🌱WEB · Genesis 50:14
What does Genesis 50:14 mean?
"Joseph returned into Egypt—he, and his brothers, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father."
— Genesis 50:14 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.
His sons did to him just as he commanded them,
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, as a possession for a burial site, from Ephron the Hittite, near Mamre.
Joseph returned into Egypt—he, and his brothers, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.”
They sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded before he died, saying,
‘You shall tell Joseph, “Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
Explanation
Genesis 50:14 simply reports a homecoming: after burying his father Jacob in the land of Canaan, Joseph, his brothers, and the large company that had traveled with them all went back to Egypt. It is a quiet transitional verse, closing out the account of Jacob's funeral and setting the stage for the final events of the book of Genesis, including Joseph's reassurance to his brothers and his own death.
The context is essential to understanding the verse's weight. Genesis is traditionally attributed to Moses, compiling the patriarchal narratives for the people of Israel as they prepared to leave Egypt centuries later. Jacob, near death, had asked Joseph to bury him not in Egypt but in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebekah were already buried. Joseph honored this request with great solemnity: he had his father embalmed, and Pharaoh permitted an extraordinary procession — Joseph, his brothers, Egyptian officials, chariots, and horsemen — to travel to Canaan for the burial. Verse 14 marks the end of that journey, as the entire company, mission accomplished, returns to Egypt where they were still living as a family under Jo
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