Genesis:50

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* Joseph threw himself on his father . He cried over him , and kissed him . * Then Joseph gave orders to embalm his father ’s body . * It took forty days , which is the normal time for embalming . The Egyptians mourned for him seventy days . * When the time of mourning was over , Joseph said to the king ’s officials : »Please take this message to the king : * »When my father was about to die , he made me promise him that I would bury him in the tomb that he had prepared in the land of Canaan . Please , let me go and bury my father . Then I will come back .« * The king replied : »By all means go and bury your father , as you promised you would .« * So Joseph went to bury his father . All the king ’s officials , the senior men of his court , and all the leading men of Egypt went with Joseph . * His family , including his brothers , and the rest of his father ’s family all went with him . Only their small children and their sheep , goats , and cattle stayed in the region of Goshen . * Men in chariots and men on horseback also went with him . It was a very large group . * They mourned loudly for a long time at the threshing place at Atad east of the Jordan . Joseph performed mourning ceremonies for seven days . * The citizens of Canaan saw those people mourning at Atad . They said : »What a solemn ceremony of mourning the Egyptians are holding !« That is why the place was named Abel-mizraim . * Jacob ’s sons did as he had commanded them . * They carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah east of Mamre . He was buried in the field Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial ground . * After the funeral , Joseph , his brothers , and everyone else returned to Egypt . * After Jacob died , Joseph ’s brothers said to each other : »What if Joseph still hates us and wants to get even with us for all the cruel things we did to him ?« * Thus they sent word to Joseph , saying : »Your father gave us orders before his death . He said , * »‘You are to say to Joseph : »Let the wrongdoing of your brothers be overlooked , and the evil they did to you . If it is your pleasure , forgive the sin of the servants of your father ’s God .« ’« Upon hearing these words Joseph was overcome with weeping . * Then his brothers also came and immediately bowed down in front of him . »We are your slaves !« they said . * Joseph replied to them : »Do not be afraid ! I cannot take God ’s place . * »Even though you planned evil against me , God planned good to come out of it . This was to keep many people alive , as he is doing now . * »You have nothing to fear . I will take care of you and your children .« So he reassured them with kind words that touched their hearts . * Joseph continued to live in Egypt with his father ’s family . He was a hundred and ten years old when he died . * Joseph lived long enough to see Ephraim ’s children and grandchildren . He also lived to see the children of Manasseh ’s son Machir . He welcomed them into his family . * Before Joseph died , he told his brothers : »I will not live much longer . God will take care of you . He will lead you out of Egypt to the land he promised Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob . * »Promise me that you will take my body with you when God leads you to that land .« * Joseph died in Egypt at the age of one hundred and ten . His body was embalmed and put in a coffin .

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