Genesis 50

Genesis 50:3

Augustine of Hippo: OVER THE FORTY DAYS DEVOTED TO BURIAL. — The forty days spent in the tomb, which Scripture recalls, may mean something relative to the penance through which sins are buried. For this reason, the forty days of fasting that Moses (Cf. Exodus 34:28), Elijah (Cf. 1Kgs. 19:8), and Our Lord Himself (Cf. Mt. 4:2), lasted forty days, And the Church calls Lent to the special observance of fasting. Even the translation of the Hebrew of the prophet Jonah thus says of the Ninevites: “Forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed (Jon. 3:4).” In this way we understand that during those days, certainly accommodated to the humiliation of the penitents, the Ninevites wept their sins in the midst of the fasts and attained the mercy of God. But we must not believe that this number only suits the crying of the penitents, because in this case the Lord would not have spent forty days with his disciples after the resurrection, going in and out, eating and drinking with them. And these days, of course, were for joy. And it is not necessary to think either that the version of the Septuagint, which the Church uses in her reading, is wrong, not saying: forty days, but three days, and Nineveh will be destroyed. Adorned, indeed, these Seventy men of an authority greater than the simple office of translators, possessed the prophetic spirit. That is why their versions were as close to each other as if they had spoken with one mouth. And this was a great miracle. Well, these men put three days, but they did not ignore that the Hebrew codices said forty days. And this they did so that it be understood that sins are blotted out and disappear in the glorification of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it was said: “He who was delivered for our sins and rose again for our justification (Rom. 4:25).” Well, the glorification of the Lord is known in his resurrection and ascension to the heavens. That is why he gave twice the Holy Spirit, although he is one and the same. The first time, after the resurrection. The second, after the ascent to the heavens. And since he rose again on the third day, and ascended to heaven after forty days, one of these two things, which happened in the second place, signifies the Hebrew codices with the number of days. The other thing, which refers to the three days, which relates to the same subject, the Seventy wanted to remember, not by the literalness of translation, but by the authority of prophecy. Let us not say, then, that one of these two things is false and we fought to defend some translators against others, since those who translate from Hebrew show us that what they translate is written. And the authority of the Septuagint, who recommends even divine authority with such a remarkable miracle, is supported in the churches by a very great antiquity. [ — QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 168 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

Genesis 50:5

Augustine of Hippo: ON THE TOMB OF JACOB. — We can ask how it is true what Joseph commanded the Egyptian dignitaries to tell Pharaoh of his part: “My father took an oath to me, saying, In the sepulcher that I dug in the land of Canaan, you will bury me there ; because these words of the father of Joseph do not appear when he gave orders about his grave. However, we must refer to the content, as we have noted above when dealing with similar expressions or narrations. Words must serve to express one’s intention and to make it known. That Jacob excavated a tomb for himself, we find him not affirmed before in any passage of Scripture. But if he had not done so, as he was in those lands, the Scripture would not now say so. [ — QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 169 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

Genesis 50:10

John Chrysostom: For your part, however, dearly beloved, don’t simply pass this by on hearing it; instead, consider the time when it happened and absolve Joseph of all blame. I mean, the gates of the underworld were still not broken or the bonds of death loosed. Nor was death yet called sleep. Hence, because they feared death, they acted this way; today, on the contrary, thanks to the grace of God, since death has been turned into slumber and life’s end into repose and since there is great certitude of resurrection, we rejoice and exult at death like people moving from one life to another. Why do I say from one life to another? From a worse to a better, from a temporary to an eternal, from an earthly to a heavenly. — HOMILIES ON Genesis 67.17

Augustine of Hippo: MYSTERIOUS REASON FOR THE PATH FOLLOWED TO BURY JACOB. — What does the Scripture mean when they were to bury Jacob: And they came to the age of Ahaz, which is beyond the Jordan ? As those who know the place say, those men went more than fifty miles beyond the place where they had to bury the dead man. This is the distance that is more or less from the place where the patriarchs are buried, including Jacob, to this place where they arrived, as the Scripture says. After a great mourning and grief there, they returned to the place which they had left behind, going back across the Jordan. Someone, however, can say that, to avoid the presence of enemies, they returned with the body through the desert, to the same place where the people of Israel were also led by Moses when he brought them out of Egypt. In fact, there is a great detour along that road, and through the Jordan one arrives at the siege of Abraham, where the bodies of the patriarchs are (Cf. Gen. 50:13), that is, the land of Canaan. But in any way this has happened, the fact of going so far to the east, beyond those places, and the fact of returning to them through the Jordan, we must understand that it was made by some meaning, that is, that by the Jordan would come later to those lands Israel with their children. [ — QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 170 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

Genesis 50:17

Ephrem the Syrian: Joseph wept and said, “Do not be afraid of me, for although your father has died, the God of your father, on account of whom I will never strike you, is still alive. Because he turned the evil that you did to me to my good and he placed many people in my hands, God forbid that I do any evil to those who thus became the cause of life for many. But, just as I did not kill you in Egypt, do not leave my bones in Egypt.” He made them swear to this and said, “God will indeed remember you and will bring you up to the land which he swore to Abraham. Bring my bones up to there, so that even if I do not inherit the land with you, I may be raised up with you from that land.” — COMMENTARY ON Genesis 44:2

Genesis 50:18

John Chrysostom: See how great a thing virtue is, how powerful and invincible, and how profound the weakness of evil. I mean, look, the one who endured such suffering reigns as king whereas those who submitted their brother to such indignities beg to be slaves of the one given by them into servitude. — HOMILIES ON Genesis 67.19

Genesis 50:20

John Chrysostom: “Don’t be apprehensive or anxious,” Jacob says. “I belong to God,” and in imitation of my Lord I strive to reward with kindness those who are maliciously disposed to me—“I belong to God,” after all. Then to show how great is the favor he enjoys from God Joseph says, You acted against me with evil intent, but God turned everything to good for me. Hence Paul also said, “For those who love God all things work together for good.” “All things,” he says. What is meant by “all things”? Opposition and apparent disappointment—even these things are turned into good, which is exactly what happened with this remarkable man. In fact, what was done by his brothers had the particular effect of bringing him the kingship, thanks to the creative God’s wisdom transforming all their wickedness into good. — HOMILIES ON Genesis 67.19

Genesis 50:22

Augustine of Hippo: HOW THERE WERE SEVENTY-FIVE PEOPLE WHO WENT DOWN WITH JACOB TO EGYPT. — And Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw the children of Ephraim unto the third generation. And the sons of Mahir the son of Manasseh were born on the knees of Joseph . As the Scripture says that Joseph saw these sons of his sons or grandchildren of his children while he lived, how can he add them to those seventy-five men with whom Jacob says that he entered Egypt (Cf. Gen. 46:27), since Joseph came to see those sons in his old age, and when Jacob entered Egypt, Joseph was young and when his father died, Joseph was almost fifty-six years old? In conclusion, the Scripture must have recommended that number seventy-five for some mystery that it contains. But if anyone wished to know how it could be true to agree even with the historical accuracy that Jacob entered Egypt with seventy-five people, I tell him that it is not necessary to think that he entered that single day when he arrived there. And the reason is that, like Jacob, he is called many times by the name of his sons, that is, of his descendants, and it is recorded that he entered Egypt through Joseph. The entrance of Jacob, therefore, must be taken during all the time that Joseph lived, for which reason he entered Egypt. In fact, during all that time, all those mentioned were able to be born and live, to the age of seventy-five, counting the grandsons of Benjamin. This is confirmed by what the text says: “These are the children Lia gave birth to Jacob in Mesopotamia of Syria (Gen. 46:15).” And this text also refers to children who were not yet born. And he alludes to them because there he had given birth to the parents of those who were born, presenting them as born there. And she does so because the cause of her parents was born there, the ones that Leah gave birth to there. Now as Joseph was the cause of Jacob’s entering into Egypt, all the time that Joseph lived in Egypt was the time of Jacob’s entry into Egypt, which he made by his seed, which spread, while he lived was the cause of Jacob entering. [ — QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 172 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

Genesis 50:24

Ambrosiaster: WHY DID JOSEPH, AFTER PREDICTING THE FUTURE, BESEECH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL TO CARRY HIS ASHES FROM EGYPT WHEN GOD DELIVERED THEM? — It is an incontestable truth that Joseph did not make this recommendation to the children of Israel without cause. It cannot be supposed that the man whose gaze had plunged into the future spoke here without reason. He was full of a profound religion for the Creator God; he also knew what a veneration they had for the Egyptians, who remembered the wisdom of his administration during the famine which weighed upon Egypt. He therefore wished to take away this cause of error from him after his death, and to prevent them from rendering him worship, which belongs only to the Creator, for he knew all too well that the vain and light people are inclined to render divine honors to the dead rather than the living. He proves by this conduct that he did not share the vain superstitions of the Egyptians, since he orders to carry his ashes so that they do not become a subject to offend God. The Apostles imitated this example. Paul and Barnabas, perceiving that they wished to offer them a sacrifice, and knowing how much God abhorred such idolatry, tore their clothes, exclaiming, “What are you doing? we are men like you (Acts 14:14).” And they turned away the people from this sacrilegious design. [Questions On The Old And New Testaments, PL 35, — QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, Q. 6, 2nd part (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

Genesis 50:26

John Chrysostom: The text goes on: “Joseph passed away at one hundred and ten.” Why did it indicate to us his age too? For you to learn how long he had been entrusted with the control of Egypt. He was seventeen when he went down to Egypt, and it was when he reached the age of thirty that he appeared before Pharaoh and interpreted his dreams. Joseph then held complete control of Egypt for eighty years. Do you see how the rewards were greater than the hardships and the recompense manifold? For thirteen years he struggled with temptations, suffering servitude, that illicit accusation, ill treatment in prison. Since he nobly bore everything with thankfulness, accordingly he attained generous rewards even in the present life. Consider, after all, I ask you, that as a result of that short period that he endured servitude and imprisonment Joseph occupied a royal position for eighty years. For proof that it was by faith that he did all this and for the same motive gave directions about the transfer of his bones, listen to Paul’s words: “It was by faith that at the point of death Joseph gave a reminder about the exodus of the sons of Israel.” — HOMILIES ON Genesis 67.22