Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 50:4
And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke 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,
4. unto the house of Pharaoh ] Joseph does not speak to Pharaoh personally, but to the court officials. As a mourner, he is unclean and would not be permitted to approach Pharaoh.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 4. Speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh.] But why did not Joseph apply himself? Because he was now in his mourning habits, and in such none must appear in the presence of the eastern monarchs. See Es 4:2.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The house of Pharaoh; the household or family, namely, those of them which were chief in place and favour with the king. Joseph makes use of their intercession, either,
1. Lest he might seem to despise them, or to presume too much upon his own single interest. Or,
2. By engaging them in this matter to stop their mouths, who otherwise might have been ready enough to censure this action, which they would have a fair opportunity to do in Josephs absence. Or,
3. Because it was the custom here, as it was elsewhere, Est 4:2, that persons in mourning habit might not come into the kings presence, partly because they would not give them any occasion of sadness, and partly because, according to their superstitions conceits, the sight of such a person was judged ominous.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4, 5. Joseph spake unto the house ofPharaoh, c.Care was taken to let it be known that the familysepulchre was provided before leaving Canaan and that an oath boundhis family to convey the remains thither. Besides, Joseph deemed itright to apply for a special leave of absence and being unfit, as amourner, to appear in the royal presence, he made the request throughthe medium of others.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when the days of his mourning were past,…. The forty days before mentioned, in which both the Egyptians and Jacob’s family mourned for him. An Arabic writer g says, the Egyptians mourned for Jacob forty days, which was the time of embalming; but the text is express for sventy days:
Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh; to the court of Pharaoh, the principal men there; so the Targum of Jonathan and the Septuagint version, to the great men or princes of the house of Pharaoh: it may seem strange that Joseph, being next to Pharaoh in the administration of the government, should make use of any to speak for him to Pharaoh on the following account. It may be, that Joseph was not in so high an office, and in so much power and authority, as in the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine; and it is certain that that branch of his office, respecting the corn, must have ceased; or this might have been a piece of policy in Joseph to make these men his friends by such obliging treatment, and by this means prevent their making objections to his suit, or plotting against him in his absence; or if it was the custom in Egypt, as it afterwards was in Persia, that no man might appear before the king in a mourning habit, Es 4:2 this might be the reason of his not making application in person: moreover, it might not seem so decent for him to come to court, and leave the dead, and his father’s family, in such circumstances as they were: besides, he might speak to them not in person, but by a messenger, since it is highly probable he was now in Goshen, at a distance from Pharaoh’s court; unless it can be supposed that these were some of Pharaoh’s courtiers who were come to him in Goshen, to condole his father’s death:
saying, if now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh; however, as these men had the ear of Pharaoh, and an interest in him, Joseph entreats the favour of them to move it to him:
saying, as follows, in his name.
g Elmacinus, p. 43. apud Hottinger. Smegma, c. 8. p. 380.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
At the end of this period of mourning, Joseph requested “the house of Pharaoh,” i.e., the attendants upon the king, to obtain Pharaoh’s permission for him to go to Canaan and bury his father, according to his last will, in the cave prepared by him there. (Gen 50:5) signifies “to dig” (used, as in 2Ch 16:14, for the preparation of a tomb), not “to buy,” In the expression Jacob attributes to himself as patriarch what had really been done by Abraham (Gen 24). Joseph required the royal permission, because he wished to go beyond the border with his family and a large procession. But he did not apply directly to Pharaoh, because his deep mourning (unshaven and unadorned) prevented him from appearing in the presence of the king.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
4. Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh. A brief narration is here inserted of the permission obtained for Joseph, that, with the goodwill and leave of the king, he might convey his father’s remains to the sepulcher of the double cave. Now, though he himself enjoyed no common decree of favor, he yet makes use of the courtiers as his intercessors. Why did he act thus, unless on the ground that the affair was in itself odious to the people? For nothing (as we have said before) was less tolerable to the Egyptians, than that their land, of the sanctity of which they made their especial boast, should be despised. Therefore Joseph, in order to transfer the offense from himself to another, pleads necessity: as if he would say, that the burying of his father was not left to his own choice, because Jacob had laid him under obligation as to the mode of doing it, by the imposition of an oath. Wherefore, we see that he was oppressed by servile fear, so that he did not dare frankly and boldly to profess his own faith; since he is compelled to act a part, in order to transfer to the deceased whatever odium might attend the transaction. Now, whereas a more simple and upright confession of faith is required of the sons of God, let none of us seek refuge under such pretexts: but rather let us learn to ask of the Lord the spirit of fortitude and constancy which shall direct us to bear our testimony to true religion. Yet if men allow us the free profession of religion, let us give thanks for it. Now, seeing that Joseph did not dare to move his foot, except by permission of the king, we infer hence, that he was bound by his splendid fortune, as by golden fetters. And truly, such is the condition of all who are advanced to honor and favor in royal courts; so that there is nothing better for men of sane mind, than to be content with a private condition. Joseph also mitigates the offense which he feared he was giving, by another circumstance, when he says, that the desire to be buried in the land of Canaan was not one which had recently entered into his father’s mind, because he had dug his grave there long before; whence it follows that he had not been induced to do so by any disgust taken against the land of Egypt.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh.It may seem at first sight strange that Joseph should make his request through mediators, but probably no one in the attire of mourning might enter the royal presence. (Comp. Est. 4:2.) The dress of a mourner was squalid, his beard unshorn, his hair in disorder, and while these outward signs of grief were maintained, he was also expected to confine himself to his own house.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh He communicated with Pharaoh by means of his servants, or messengers, as it would have been contrary to Egyptian customs for him to have gone in mourning attire into the presence of the king . During the days of mourning for a relative the Egyptians allowed the hair and beard to grow long, ( Herod . , 2: 36,) and no man might enter the king’s presence unshaven . Comp . Gen 41:14; Est 4:2.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gen 50:4. Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh Affliction and decorum forbidding Joseph to appear at court during the days of mourning; see Est 4:1-2. he addresses himself to the great officers of Pharaoh, to inform the king of the death and last request of Jacob, concerning his burial. Those in a state of mourning were looked upon as in a state of defilement; and no one durst appear before the eastern kings in a mourning habit. Every thing which contributes to put the great men of the world in mind of death, is odious, says Saurin; and the princes of the East carried this nicety to the utmost excess.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Est 4:2 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 50:4 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,
Ver. 4. Speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh. ]. He spake not to the king himself, but set others to work. Not because he was fallen out of favour, for he had the happiness to be favourite to five kings, a Onus, Amasis, Chebron, Amenophes, and Mephiris, in the eleventh year of whose reign he died, – but because he was now a mourner; and such were not wont to come before kings, Est 4:2 though none but such as mourn are suffered to come before God. Mat 5:4
a Pareus.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 50:4-6
4When the days of mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak to Pharaoh, saying, 5’My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am about to die; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.'” 6Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”
Gen 50:4 “favor in your sight” This is an idiom of approval (cf. Gen 18:3; Gen 47:29; Exo 33:13). This idiom is always used of an inferior asking a superior (i.e., Rth 2:13). Here Joseph is showing respect for Pharaoh.
Gen 50:5-6 In Gen 50:5 Joseph shares his oath (BDB 989, KB 1396, two Hiphil PERFECTS, Gen 50:5-6) to his father, Jacob (#1,2) and a promise to return (#3).
1. go up, BDB 748, KB 828, Qal IMPERFECT used in a COHORTATIVE sense
2. bury me, BDB 868, KB 1064, Qal COHORTATIVE
3. I will return, BDB 996, KB 1427, Qal COHORTATIVE
In Gen 50:6 Pharaoh responds to his request related to his oath.
1. go up, Qal IMPERATIVE
2. bury, Qal IMPERATIVE
Gen 50:5 “dug” The rabbinical Midrash (Peshitta and REV) replaces this term with “bought” (cf. Gen 23:17-20; Gen 47:27-31; Gen 49:29-32). The two Hebrew roots are the same
1. dig, BDB 500 I, cf. Gen 26:25; Num 21:18
2. buy, BDB 500 II, cf. Deu 2:6
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Joseph spake. He could not speak before, for, in mourning, Egyptians never shaved, and Joseph, therefore, was not presentable. See on Gen 41:14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jacob Mourned and Buried
Gen 50:4-14
The days of mourning for Jacob were only two less in number than for a king. Three hundred miles were traversed by that splendid funeral cavalcade, which included not only the family of Israel, but the magnates of Egypt. The words, beyond Jordan (Gen 50:10), indicate that this book was finished on the further side of Jordan, where Moses afterward died.
The evident grief with which the precious remains were laid beside the great dead, reminds us that when God wills to do honor to any servant of His, He can secure it in remarkable ways-and ways which are entirely independent of human methods and reasoning. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. At birth He cared for your helpless body; when you die He will see to its sepulcher. The bones of the saints hold the earth for the ultimate reign of Christ!
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
the days: Gen 50:10
Joseph: Est 4:2
found grace: Gen 18:3
Reciprocal: Gen 27:41 – The days Gen 33:10 – if now
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 50:4-5. Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh Either it was not customary for mourners to enter the royal presence, or Joseph wished to make his request to the king with all possible humility and respect. He therefore made application to Pharaoh, not directly, but through the intervention of some of his courtiers. Let me go up, I pray thee It was a piece of necessary respect to Pharaoh, that he would not go without leave; for we may suppose, though his charge about the corn was long since over, yet he continued a prime minister of state, and therefore would not be so long absent from his business without license.