_JOSEPH, WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE KING, GOES AND BURIES HIS FATHER IN CANAAN. THE SONS OF JACOB APPREHEND THE RESENTMENT OF THEIR BROTHER JOSEPH, CONSCIOUS OF THEIR OFFENCE TOWARDS HIM: JOSEPH COMFORTS THEM. HE GIVES COMMANDMENT CONCERNING HIS BONES AND DIES._ _Before Christ 1688 to 1635._... [ Continue Reading ]
AND JOSEPH FELL UPON HIS FATHER'S FACE— Thus what God had promised, ch. Genesis 46:4. that Joseph _should close his father's eyes,_ was fulfilled: and after having performed this last and tender office, he, according to the custom of those times, parted from the body with a kiss; expressing all the... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS SERVANTS THE PHYSICIANS— The profession of physic appears to have been carried on in ancient times by domestics; and Joseph, as viceroy of AEgypt, may well be supposed to have kept some of these in his retinue. Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus assure us, that it was the custom of the AEgyptians to... [ Continue Reading ]
AND FORTY DAYS WERE FULFILLED FOR HIM— The reader will find, in the first volume of Univ. Hist. 8vo. p. 489, a minute account of the manner of embalming, which was done without disfiguring the body; so that the very hairs remained on the brows and eyelids, and the resemblance of the countenance was... [ Continue Reading ]
JOSEPH SPAKE UNTO THE HOUSE OF PHARAOH— Affliction and decorum forbidding Joseph to appear at court during the days of mourning; see Esther 4:1. he addresses himself to the great officers of Pharaoh, to inform the king of the death and last request of Jacob, concerning his burial. Those in a state o... [ Continue Reading ]
WHICH I HAVE DIGGED FOR ME— Rather, according to the Hebrew, _which I have cut out for me:_ alluding to the manner of laying the corpse in a niche cut out for that purpose in the cave, or place of burying. See ch. Genesis 23:9.... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THE SERVANTS OF PHARAOH— _All_ may be put here, as Matthew 3:5 for a great number; the major part; all the principal officers of the court. _The elders of his house, i.e._. the persons of first dignity, a title of honour used, 2 Sam. Genesis 12:17. and so in various languages, _senator, senior,... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY CAME TO THE THRESHING-FLOOR OF ATAD— _Atad_ is, according to some, the proper name of a person; according to others, the word is an appellative, and signifies _brambles;_ and so should be rendered _the threshing-floor of brambles._ See Judges 9:14.Psalms 58:9. The place is supposed to be about... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN JOSEPH'S BRETHREN SAW— One cannot have a stronger proof of the restless anxiety of a guilty conscience, than in this message and address of Joseph's brethren to him; nor can any thing more finely describe the feelings of an ingenuous disposition, than the actions and words of Joseph on this occ... [ Continue Reading ]
THY FATHER DID COMMAND— It seems most probable, from the history, that this was a story feigned by the brethren, in order to influence Joseph the more; and this supposition well suits with that mean temper which they here shew; a temper which induced them to think Joseph capable of the most permanen... [ Continue Reading ]
AND NOW, WE PRAY THEE, FORGIVE THE TRESPASS OF THE SERVANTS OF THE GOD OF THY FATHER— What a conjuration of pardon, says Bishop Hall, was this! What wound could be either so deep, or so festered, that this plaster could not cure? They say not the sons of thy father; for they knew Jacob was dead, and... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR AM I IN THE PLACE OF GOD?— See ch. Genesis 30:2. where this same phrase occurs; the meaning of which seems to be the same in both places; as if Joseph had said, "Shall I presume to oppose myself to what is come to pass, as if I were God?" Or, shall I punish you for that which God hath turned so... [ Continue Reading ]
JOSEPH LIVED AN HUNDRED AND TEN YEARS— A shorter life than his ancestors; because he was the son, says Bishop Patrick, of his father's old age, and lived a great part of his time amidst afflictions and care, having the weight of a great kingdom's affairs lying upon him; for eighty of these years he... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD WILL SURELY VISIT YOU— See ch. Genesis 21:1. The subsequent words, _and bring you out of this land,_ evidently shew in what manner Joseph believed that GOD would visit the Israelites. Thus he died in the same faith with his ancestors, agreeable to what the apostle to the Hebrews says: _By faith... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SHALL CARRY UP MY BONES FROM HENCE— The word _bones_ frequently in scripture means the same thing with corpse, as here Joseph's embalmed body (see Genesis 50:26 and Exodus 13:19.) is called his bones. Thus the lying prophet terms his body, just become breathless, his bones: _When I am dead, then... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY EMBALMED HIM, AND HE WAS PUT IN A COFFIN— The same care of his body was taken as of that of his father Jacob; he was _embalmed_ and _put into a coffin,_ which was considered as a mark of distinction. With us the poorest people have their coffins; if the relations cannot afford them, the par... [ Continue Reading ]