501 And Joseph falleth on his father's face, and weepeth over him, and kisseth him; 2 and Joseph commandeth his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father, and the physicians embalm Israel; 3 and they fulfil for him forty days, for so they fulfil the days of the embalmed, and the Egyptians weep for him seventy days. 4 And the days of his weeping pass away, and Joseph speaketh unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, 'If, I pray you, I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 My father caused me to swear, saying, Lo, I am dying; in my burying-place which I have prepared for myself in the land of Canaan, there dost thou bury me; and now, let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and return;' 6 and Pharaoh saith, 'Go up and bury thy father, as he caused thee to swear.'
7 And Joseph goeth up to bury his father, and go up with him do all the servants of Pharaoh, elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and the house of his father; only their infants, and their flock, and their herd, have they left in the land of Goshen; 9 and there go up with him both chariot and horsemen, and the camp is very great. 10 And they come unto the threshing-floor of Atad, which 'is' beyond the Jordan, and they lament there, a lamentation great and very grievous; and he maketh for his father a mourning seven days, 11 and the inhabitant of the land, the Canaanite, see the mourning in the threshing-floor of Atad, and say, 'A grievous mourning 'is' this to the Egyptians;' therefore hath 'one' called its name 'The mourning of the Egyptians,' which 'is' beyond the Jordan. 12 And his sons do to him so as he commanded them, 13 and his sons bear him away to the land of Canaan, and bury him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burying-place, from Ephron the Hittite, on the front of Mamre. 14 And Joseph turneth back to Egypt, he and his brethren, and all who are going up with him to bury his father, after his burying his father.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 50:1-14
Commentary on Genesis 50:1-6
(Read Genesis 50:1-6)
Though pious relatives and friends have lived to a good old age, and we are confident they are gone to glory, yet we may regret our own loss, and pay respect to their memory by lamenting them. Grace does not destroy, but it purifies, moderates, and regulates natural affection. The departed soul is out of the reach of any tokens of our affection; but it is proper to show respect to the body, of which we look for a glorious and joyful resurrection, whatever may become of its remains in this world. Thus Joseph showed his faith in God, and love to his father. He ordered the body to be embalmed, or wrapped up with spices, to preserve it. See how vile our bodies are, when the soul has forsaken them; they will in a very little time become noisome, and offensive.
Commentary on Genesis 50:7-14
(Read Genesis 50:7-14)
Jacob's body was attended, not only by his own family, but by the great men of Egypt. Now that they were better acquainted with the Hebrews, they began to respect them. Professors of religion should endeavour by wisdom and love to remove the prejudices many have against them. Standers-by took notice of it as a grievous mourning. The death of good men is a loss to any place, and ought to be greatly lamented.