Jacob Summons Joseph — Genesis 47
- After seventeen years in Egypt, Jacob calls Joseph to him and asks him to promise not to bury him in Egypt but to take him to where his fathers are buried in Canaan. Joseph swears to him that he will do that.
Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh – Genesis 48
- Joseph is told that Jacob is ill. He takes his sons Manasseh and Ephraim to him.
- Jacob claims Joseph's two sons as his own (as much as Reuben and Simeon are his own—by blessing Joseph's two sons on the same level as his own sons, Jacob gives Joseph the double share). Since Jacob's vision is failing, Joseph brings the sons near and Jacob embraces and kisses them. He points out that the never expected to see Joseph again, but God has let him see Joseph and his sons.
- Jacob places his right hand on Ephraim's head and his left on Manasseh's hand to bless them, and Joseph tells Jacob that Manasseh is older and tries to move his right hand to Manasseh's head. Jacob responds that both brothers will be great, but Ephraim, though younger, will be greater than Manasseh.
- Jacob tells Joseph he is about to die, that God will be with Joseph, and that God will bring him back to the land of his fathers. Jacob gives him a mountain slope that he took from the Amorites (this promise would be fulfilled when the Israelites returned to Canaan to possess the land God had given them).
Jacob Blesses His Sons – Genesis 49
- Jacob calls his sons together. He tells Reuben he will not have preeminence because he defiled his father's bed (by sleeping with Bilhah). He also reminds Simeon and Levi of their excessive vengeance for their sister Dinah's rape; because of their actions (including an outrage against the ritual of circumcision), their descendants would be scattered. Jacob praises Judah for his selfless actions to save his brother Benjamin, even after his mistreating of Tamar. Zebulun is given precedence over his brother Issachar, who will endure slavery after a time of plenty. Jacob says that "Dan will judge," Gad will endure hardship but ultimate victory is promised, and Asher and Naphtali promised are happiness, hope, and joy. Joseph is spoken highly of and the promises to him are great. He uses the word "Nazirites" (later, both Joseph and the Nazirites were separated from the others in order to serve God's holy purposes). Benjamin is ominously described as a wolf. While Jacob's prophecies about the destiny of some of the tribes are obscure, he declares blessings on Judah and Joseph.
Jacob's Death and Burial
- The twelve tribes of Israel are established. Jacob then tells his sons to bury him with his fathers in the cave of Ephron the Hittite at Machpelah in Canaan. When he finishes, he breathes his last breath.
- Joseph commands Pharaoh's physicians to embalm Jacob (embalming was common for high-ranking Egyptians). The Egyptians weep for Jacob for seventy days.
- When the time of mourning is finished, Joseph goes to Pharaoh to ask to bury Jacob in Canaan. Pharaoh agrees, and all of Egypt's elders and all of Jacob's household leave for Canaan with Jacob's body. At the threshing floor of Atad, beyond Jordan, they mourn for seven days.
- Jacob is buried in the cave in the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite.
- Joseph's family and the Egyptian elders return to Egypt.
God's Good Purposes – Genesis 50
- After Jacob's death, Joseph's brothers fear that Joseph will hate them and repay their evil to him (for their selling him to the Midianites). They send a message to Joseph asking forgiveness and telling him that they are his servants.
- Joseph tells them not to fear because while they meant evil against him, God meant it for good. He promises to care for them and their children.
The death of Joseph
- At the age of 110 years, Joseph tells his brothers that he is about to die but that God will visit them and bring them up to the land he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has them swear to take his body from Egypt, and when he dies, he body is embalmed and put in a coffin in Egypt.
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