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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
G E N E S I S
CHAP. L.
Here is,
I. The preparation for Jacob’s funeral,
II. The
funeral itself,
III. The settling of a good understanding
between Joseph and his brethren after the death of
Jacob,
IV. The age and death of Joseph,
Thus the book of Genesis, which began with the origin
of light and life, ends with nothing but death and darkness; so
sad a change has sin made.
| The Burial of Jacob. | B. C. 1689. |
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1 And Joseph fell upon his father’s
face, and wept upon him, and
kissed him.
2 And Joseph commanded
his servants the physicians to
embalm his father: and the physicians
embalmed Israel.
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 threescore and ten
days.
4 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,
5 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.
6 And Pharaoh said,
Go up, and bury thy father, according
as he made thee swear.
Joseph is here paying his last respects to
his deceased father.
1. With tears and
kisses, and all the tender expressions of a
filial affection, he takes leave of the deserted
body,
v. 1.
Though Jacob was old and decrepit,
and must needs die in the course of
nature–though he was poor comparatively,
and a constant charge to his son Joseph,
yet such an affection he had for a loving father,
and so sensible was he of the loss of a prudent,
pious, praying father, that he could not
part with him without floods of tears. Note,
As it is an honour to die lamented, so it is
the duty of survivors to lament the death of
those who have been useful in their day,
though for some time they may have survived
their usefulness. The departed soul is out
of the reach of our tears and kisses, but with
them it is proper to show our respect to the
poor body, of which we look for a glorious
and joyful resurrection. Thus Joseph showed
his faith in God, and love to his father, by
kissing his pale and cold lips, and so giving
an affectionate farewell. Probably the rest
of Jacob’s sons did the same, much moved,
no doubt, with his dying words.
2. He
ordered the body to be embalmed
(v. 2),
not only because he died in Egypt, and that was
the manner of the Egyptians, but because he
was to be carried to Canaan, which would be
a work of time, and therefore it was necessary
the body should be preserved as well as
it might be from putrefaction. See how vile
our bodies are, when the soul has forsaken
them; without a great deal of art, and pains,
and care, they will, in a very little time, become
noisome. If the body have been dead
four days, by that time it is offensive.
3. He
observed the ceremony of solemn mourning
for him,
v. 3.
Forty days were taken up in
embalming the body, which the Egyptians
(they say) had an art of doing so curiously
as to preserve the very features of the face
unchanged; all this time, and thirty days
more, seventy in all, they either confined
themselves and sat solitary, or, when they
went out, appeared in the habit of close
mourners, according to the decent custom
of the country. Even the Egyptians, many of
them, out of the great respect they had for
Joseph (whose good offices done for the king
and country were now fresh in remembrance),
put themselves into mourning for his father:
as with us, when the court goes into mourning,
those of the best quality do so too.
About ten weeks was the court of Egypt in
mourning for Jacob. Note, What they did
in state, we should do in sincerity, weep with
those that weep, and mourn with those that
mourn, as being ourselves also in the body.
4. He asked and obtained leave of Pharaoh
to go to Canaan, thither to attend the funeral
of his father,
(1.) It was a piece of
necessary respect to Pharaoh that he would not
go without leave; for we may suppose
that, though his charge about the corn was
long since over, yet he continued a prime-minister
of state, and therefore would not be
so long absent from his business without licence.
(2.) He observed a decorum, in employing
some of the royal family, or some of
the officers of the household, to intercede for
this licence, either because it was not proper
for him in the days of his mourning to come
into the presence-chamber, or because he
would not presume too much upon his own
interest. Note, Modesty is a great ornament
to dignity.
(3.) He pleaded the obligation
his father had laid upon him, by an oath, to
bury him in Canaan,
v. 5.
It was not from
pride or humour, but from his regard to an
indispensable duty, that he desired it. All
nations reckon that oaths must be performed,
and the will of the dead must be observed.
(4.) He promised to return: I will come
again. When we return to our own houses
from burying the bodies of our relations, we
say, “We have left them behind;” but, if
their souls have gone to our heavenly Father’s
house, we may say with more reason, “They
have left us behind.”
(5.) He obtained leave
(v. 6):
Go and bury thy father. Pharaoh was
willing his business should stand still so long;
but the service of Christ is more needful,
and therefore he would not allow one that
had work to do for him to go first and bury
his father; no, Let the dead bury their dead,
Matt. viii. 22.
7 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,
8 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.
9 And
there went up with him both chariots
and horsemen: and it was a very great
company.
10 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.
11 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 Abel-mizraim,
which is beyond Jordan.
12 And his sons did unto him according
as he commanded them:
13 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.
14 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.
We have here an account of Jacob’s funeral.
Of the funerals of the kings of Judah,
usually, no more is said than this, They
were buried with their fathers in the city of
David: but the funeral of the patriarch Jacob
is more largely and fully described, to
show how much better God was to him
than he expected (he had spoken more than
once of dying for grief, and going to the
grave bereaved of his children, but, behold,
he dies in honour, and is followed to the
grave by all his children), and also because his
orders concerning his burial were given and
observed in faith, and in expectation both of
the earthly and of the heavenly Canaan.
Now,
1. It was a stately funeral. He was
attended to the grave, not only by his own
family, but by the courtiers, and all the great
men of the kingdom, who, in token of their
gratitude to Joseph, showed this respect to
his father for his sake, and did him honour
at his death. Though the Egyptians had
had an antipathy to the Hebrews, and had
looked upon them with disdain
yet now, that they were better acquainted
with them, they began to have a respect for
them. Good old Jacob had conducted himself
so well among them as to gain universal
esteem. Note, Professors of religion should
endeavour, by wisdom and love, to remove
the prejudices which many may have conceived
against them because they do not
know them. There went abundance of chariots
and horsemen, not only to attend them
a little way, but to go through with them.
Note, The decent solemnities of funerals,
according to a man’s situation, are very commendable;
and we must not say of them, To
what purpose is this waste? See
2. It was a sorrowful funeral
(v. 10, 11);
standers-by took notice of it as
a grievous mourning. Note, The death of
good men is a great loss to any place, and
ought to be greatly lamented. Stephen dies
a martyr, and yet devout men make great lamentations
for him. The solemn mourning
for Jacob gave a name to the place, Abel-Mizraim,
the mourning of the Egyptians,
which served for a testimony against the next
generation of the Egyptians, who oppressed
the posterity of this Jacob to whom their
ancestors showed such respect.
| Joseph Comforts His Brethren. | B. C. 1689. |
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15 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.
16 And they
sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying,
Thy father did command before he
died, saying,
17 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.
18 And his brethren
also went and fell down before his
face; and they said, Behold, we be
thy servants.
19 And Joseph said
unto them, Fear not: for am I in the
place of God?
20 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.
21 Now therefore fear ye not:
I will nourish you, and your little
ones. And he comforted them, and
spake kindly unto them.
We have here the settling of a good correspondence
between Joseph and his brethren,
now that their father was dead. Joseph
was at court, in the royal city; his
brethren were in Goshen, remote in the
country; yet the keeping up of a good understanding,
and a good affection, between
them, would be both his honour and their
interest. Note, When Providence has removed
the parents by death, the best methods
ought to be taken, not only for the
preventing of quarrels among the children
(which often happen about the dividing of
the estate), but for the preserving of acquaintance
and love, that unity may continue
even when that centre of unity is taken
away.
I. Joseph’s brethren humbly make their
court to him for his favour. 1. They began
to be jealous of Joseph, not that he had
given them any cause to be so, but the consciousness
of guilt, and of their own inability
in such a case to forgive and forget,
made them suspicious of the sincerity and
constancy of Joseph’s favour
(v. 15):
Joseph
will peradventure hate us. While their father
lived, they thought themselves safe under
his shadow; but now that he was dead they
feared the worst from Joseph. Note, A
guilty conscience exposes men to continual
frights, even where no fear is, and makes
them suspicious of every body, as Cain,
Those that would be fearless must
keep themselves guiltless. If our heart reproach
us not, then have we confidence both
towards God and man.
2. They humbled
themselves before him, confessed their fault,
and begged his pardon. They did it by
proxy
(v. 17);
they did it in person,
Now that the sun and moon had set, the
eleven stars did homage to Joseph, for the
further accomplishment of his dream. They
speak of their former offence with fresh regret:
Forgive the trespass. They throw
themselves at Joseph’s feet, and refer themselves
to his mercy: We are thy servants.
Thus we must bewail the sins we committed
long ago, even those which we hope through
grace are forgiven; and, when we pray to
God for pardon, we must promise to be his
servants.
3. They pleaded their relation to
Jacob and to Jacob’s God.
(1.) To Jacob,
urging that he directed them to make this
submission, rather because he questioned
whether they would do their duty in humbling
themselves than because he questioned whether
Joseph would do his duty in forgiving
them; nor could he reasonably expect Joseph’s
kindness to them unless they thus
qualified themselves for it
(v. 16):
Thy father
did command. Thus, in humbling ourselves
to Christ by faith and repentance, we may
plead that it is the command of his Father,
and our Father, that we do so.
(2.) To
Jacob’s God. They plead
(v. 17),
We are
theservants of the God of thy father; not
only children of the same Jacob, but worshippers
of the same Jehovah. Note,
Though we must be ready to forgive all that
are any way injurious to us, yet we must
especially take heed of bearing malice towards
any that are the servants of the God
of our father: such we should always treat
with a peculiar tenderness; for we and they
have the same Master.
II. Joseph, with a great deal of compassion,
confirms his reconciliation and affection
to them; his compassion appears,
He
wept when they spoke to him. These were
tears of sorrow for their suspicion of him,
and tears of tenderness upon their submission.
In his reply,
1. He directs them to
look up to God in their repentance
(v. 19):
Am I in the place of God? He, in his great
humility, thought they showed him too
much respect, as if all their happiness were
bound up in his favour, and said to them,
in effect, as Peter to Cornelius, “Stand up,
I myself also am a man. Make your peace
with God, and then you will find it an easy
matter to make your peace with me.” Note,
When we ask forgiveness of those whom we
have offended we must take heed of putting
them in the place of God, by dreading their
wrath and soliciting their favour more than
God’s. “Am I in the place of God, to whom
alone vengeance belongs? No, I will leave
you to his mercy.” Those that avenge
themselves step into the place of God,
2. He extenuates their fault, from
the consideration of the great good which
God wonderfully brought out of it, which,
though it should not make them the less
sorry for their sin, yet might make him the
more willing to forgive it
(v. 20):
You
thought evil (to disappoint the dreams), but
God meant it unto good, in order to the fulfilling
of the dreams, and the making of
Joseph a greater blessing to his family than
otherwise he could have been. Note, When
God makes use of men’s agency for the
performance of his counsels, it is common
for him to mean one thing and them another,
even the quite contrary, but God’s
counsel shall stand. See
Again,
God often brings good out of evil, and promotes
the designs of his providence even by
the sins of men; not that he is the author of
sin, far be it from us to think so; but his
infinite wisdom so overrules events, and
directs the chain of them, that, in the issue,
that ends in his praise which in its own nature
had a direct tendency to his dishonour;
as the putting of Christ to death,
This does not make sin the less sinful, nor
sinners the less punishable, but it redounds
greatly to the glory of God’s wisdom.
3. He assures them of the continuance of his
kindness to them: Fear not; I will nourish
you,
v. 21.
See what an excellent spirit
Joseph was of, and learn of him to render
good for evil. He did not tell them they
were upon their good behaviour, and he
would be kind to them if he saw they conducted
themselves well; no, he would not
thus hold them in suspense, nor seem jealous
of them, though they had been suspicious of
him: He comforted them, and, to banish
all their fears, he spoke kindly to them. Note,
Broken spirits must be bound up and encouraged.
Those we love and forgive we
must not only do well for but speak
kindly to.
| The Death of Joseph. | B. C. 1635. |
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22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he,
and his father’s house: and Joseph
lived an hundred and ten years.
23 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.
24 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.
25 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.
26 So Joseph died, being
an hundred and ten years old: and
they embalmed him, and he was put
in a coffin in Egypt.
Here is,
I. The prolonging of Joseph’s
life in Egypt: he lived to be a hundred and
ten years old,
v. 22.
Having honoured his
father, his days were long in the land which,
for the present, God had given him; and it
was a great mercy to his relations that God
continued him so long, a support and comfort
to them.
II. The building up of Joseph’s family:
he lived to see his great-grand-children by
both his sons
(v. 23),
and probably he saw
his two sons solemnly owned as heads of
distinct tribes, equal to any of his brethren.
It contributes much to the comfort of aged
parents if they see their posterity in a flourishing
condition, especially if with it they
see peace upon Israel,
III. The last will and testament of Joseph
published in the presence of his brethren,
when he saw his death approaching. Those
that were properly his brethren perhaps
were some of them dead before him, as
several of them were older than he; but to
those of them who yet survived, and to the
sons of those who were gone, who stood up
in their fathers’ stead, he said this.
1. He
comforted them with the assurance of their
return to Canaan in due time: I die, but
God will surely visit you,
v. 24.
To this
purport Jacob had spoken to him,
Thus must we comfort others with the
same comforts with which we ourselves have
been comforted of God, and encourage them
to rest on those promises which have been
our support. Joseph was, under God, both
the protector and the benefactor of his brethren;
and what would become of them now
that he was dying? Why, let this be their
comfort, God will surely visit you. Note,
God’s gracious visits will serve to make up
the loss of our best friends. They die; but
we may live, and live comfortably, if we
have the favour and presence of God with
us. He bids them be confident: God will
bring you out of this land, and therefore,
(1.) They must not hope to settle there, nor look
upon it as their rest for ever; they must set
their hearts upon the land of promise, and
call that their home.
(2.) They must not
fear sinking, and being ruined there; probably
he foresaw the ill usage they would
meet with there after his death, and therefore
gives them this word of encouragement:
“God will bring you in triumph out of this
land at last.” Herein he has an eye to the
promise,
and, in God’s name,
assures them of the performance of it.
2. For a confession of his own faith, and a
confirmation of theirs, he charges them to keep
him unburied till that day, that glorious day,
should come, when they should be settled in
the land of promise,
He makes them
promise him with an oath that they would
bury him in Canaan. In Egypt they buried
their great men very honourably and with
abundance of pomp; but Joseph prefers a
significant burial in Canaan, and that deferred
too almost 200 years, before a magnificent
one in Egypt. Thus Joseph, by faith
in the doctrine of the resurrection and the
promise of Canaan, gave commandment concerning
his bones,
Heb. xi. 22.
He dies in
Egypt; but lays his bones at stake that God
will surely visit Israel, and bring them to
Canaan.
IV. The death of Joseph, and the reservation
of his body for a burial in Canaan,
He was put in a coffin in Egypt, but
not buried till his children had received their
inheritance in Canaan,
Note,
1. If the separate soul, at death, do but return
to its rest with God, the matter is not
great though the deserted body find not at
all, or not quickly, its rest in the grave.
2. Yet care ought to be taken of the dead bodies
of the saints, in the belief of their resurrection;
for there is a covenant with the dust,
which shall be remembered, and a commandment
is given concerning the bones.
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