Commentary - Genesis 50:22-26

Bird's-eye view

The book of Genesis, which began with the creation of the heavens and the earth, ends with a coffin in Egypt. But this is not a conclusion of despair; it is a profound statement of faith. Joseph, a man who lived a life of extraordinary providential blessing and power, dies clinging not to the glories of Egypt but to the promise of God made to his fathers. This passage serves as the final bridge between the age of the patriarchs and the future deliverance of the Exodus. Joseph’s last words and his final command regarding his bones are a powerful sermon, preached to generations of Israelites who would live and die in Egypt. He anchors their hope, and his own, in the sworn oath of God. His death is not the end of the story but a seed of faith planted in Egyptian soil, awaiting the day of its promised transfer to the land of Canaan.

The entire scene is a testament to a faith that sees beyond the immediate horizon. Joseph lived a long and fruitful life, a clear sign of God's favor. Yet, he never mistook the temporary comforts of Egypt for the permanent inheritance of the covenant. His final act is to ensure that his descendants do not make that mistake either. By making them swear an oath to carry his bones to Canaan, he is teaching them, and us, that the people of God live and die by the promises of God, not by the circumstances of the world.

Outline

Context In Genesis

This short section is the final paragraph of the final chapter of the book of Genesis. It is the capstone to the entire patriarchal narrative. The book began with God's perfect creation, moved through the fall, the flood, and the call of Abraham. The central theme has been God's covenant promise to Abraham: the promise of a great name, a great nation, and a land. The story of Joseph, which dominates the last section of Genesis, shows how God providentially protected and preserved the seed of that nation through famine. Now, as the book closes, the family of Jacob is safe and multiplying in Egypt. The immediate crisis is over. But the final promise, the land, remains unfulfilled. This passage ensures that the readers, and the nation of Israel, do not forget that ultimate promise. It leaves Israel in a state of faithful waiting, with Joseph's coffin serving as a tangible, silent reminder of where their true home is.

Key Issues

A Coffin Full of Promise

It is a remarkable thing how the book of beginnings concludes. Not with a king on a throne, not with a nation in its land, but with a dead man in a box. And yet, this is one of the most hope-filled endings in all of literature. The reason is that the coffin is not the point; the promise is. Joseph’s death is the setting for one of the Bible's great declarations of faith. He had lived as a prince of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He had wealth, power, and the respect of a great empire. But his identity was not rooted in his Egyptian success; it was rooted in the covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His final act was to turn his family’s eyes away from the grandeur of Goshen and toward the dusty hills of Canaan, a land they did not possess but which God had sworn to give them. This is what faith does. It values the sworn word of God over all the visible treasures of the world.

Verse by Verse Commentary

22 Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived 110 years.

Joseph’s long life is a sign of God’s blessing, a fulfillment of the promise of a long life for the righteous. He lived out his days in the land that had once been his prison and had become his platform. He remained there, faithfully stewarding his responsibilities, along with his entire family. But the text makes it clear that he "stayed" in Egypt; he did not "belong" to Egypt. He was a sojourner, an exile, even at the height of his power. His life was a testament to God's providence, but his death would be a testament to his faith in God's promise.

23 And Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph’s knees.

This is the tangible evidence of God’s faithfulness. The promise to Abraham was that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, and here Joseph sees it beginning to happen with his own eyes. He sees his great-grandchildren. The phrase "born on Joseph's knees" is a beautiful picture of patriarchal acceptance and blessing. It signifies that these children were formally recognized and adopted into the covenant family. God was keeping His word. The family was growing, multiplying just as God had said. This visible, tangible blessing of children served to fuel Joseph's faith in the invisible, as-yet-unfulfilled promise of the land.

24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

Here is the heart of the passage. On his deathbed, Joseph’s concern is not for his own legacy in Egypt but for the covenantal future of his people. His first word is "I am about to die," acknowledging his own mortality. His second thought is "but God." This is the pivot of all true faith. My circumstances are temporary, my life is ending, but God is faithful. He uses the strongest possible language: "God will surely take care of you." The Hebrew is emphatic, a visit of visitation. God will not forget you. He will intervene. And the goal of that intervention is to bring them up from Egypt and into the land which God did not merely promise, but which He swore by an oath to the patriarchs. Joseph’s confidence is not in his people's ability, but in the character of the God who makes and keeps oaths.

25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.”

Faith is not a passive sentiment; it takes action. Joseph does not just express a pious hope; he binds his descendants to that hope with an oath. An oath is a solemn, sacred act. He makes the "sons of Israel," the entire covenant community, swear. He is securing a promise from the next generation. And what is the substance of the oath? That when God fulfills His promise of deliverance, they must not leave Joseph behind. His bones must go with them. Why? Because these bones were to be a perpetual, physical sermon. For the next four centuries, that coffin in Egypt would be a silent witness. It would say to every generation of Israelites, "Egypt is not your home. You are destined for another place. Do not get comfortable here. We are waiting for a resurrection."

26 So Joseph died at the age of 110 years; and they embalmed him, and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

The conclusion is stark and powerful. Joseph dies. As a man of his station, he is given an Egyptian burial custom: embalming. This was a process designed to preserve the body for the afterlife. But while the method was Egyptian, the meaning was entirely Hebraic. He was not placed in a grand pyramid to secure his place in the Egyptian pantheon. He was placed in a simple coffin, a box. And the final two words of the book of Genesis are crucial: in Egypt. The great patriarch, the savior of his family, ends up in a coffin, in exile. This is not a tragedy. It is the very picture of faith. As the author of Hebrews tells us, "By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones" (Heb. 11:22). His coffin was a vessel of hope, waiting for the day of redemption.

Application

The final scene of Genesis has profound application for every Christian. Like Joseph, we live as exiles in a foreign land. This world, with all its attractions and comforts, is our Egypt. It is not our home. We are citizens of a heavenly country, looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. Joseph’s faith challenges us to ask where our ultimate loyalties lie. Do we live for the treasures of Egypt or for the promise of the new Jerusalem?

Joseph’s charge concerning his bones teaches us how we ought to die. The death of a saint should be a final testimony to the faithfulness of God. It should be forward-looking, filled with the certain hope of the resurrection. We know, as Joseph knew, that this world is not the end. God has sworn by an oath, sealed not by the blood of animals but by the blood of His own Son, that He will raise us up. Our bodies, like Joseph’s, will one day be laid to rest, but they are laid to rest in hope, awaiting the great Exodus on the last day when Christ returns.

Finally, we must be people who bind the next generation to the promises of God. Joseph took an oath from his sons. We have a responsibility to teach our children and grandchildren that they are part of a covenant story that is heading toward a glorious conclusion. We must teach them not to love the world, but to set their hearts on the promised inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, that is reserved in heaven for us. Like Joseph, we must live and die by the promise, confident that what God has sworn, He will surely perform.