And Joseph directed the physicians in his serviceJoseph, as a high-ranking official in Egypt, had access to resources and personnel, including physicians. The mention of physicians indicates the advanced medical practices in Egypt, known for their expertise in embalming and medicine. This reflects Joseph's integration into Egyptian society while maintaining his Hebrew identity. The use of physicians rather than priests for embalming suggests a practical approach, as priests typically performed religious rites. Joseph's authority allowed him to command such services, highlighting his influential position.
to embalm his father Israel
Embalming was a common practice in ancient Egypt, aimed at preserving the body for the afterlife, reflecting Egyptian beliefs about immortality. However, for Jacob (Israel), the embalming served a practical purpose: to preserve his body for transport back to Canaan for burial, as he had requested. This act shows Joseph's respect for his father's wishes and adherence to familial and cultural traditions. The embalming of Jacob also signifies the blending of Hebrew customs with Egyptian practices, as embalming was not a traditional Hebrew practice.
So they embalmed him
The embalming process in Egypt was elaborate, involving the removal of internal organs, drying the body with natron, and wrapping it in linen. This process could take up to 70 days, aligning with the mourning period mentioned later in the chapter. The successful embalming of Jacob ensured his body could be transported without decay, fulfilling his desire to be buried in the family tomb in Canaan. This act of embalming, while Egyptian in nature, facilitated the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham regarding the land of Canaan, as Jacob's burial there reaffirmed the connection to the Promised Land.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
JosephThe son of Jacob (Israel) and Rachel, who rose to power in Egypt. He is a key figure in the preservation of the Israelites during a time of famine.
2.
PhysiciansThese were likely Egyptian professionals skilled in the art of embalming, a practice common in Egypt to preserve bodies for the afterlife.
3.
Israel (Jacob)The patriarch of the Israelites, father of the twelve tribes. His death marks a significant transition for his family.
4.
EmbalmingA process used in ancient Egypt to preserve bodies, reflecting the cultural practices of the time.
5.
EgyptThe land where Joseph rose to power and where the Israelites lived during the famine.
Teaching Points
Respect for the DeadJoseph's actions demonstrate a deep respect for his father, fulfilling his wishes and honoring him even in death. This teaches us the importance of honoring our parents and loved ones.
Cultural SensitivityJoseph's use of Egyptian embalming practices shows an understanding and respect for the culture he lived in, while still maintaining his faith and identity. Christians today can learn to engage with different cultures respectfully while holding firm to their beliefs.
Faith in God's PromisesDespite living in Egypt, Joseph and his family maintained their faith in God's promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This encourages believers to hold onto God's promises, even when circumstances seem contrary.
Leadership and ResponsibilityJoseph's leadership is evident as he takes responsibility for his father's burial arrangements. This highlights the importance of taking initiative and responsibility in family and community matters.
Preparation for TransitionThe embalming of Jacob marks a transition for the Israelites. It reminds us to prepare for transitions in life with faith and trust in God's plan.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Genesis 50:2?
2.How does embalming in Genesis 50:2 reflect Egyptian influence on Joseph's family?
3.Why might Joseph have chosen to embalm his father, as stated in Genesis 50:2?
4.What does Genesis 50:2 reveal about honoring parents in biblical times?
5.How can we honor our parents today, inspired by Joseph's actions in Genesis 50:2?
6.How does Genesis 50:2 connect with the commandment to honor your father and mother?
7.Why did Joseph command the embalming of his father in Genesis 50:2?
8.How does embalming in Genesis 50:2 align with Jewish burial customs?
9.What does Genesis 50:2 reveal about Egyptian influence on Joseph?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Genesis 50?
11.Does the claim in Genesis 50:2–3 that Jacob was embalmed for forty days align with known Egyptian practices, or does it conflict with historical records?
12.What does Rachel weeping for her children signify?
13.Who were the believers in the Old Testament?
14.What role did Egyptians play in biblical narratives?What Does Genesis 50:2 Mean
And Joseph directed the physicians in his service• Joseph, still serving as Egypt’s second-in-command (Genesis 41:41-44), exercises the authority Pharaoh entrusted to him.
• His call for “physicians” rather than pagan embalmers shows wise stewardship; these court doctors would treat Jacob’s body with professional care, avoiding idolatrous rituals. CompareGenesis 41:8 where Pharaoh also consults trusted specialists.
• Joseph honors the fifth commandment principle (Exodus 20:12) generations before Sinai by ensuring his father receives dignified treatment.
• The scene fulfills Joseph’s earlier promise to Jacob: “I myself will lay my hand on your eyes” (Genesis 46:4), signifying personal responsibility even while delegating tasks.
to embalm his father Israel• Embalming preserved the body for the long journey back to Canaan, obeying Jacob’s request to be buried with Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 49:29-32).
• While the practice was Egyptian, Joseph employs it without compromising faith, much like Moses later uses Egyptian learning for God’s purposes (Acts 7:22).
• The act testifies that God’s covenant people can live in a foreign land yet remain set apart; Jacob is prepared in Egypt but destined for Canaan, echoingHebrews 11:9-10.
• The title “Israel” reminds readers that more than a father is being honored—the patriarch of the nation is being prepared for a burial that proclaims God’s promise of the land (Genesis 50:13).
So they embalmed him• The physicians’ obedience underscores Joseph’s respected leadership (Genesis 50:3). Forty days of embalming reflected customary Egyptian timing, while seventy days of mourning by the Egyptians (Genesis 50:3) reveal Jacob’s impact on the nation.
• The completed embalming anticipates Christ’s burial preparations (John 19:40), foreshadowing ultimate hope of resurrection for God’s people (Job 19:25-27).
• Jacob’s preserved body becomes a tangible pledge that God will one day bring the children of Israel out of Egypt (Genesis 50:24-25), just as Joseph’s own embalmed remains will later accompany the Exodus (Exodus 13:19).
summaryGenesis 50:2 records a real historical moment in which Joseph, acting under God-given authority, arranges expert medical care to preserve Jacob’s body for its covenantal resting place. The verse highlights filial honor, faithful use of cultural practices without compromise, and steadfast confidence that God will fulfill His promise to bring His people home.
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 custom lasted, from B.C. 2000 to A.D. 700, it is calculated that no less than 420,000,000 bodies were thus preserved. For the process, which was very expensive if done in the best manner, see Rawlinson,Egypt,i. 511 ff. The embalmers are not generally called physicians, but probably what is meant is that the embalming of Jacob's body was superintended by the physicians attached to Joseph's household. Egypt was famous for its physicians, who were in advance of those of other countries, and were subdivided into classes, which had each the charge of some special disease. (See Rawlinson as above, i. 305 ff.) Mas-pero thinks that their real knowledge was inconsiderable, and that there were specialists only for the eyes, and one or two similar diseases (Hist. Anc.82). Ophthalmia continues to be one of the most common diseases of Egypt.Verse 2. -And Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians - literally,the healers,הָרֹפְאִים fromרָפָא, to sew together, to mend, hence to heal, a class of persons which abounded in Ancient Egypt, each physician being only qualified to treat a single disorder (Herod., 2:84). The medical men of Egypt were held in high repute abroad, and their assistance was at various times required by persons from other countries, as, e.g., Cyrus and Darius (Herod., 3:1, 132). Their knowledge of medicines was extensive, and is referred to both in sacred (Jeremiah 66:11) and profane (Homer, 'Odyssey" 4 . 229) writings. The Egyptian doctors belonged to the sacerdotal order, and were expected to know all things relating to the body, and diseases and remedies contained in the six last of the sacred books of Hermes. According to Pliny (7:56), the study of medicine originated in Egypt (vide Wilkinson in Rawlinson's 'Herodotus,' vol 2. pp. 116, 117). The physicians employed by Joseph were those attached to his own household, or the court practitioners -to embalm his father: - literally,to spice or season (the body of) his father, i.e. to prepare it for burial by means of aromatics;ut aromatibus condirent (Vulgate);ἐνταφιάσαι τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ (LXX.), which is putting part of a proceeding for the whole (Tayler Lewis). According to Herodotus (2:86), the embalmers belonged to a distinct hereditary class or guild from the ordinary physicians; but either their formation into such a separate order of practitioners was of later origin (Hengstenberg, Kurtz, Kalisch), or Jacob was embalmed by the physicians instead of the embalmers proper because, not being an Egyptian, he could not be subjected to the ordinary treatment of the embalming art ('Speaker's Commentary') -and the physicians embalmed Israel. The method of preparing mummies in Ancient Egypt has been elaborately described, both by Herodotus (2:86) and Diodorus Sieulus (1:91), and, in the main, the accuracy of their descriptions has been confirmed by the evidence derived from the mummies themselves. According to the most expensive process, which cost one talent of silver, or about £250 sterling, the brain was first extracted through the nostrils by means of a crooked piece of iron, the skull being thoroughly cleansed of any remaining portions by rinsing with drugs; then, through an opening in the left side made with a sharp Ethiopian knife of agate or of flint, the viscera were removed, the abdomen being afterwards purified with palm wine and an infusion of aromatics; next, the disemboweled corpse was filled with every sort of spicery except frankincense, and the opening sewed up; after that the stuffed form was steeped for seventy days in natrum or subcarbonate of soda obtained from the Libyan desert, and sometimes in wax and tanning, bitumen also being employed in later times; and finally, on the expiration of thatperiod, which was scrupulously observed, the body was washed, wrapped about with linen bandages, smeared over with gum, decorated with amulets, sometimes with a network of porcelain bugles, covered with a linen shroud, and, in due course, transferred to a mummy case (vide Wilkinson's 'Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,' vol. 3. p. 471, ed. 1878; Rawlinson's 'Herodotus,' vol. 2. pp. 118-123).
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
And Joseph
יוֹסֵ֤ף(yō·w·sêp̄)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3130:Joseph -- 'he increases', a son of Jacob, also the name of several Israelites
directed
וַיְצַ֨ו(way·ṣaw)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6680:To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, order
the physicians
הָרֹ֣פְאִ֔ים(hā·rō·p̄ə·’îm)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 7495:To mend, to cure
in his service
עֲבָדָיו֙(‘ă·ḇā·ḏāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5650:Slave, servant
to embalm
לַחֲנֹ֖ט(la·ḥă·nōṭ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 2590:To spice, to embalm, to ripen
his father
אָבִ֑יו(’ā·ḇîw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1:Father
Israel.
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃(yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478:Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc
So they
הָרֹפְאִ֖ים(hā·rō·p̄ə·’îm)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 7495:To mend, to cure
embalmed him,
וַיַּחַנְט֥וּ(way·ya·ḥan·ṭū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 2590:To spice, to embalm, to ripen
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OT Law: Genesis 50:2 Joseph commanded his servants the physicians (Gen. Ge Gn)
