Genesis 50: God intended it for good

Joseph forgives, for God intended his brothers' evil for good, and dies trusting God to bring Israel home.

Chapter 50 of 5026 verses4 sectionsBSB

Where Genesis 50 sits

Genesis66 books · 1,189 chaptersRevelation

In the story: Act III, Promise: Genesis 12–50; Job
In the Bible: Old Testament · The Law · chapter 50 of 50 in Genesis
In Genesis: Jacob's line: Joseph and Judah, 37:2–50:26 · part of One family
Before: Genesis 49: Jacob's last words
After: Genesis closes here

Genesis 50 summary

Joseph weeps over his father; Jacob is embalmed and mourned seventy days, then carried with a great Egyptian company to Canaan and buried at Machpelah. Afraid that Joseph will now take revenge, the brothers send a plea and fall before him as servants; Joseph weeps, asks if he is in God's place, and says that they intended evil but God intended it for good, to preserve the lives of many people, and he promises to provide for them. Joseph lives to 110 and sees Ephraim’s children to the third generation; dying, he says God will surely visit them and bring them to the land sworn to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, makes them swear to carry up his bones, and is laid in a coffin in Egypt.

Genesis 50 in context

Speaking: Moses, narrating; the brothers plead, and Joseph answers and gives his dying charge
Written for: Israel, who carried Joseph's bones out of Egypt (Exod 13:19), reading the promise their fathers died holding
Around it: Closes Genesis after Jacob's last words (ch. 49); Exodus opens with the same family in Egypt (Exod 1:1–7)

How Genesis 50 points to Christ

Joseph's word that God intended evil for good to save many is the pattern fulfilled at the cross, where lawless hands carried out God's set plan to save (Acts 2:23; 4:27–28); by faith Joseph spoke of the exodus (Heb 11:22)

The sections of Genesis 50

Mourning
Joseph weeps over his father and has him embalmed, taking forty days, and Egypt mourns him seventy days.
50:1–3
Burial in Canaan
With Pharaoh's leave and a great Egyptian company, Joseph and his brothers bury Jacob at Machpelah in Canaan.
50:4–14
God intended it for good
The fearful brothers beg forgiveness; Joseph answers that they intended evil but God intended it for good, to preserve many lives.
50:15–21
God will surely visit you
Dying, Joseph says God will surely visit Israel and bring them to the sworn land, and makes them swear to carry up his bones.
50:22–26

Read Genesis 50

Mourning and Burial for Jacob

¹Then Joseph fell upon his father’s face, wept over him, and kissed him.

²And Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So they embalmed him, ³taking the forty days required to complete the embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

⁴When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please tell Pharaoh that ⁵my father made me swear an oath when he said, ‘I am about to die. You must bury me in the tomb that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Now let me go and bury my father, and then return.”

⁶Pharaoh replied, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

⁷Then Joseph went to bury his father, and all the servants of Pharaoh accompanied him—the elders of Pharaoh’s household and all the elders of the land of Egypt—⁸along with all of Joseph’s household, and his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children and flocks and herds were left in Goshen.

⁹Chariots and horsemen alike went up with him, and it was an exceedingly large procession. ¹⁰When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, which is across the Jordan, they lamented and wailed loudly, and Joseph mourned for his father seven days.

¹¹When the Canaanites of the land saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a solemn ceremony of mourning by the Egyptians.” Thus the place across the Jordan is called Abel-mizraim.

¹²So Jacob’s sons did as he had charged them. ¹³They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.

¹⁴After Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him to bury his father.

Joseph Comforts His Brothers

¹⁵When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge? Then he will surely repay us for all the evil that we did to him.”

¹⁶So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Before he died, your father commanded, ¹⁷‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I beg you, please forgive the transgression and sin of your brothers, for they did you wrong.’ So now, Joseph, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.”

When their message came to him, Joseph wept. ¹⁸His brothers also came to him, bowed down before him, and said, “We are your slaves!”

¹⁹But Joseph replied, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people. ²¹Therefore do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” So Joseph reassured his brothers and spoke kindly to them.

The Death of Joseph

²²Now Joseph and his father’s household remained in Egypt, and Joseph lived to the age of 110. ²³He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation, and indeed the sons of Machir son of Manasseh were brought up on Joseph’s knees.

²⁴Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” ²⁵And Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath and said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

²⁶So Joseph died at the age of 110. And they embalmed his body and placed it in a coffin in Egypt.

Berean Standard Bible, 26 verses. The BSB is in the public domain.

Around Genesis 50

Near it in Jacob's line: Joseph and Judah

Places

Abel-mizraim
Machpelah
Egypt
Goshen
The Jordan
Hebron

Read alongside

Genesis 45:5–8 God sent me before you.
Exodus 13:19 Moses takes Joseph's bones, as Joseph made Israel swear.
Joshua 24:32 Joseph's bones buried at Shechem.
Hebrews 11:22 By faith Joseph gave instructions about his bones.
Acts 2:23 Delivered up by God's set plan and foreknowledge, put to death by lawless hands.

Chapters that point here

Genesis 30
Exodus 3
Acts 4
Philemon 1

How Genesis 50 connects

The Exodus Line · Genesis 50:24–25 · “God will surely attend to you” (50:25): the words Moses will bring to Israel, “I have surely attended to you” (Exod 3:16). (Hebrews 11:22)
Land · Genesis 50:24 · The book ends outside the land, with its promise still sworn.
Promise · Genesis 50:24–25, kept in Exodus 3:16; Exodus 13:19; Joshua 24:32
Type · Joseph's suffering at his brothers' hands, turned by God to save many lives pictures Christ's death at lawless hands, by God's set plan, to save many (Acts 2:23; Acts 4:27–28)

Doctrines Genesis 50 teaches

Providence · Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28
God's decree · Genesis 50:20; Acts 4:28
Saving faith · Genesis 50:24–25; Hebrews 11:22
Sanctification · Genesis 50:19–21; Ephesians 4:32

Questions on Genesis 50

How does Joseph explain his brothers' evil in 50:20?
Show the answer
They intended it against him for evil, but God intended it for good, to bring about this day and preserve the lives of many people (50:20). So Joseph will not put himself in the place of God (50:19).
What does Joseph make his brothers swear before he dies, and why?
Show the answer
To carry his bones up from Egypt, because God would surely visit them and bring them up to the land He swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (50:24–25). Joseph dies holding that promise.
Which book picks up Joseph's bones and God's promise to attend to His people?
Show the answer
Exodus. God tells Moses He has surely attended to His people (Exod 3:16), and Moses takes Joseph’s bones out of Egypt, keeping the oath Joseph made Israel swear (Exod 13:19).

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