Genesis 50

## Summary Genesis 50 narrates Jacob's mourning and burial in Canaan, the reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers after their father's death, and closes with Joseph's own death and instructions regarding his bones. The chapter moves from funerary ritual to interpersonal resolution to Joseph's final prophetic word about the exodus. ## Key words - *va-yipol* ("and he fell", H5307G) — narrative *vav* + qal verb; opens the chapter with Joseph's physical collapse onto his father's face, a gesture of grief. - *chanot* / *va-yachantu* ("to embalm" / "they embalmed", H2590A) — qal infinitive and narrative verb describing the Egyptian mortuary practice performed on Jacob's body by physicians. - *va-yomeru... lu yistemenu* ("and they said, 'if only he will hate us'", H0559/H7852) — the brothers' qal imperfect verb *yistemenu* expresses their fear as a hypothetical future action after Jacob's death. - *ha-tachat Elohim ani* ("am I in place of God?", H0430G) — Joseph's rhetorical question uses the interrogative particle *ha* with the noun *tachat* ("in place of"), rejecting the role of judge over his brothers. - *pakod yifkod* ("he will surely visit/attend", H6485I) — qal infinitive absolute + imperfect construction, doubling the verb root for emphasis, used twice (v.24–25) regarding God's future action toward Israel. ## What the text says The chapter's grammar marks a shift in tone through verb forms. Verses 1–14 use a chain of narrative (*vayyiqtol*) verbs — *vayyipol*, *vayyevk*, *vayyishak* — describing sequential ritual actions: falling, weeping, kissing, embalming, mourning. The forty and seventy day counts (v.3) are marked with the particle *ki ken* ("for thus"), explaining Egyptian custom rather than divine law. Joseph's request to Pharaoh (v.4–5) is framed with polite formulas — *'im-na'* ("if now") and *na'* ("please") appearing three times — softening the imperative *dabru-na'* ("speak, please"). The brothers' fear in verse 15 is expressed through the particle *lu* ("if only," a wish/fear marker) followed by the imperfect *yistemenu*, indicating an anticipated, not yet realized, action. Joseph's response in verses 19–21 uses two rhetorical/theological turns: the interrogative *ha-tachat Elohim ani* ("am I in place of God?") denies him the authority to punish, and the contrast *'atem chashavtem... Elohim chashavah* ("you planned... God planned") sets two subjects against the same verb *chashav* ("to plan/think") with opposite objects — *ra'ah* ("harm", H7451I) versus *tovah* ("good", H2896C). Verses 24–25 use the infinitive absolute construction *pakod yifkod* ("he will surely visit") twice, an emphatic doubling of the root H6485I that intensifies certainty about a future divine action, tied to the oath sworn to *Avraham*, *Yitzchak*, and *Ya'akov*. ## Differences between versions In verse 3, the LXX renders the Hebrew "the days of *hachanutim*" (embalming, H2590B) as "the days of *taphes*" (burial/entombment), a different but related concept. In verse 11, the Hebrew place name *Avel Mitzrayim* ("mourning of Egypt", H0067) is transliterated differently across versions; the LXX and Vulgate both interpret it as "Mourning of Egypt" (πένθος Αἰγύπτου / Planctus Ægypti), while the Hebrew wordplay with *'eival* ("mourning") is less explicit in translation. In verse 23, the Vulgate inserts material about Joseph's later words to his brothers not present in the Hebrew or LXX at that point, apparently anticipating verse 24's content.