Welcome to my Hebrew reading & language series.
Genesis 50:1-5
We saw the death of Israel last week. Many are hoping for the death of Israel in the news and on the world stage today but it already happened long ago. What they don't realize is that his children live on and they are a nation these days and Israel, the nation, will never die. We completed chapter 49 last week and now, we are dealing with the death and burial of the man Israel as we open the last chapter of Genesis.
We this last chapter of Genesis with Joseph grieving his father's death. He commanded his servants to embalm his father, which causes a lot of talk on line about how embalming is not allowed by Hebrew culture. I will not be getting into that discussion here on my blog.
After the forty day mourning period (for the Hebrews) and the seventy day grieving period (for the Egyptians) had been fulfilled, Joseph went to Pharaoh and asked if he could travel to the place of his father's grave. "Then I will return." he said to Pharaoh. . . and we will find out what the ruler has to say about that next week.
It does seem to me that there is a foreshadowing of the conversation that Moshe (Moses) will have with Pharaoh several centuries later when he had asked to go worship in the wilderness (desert) for some time with a promised return time. Food for thought.
Today's reading
English
Then Joseph fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him for seventy days.
And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favour in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, My father made me swear, saying, ‘I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.’ Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.”
Hebrew
The story continues next week as Pharaoh answers...
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