MPV Commentary

1. Joseph fell on his father's face and wept over him, as was fitting for the head of the family (compare Genesis 46:4). He closed Jacob's eyes and kissed him goodbye.

2. Joseph instructed his servants, who were skilled in embalming, to prepare his father's body according to the Egyptian custom. This involved removing the internal organs, treating the body with resinous substances, and applying heat to dry out the fluids and break down the tarry materials that had been introduced. The process took thirty days, followed by forty more days of anointing the body with spices. The body was then wrapped in linen cloth, secured with gum, and placed in a wooden chest shaped like a human figure.

3. The Egyptians observed a period of public mourning, as they would for a royal personage.

4-5. Joseph informed Pharaoh's household about his father's death and the family's intention to bury him in Canaan, as per their ancestral custom. He also requested permission to take leave from his duties, explaining that he was unfit to appear before Pharaoh due to his grief. This request was made through intermediaries.

7-9. Joseph traveled to Canaan with a large entourage of nobles and military personnel, covering a distance of approximately three hundred miles. The funeral procession would have been an impressive sight.

10. They arrived at the threshing floor of Atad, which is believed to be the plain of thorn bushes on the border between Egypt and Canaan. The Egyptians stopped here for a time, while Jacob's family continued on to their ancestral burial site.

15-21. When Joseph's brothers realized that their father was dead, they feared that he would hold it against them. However, Joseph reassured them of his forgiveness, demonstrating his own piety and foreshadowing the character of Jesus Christ.

22-23. After Jacob's death, Joseph lived in Egypt for eighty years, witnessing the kingdom's prosperity grow along with his own family and descendants – a precursor to the early church.

24. Before he died, Joseph told his brothers that they should take his bones back to Canaan when they left Egypt. This was an expression of his faith in God's promises and a testament to his confidence in the future.

26. The Egyptians embalmed Joseph's body according to their custom (see Genesis 50:2). His funeral would have been conducted with great pomp, and his mummified remains were carefully preserved until the Israelites left Egypt during the Exodus.