The death of Joseph (Genesis 50:24-26 ) This great book which begins with the perfect and good creation of God ends with a burial and the last words are “a coffin in Egypt.” What havoc sin has wrought. Jacob died 147 years old and after his body was embalmed was carried to Canaan. Read in connection with... read more
50:2 And Joseph commanded his servants the {a} physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.(a) He means those who embalmed the dead and buried them. read more
50:3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him {b} threescore and ten days.(b) They were more excessive in lamenting than the faithful. read more
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Genesis 50:2
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... read more