The Bible

 

Genesis 50

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1 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.

2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.

3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.

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,

5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.

6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.

7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,

8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.

9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.

10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.

11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond Jordan.

12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:

13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,

17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, Forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?

20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.

23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.

24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.

26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6556

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6556. Verses 15-21 And Joseph's brothers saw that their father had died, and they said, Perhaps Joseph will hate us and will fully return to us all the evil with which we repaid him. And they gave a command to Joseph, saying, Your father commanded before he died, saying, Thus you are to say to Joseph, I beg you, forgive - I beg you - the transgression of your brothers, and their sin, for the evil with which they repaid you; and now forgive, I beg you, the transgression of the servants of your father's God. And Joseph wept as they spoke to him. And his brothers also went and fell down before him, and said, Behold, we are your slaves. And Joseph said to them, Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? And you thought evil against me; God thought [to turn] it into good, in order to do what is in accord with this day, to bestow life on a great people. And now, do not be afraid; I will sustain you and your young children. And he consoled them and spoke to their heart.

'And Joseph's brothers saw that their father had died' means the things which had become alienated from truth and good, and a discernment that the Church had been restored to life. 'And they said, Perhaps Joseph will hate us' means that they rejected the internal. 'And will fully return to us all the evil with which we repaid him' means that a punishment as merited is therefore impending. 'And they gave a command to Joseph, saying' means influx from the internal and the consequent perception. 'Your father commanded before he died, saying' means that it is by the command of the Church. 'Thus you are to say to Joseph' means perception from the internal about what was to be done. 'I beg you, forgive - I beg you - the transgression of your brothers, and their sin' means supplication and repentance. 'For the evil with which they repaid you means that they had become turned away from inflowing goodness and truth. 'And now forgive, I beg you, the transgression of the servants of your father's God' means repentance, and an acknowledgement of the Divine things of the Church. 'And Joseph wept as they spoke to him' means reception brought about by love. 'And his brothers also went and fell down before him' means the submission of the things in the natural to the internal. 'And said, Behold, we are your slaves' means that they will not be their own master. 'And Joseph said to them, Do not be afraid' means renewal by the internal. 'For am I in the place of God?' means that God will provide. 'And you thought evil against me' means that the things which have become alienated intend nothing but evil. 'God thought [to turn] it into good' means that the Divine turns it into good. 'In order to do what is in accord with this day' means that this is in accord with order from eternity. 'To bestow life on a great people' means that life is thereby imparted to those governed by the truths of good 'And now, do not be afraid' means that they should not be anxious. 'I will sustain you and your young children' means that they will have life from the Divine by way of the internal, through truth which is of the understanding and good which is of the will. 'And he consoled them' means hope. 'And spoke to their heart' means trust.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.