Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 46:4
I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up [again]: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
4. I will go down ] The promise of the Divine presence is the assurance of safety and blessing. God is no mere local god of Canaan. He will be with His people, where they are; whether in Mesopotamia (Gen 31:13), in Palestine (Gen 35:3), or in Egypt.
bring thee up again ] i.e. from Egypt back into Canaan. The pronoun “thee” must surely be understood of the people descended from, and personified by, Jacob, and identified with his name. It does not predict his burial in Canaanite land. The words may best be illustrated from Gen 50:24, and not from Gen 50:13. They foretell the Exodus of the Israelites, not the burial of Jacob.
put his hand eyes ] The last tender office performed by the nearest relative. The promise is fulfilled; see Gen 50:1.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I will bring thee up again, though not in thy person, yet in thy body, Gen 47:29-30; 50:5,13; and in thy posterity, which are a part of thyself, or thyself multiplied.
Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes; shall close thy eyes; which office was usually performed by the nearest and dearest relations of the dying party among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Hereby Jacob is assured that he should die in peace, and that Joseph both now was alive, and should survive his father.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. I will also surely bring thee upagainAs Jacob could not expect to live till the former promisewas realized, he must have seen that the latter was to beaccomplished only to his posterity. To himself it was literallyverified in the removal of his remains to Canaan; but, in the largeand liberal sense of the words, it was made good only on theestablishment of Israel in the land of promise.
Joseph shall put his handupon thine eyesshall perform the last office of filial piety;and this implied that he should henceforth enjoy, withoutinterruption, the society of that favorite son.
Ge46:5-27. IMMIGRATION TOEGYPT.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I will go down with thee into Egypt,…. Which was enough to silence all his fears; for if the presence of God went with him to protect and defend hide, to bless and prosper him, and to direct, support, and comfort, he had nothing to fear from any quarter:
and I will also surely bring thee up [again]: Jarchi takes this to be a promise that he should be buried in the land of Canaan, which had its fulfilment, when his corpse was carried out of Egypt to Machpelah, and there interred; but rather this refers to the bringing up of his posterity from thence in due time, for which Jacob might be most solicitous, and so the Targum of Jonathan,
“and I will bring up thy children from thence:”
and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes: and so close them when he was dead; this, as Aben Ezra says, was a custom of the living to the dead, and it used to be done by the nearest relations and friends, though now with us commonly by strangers, or those that are not akin: this was a custom among the Greeks and Romans, as appears from Homer o, Virgil p, Ovid q, and other writers r; and so, among the Jews, Tobias is said to shut the eyes of his wife’s father and mother, and to bury them honourably,
“Where he became old with honour, and he buried his father and mother in law honourably, and he inherited their substance, and his father Tobit’s.” (Tobit 14:13)
Of the Vulgate Latin version: Maimonides s reckons this of closing the eyes of the dead, among the rites used towards them, and so in the Talmud t: now by this expression Jacob was assured that Joseph was alive, and that he should live to see him, and that Joseph would outlive him, and do this last office for him; and, as Ben Melech observes, by this he had the good news told him that Joseph should remain behind him, to sustain and support his sons, and his sons’ sons, all the years that he should live after him.
o Odyss. 11. p Aeneid. l. 9. q Trist. l. 1. Eleg. 2. r Vid. Kirchman, de Funer. Rom. l. 1. c. 6. & Kipping. Rom. Antiqu. l. 4. c. 6. s Hilchot Ebel, l. 4. sect. 1. t T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 151. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4. And Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. This clause was added for the sake of showing greater indulgence. For though Jacob, in desiring that, when he died, his eyes should be closed by the hand of Joseph, showed that some infirmity of the flesh was involved in the wish; yet God is willing to comply with it, for the sake of moderating the grief of a fresh banishment. Moreover, we know that the custom of closing the eyes was of the greatest antiquity; and that this office was discharged by one most closely connected with the deceased either by blood or affection.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.Both among the Jews and Greeks it was the duty of those nearest in blood to close the eyes of a deceased relative. The promise conveyed the assurance that Jacob would die peacefully, surrounded by his friends. For the fulfilment see Gen. 1:1.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. I will go down with thee into Egypt And if God be with us, who can be against us?
And I will also surely bring thee up “Wonderfully worded promise! Personally, he was then bidding those scenes an everlasting farewell; but in the mediatorial nation which was to spring from him, and with which, as heir of God’s covenant, he was identified, he would return again . In this hope, by faith, he was to be glad though he die in Egypt, for it is added immediately, Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes, to close them in death; the last sad duty of love . Ancient writers of other nations frequently make pathetic allusion to this last ministration of affection. (Compare Homer’s Iliad, 11: 453; Odyssey, 11: 426; 24:296; Ovid, Heroides, 1: 102, etc.”) Newhall.
Gen 46:4. I will go down with thee into AEgypt Those who go where God sends them, shall certainly have God with them. And I will also surely bring thee up again.Whatever low and darksome valley we are called into, we may be confident, if God go down with us, he will surely bring us up again to glory.
Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes Shall do the last tender office for thee of closing thine eyes; he shall survive thee; and thou shalt die in peace in his arms. The custom of closing the eyes of persons departed is very ancient; and they were usually the nearest and dearest friends who performed this last office. This descent into AEgypt was in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of Jacob’s life, two hundred and fifteen years after the promise made to Abraham, ch. Gen 12:2-3. and in the year of the world two thousand two hundred and ninety-eight.
REFLECTIONS.We have here Jacob removing to AEgypt, with some singular events in the way.
1st. His solemn sacrifice offered at Beer-sheba. It was a place where his fathers had enjoyed sweet communion with God; and he hoped there to enjoy the pretence of the God of his fathers. With thankfulness thus he acknowledges the past, and particularly his late mercies, and begs the continuance of Jehovah’s blessing on his removal. Note; (1.) We must not neglect to worship God on a journey; as we need then peculiarly his care, we have a new cause to entreat his protection. (2.) Thanks for past mercies are an earnest of greater in store for us.
2nd. God graciously meets him there. Observe, If our communion with God be interrupted, we must lay it at the door of our sloth and negligence. He calls him by his name, with the most gracious condescension, and speaks to him in terms of heart-reviving confidence. He is his Covenant-God, and will take care of him. 1. He silences his fears. Many fears might be expected to attend such a change: fear for himself, an old man, and little able to bear the journey; fear for his family, lest they should be so well pleased with AEgypt as to forget Canaan; or, remembering Abraham’s vision, fearing this land of plenty might become a house of bondage. But one word from God quiets all. Note; If God says, Fear not, we may well be at rest, whatever our difficulties are. 2. He encourages him with promises. His family shall increase; God’s presence shall be with him; and he will surely bring him back again; his bones shall lie in Canaan, his seed return to this land of their possession, and Joseph shall close his dying eyes. Note; (1.) It is an unspeakable comfort to a servant of Jesus going down to the grave to have his promises to preserve him there, and bring him up thence on the resurrection-day. (2.) It is pleasing even in death, when filial piety is at hand to pay the last kind office to the beloved departing parent. It is a wish as natural as innocent, Ille meos oculos comprimat, Let him close my dying eyes.
May we not spiritualize this as a New Testament promise? Doth not JESUS indeed say, fear not to go down into the grave, I will be with thee’ see Mat 22:31-32 ; Rom 14:7-9 ; Isa 43:2 ; Psa 23:4 .
Gen 46:4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up [again]: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
Ver. 4. I will go down with thee. ] That was as good security as could be. For if Caesar could say to the fearful ferryman, in a terrible storm, Be of good cheer, thou carriest Caesar, and therefore canst not miscarry; a how much more may he presume to be safe that hath God in his company! A child in the dark fears nothing while he hath his father by the hand.
And I will also surely bring thee up again.
And Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. a Perge contra tempestatem forti animo: Caesarem fers, et fortunam Caesaris.
b Sic Benedic. IX, Alexander VI, and Leo X. – Bell., De Arte Moriendi , lib. ii. cap. 10.
surely bring thee up. Figure of speech Polyptoton. Compare Gen 15:14.
put his hand, &c. i.e. shall close thine eyes in peace.
will go: Gen 28:15, Gen 48:21, Isa 43:1, Isa 43:2
and I will: Gen 15:14-16, Gen 50:5, Gen 50:13, Gen 50:24, Gen 50:25, Exo 3:8
and Joseph: This last and most solemn office, as Mr. Hewlett observes, that could be paid to a parent, was generally performed by the nearest relation of the deceased. This promise must have given great consolation to the venerable patriarch’s mind. Gen 50:1
Reciprocal: Gen 12:10 – went Gen 32:12 – I will Exo 3:17 – I will bring Num 1:46 – General
FATHER AND SON
Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
Gen 46:4
I. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Nothing in by-gone years would have given Jacob more pleasure than the knowledge that at the end of his sad and weary pilgrimage, Joseph should close his eyes in death. When Rachel was taken from him, he turned naturally to Joseph to perform the last sad offices; but at one time nothing seemed more unlikely than that this would be the case; yet now the impossible had suddenly become possible, and Joseph was to receive his last instructions (Gen 47:29).
II. It is pleasant to think that God takes delight in gratifying the innocent and natural wishes of His saints, where it is possible. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and surely the last ones. He who loved to receive at Marys hands the anointing for His burying, will see that the body which has served Him, and been His temple, shall be rightly honoured. I like to believe that Gods love-idylls end joyfully; that those who have loved find each other, and enclasp in an embrace that can never be unloosed; that days of weeping clear towards evensong, and that Josephs put their hands upon our eyes. But even if that cannot be, our risen Lord will stand beside us then.
Thou shalt see,
Steadfastly gazing towards eternity,
The heavens opened, and at Gods right hand,
With the same smile as once, thy Master stand;
Nor only so, but come down from His place,
And stand beside thee, and His arms embrace,
Nor ever let thy hand go, holding fast,
Till all the tyranny be overpast.
Illustration
It is very good that an old mans years, last years, should be illumined by messages and tokens of love from his children and his grandchildren, that he should enter when he is past seventy into the pleasant stir of new lives and new friends, into a world of wider interests. Those, I imagine, are the lives that best deserve to be called happy, those lives in which all that has been given in the anxious days comes back tenfold in the days of peace, and where the end is a golden sunset.
Gen 46:4. I will go down with thee into Egypt Those that go where God sends them shall certainly have God with them. And I will surely bring thee up again Though Jacob died in Egypt, yet this promise was fulfilled. 1st, In the bringing up of his body to be buried in Canaan. 2d, In the bringing up of his seed to be settled in Canaan. Whatever low and darksome valley we are called into, we may be confident, if God go down with us, he will surely bring us up again. If he go with us down to death, he will surely bring us up again to glory. And Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes This is a promise that Joseph should live as long as he lived, that he should be with him at his death, and close his eyes with all possible tenderness. Probably Jacob, in the multitude of his thoughts within him, had been wishing that Joseph might do this last office of love for him; and God thus answered him in the letter of his desire. Thus God sometimes gratifies the innocent wishes of his people, and makes not only their death happy, but the very circumstances of it agreeable.
46:4 I will {b} go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely {c} bring thee up [again]: and Joseph shall {d} put his hand upon thine eyes.
(b) Conducting you by my power.
(c) In your posterity.
(d) Shall shut your eyes when you die: which belongs to him that was most dear or chief of the kindred.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes