Death of Jacob

Genesis 50:1-14

“And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel. And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.” (Genesis 50:1-3)

People’s choice of body disposal have a lot to do with their beliefs. One family wanted a sealed concrete vault and steel casket so God wouldn’t be able to get the body out on judgment day! I could get them out myself! Others want to be cremated so God won’t be able to find their ashes, or so they won’t tie up valuable land. A Mormon lady refused to be buried in the local cemetery because it isn’t well cared for and she didn’t want to spend eternity in such a place. As many Mormons believe a woman has to be resurrected by her husband, apparently she doubted her husband’s desire to be married to her for “time and eternity.”

In Genesis 3:19 God said, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” The embalming process, whether the Egyptian one that took forty days, or the modern methods that require just a couple of hours, is designed to slow or prevent the decay and return to dust. Like some today, the Egyptians believed that if the body was destroyed, it couldn’t be resurrected. They practiced embalming so they would have an after life.

Living among the Egyptians, Joseph found it necessary to go along with many of their customs to keep from offending them, even though he knew it made no difference to God. He can open the concrete vault, or reconstitute the cremated or decayed body with no difficulty. However Jacob had insisted on being buried in the Cave of Machpelah, and it would be far more pleasant to transport a body that was not rotting away. Embalming was originally started in the United States to enable delaying the funeral for a few days to allow mourners to come for the funeral without others having to deal with the stench of decay. Refrigeration makes the practice unnecessary today, but the laws have not been changed.

After embalming, the Egyptians maintained a seventy day viewing period before burying the body to give people time to grieve. Few people today realize how important the grieving period is to mental health. Many today try to skip it by avoiding funerals, and leave themselves unable to adjust for years, while others focus on the grief to such a degree they never accept the persons death. Both are emotionally harmful.

“And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.

And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.

And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company. And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.” (Genesis 50:4-10)

Pharaoh was happy to allow Joseph to fulfill his father’s death wish. And the entire family, except the children made the trip, leaving their belongings and cattle behind. The Egyptians also sent a contingent with him, and seven more days of mourning were observed.

“And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.” (Genesis 50:11)

Jacob had only been gone seventeen years and many Canaanites still remembered him.
They placed far less emphasis on funerals, and they were impressed by the effort of the Egyptians. Obviously he had become an important figure to the Egyptians.

“And his sons did unto him according 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 for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.” (Genesis 50:12-13)

Once all the mourning was completed, Jacob was buried by his family and they left with a sense of completion. The modern custom of leaving the cemetery before the grave is filled leaves many with a sense of not being finished. Once it was finished, they all returned to Egypt.

“And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.” (Genesis 50:14)