Genesis 50 - Wesley's Explanatory Notes vs Calvin John vs Coke Thomas

Genesis 50

Chapter Overview:

Here, is,

1. The preparation for Jacob's funeral, ver. 1 - 6.
   
2. The funeral itself, ver. 7 - 14.
   
3. The settling of a good understanding between Joseph and his brethren, after the death of Jacob, ver. 15 - 21.
   
4. The age and death of Joseph, ver. 22 - 26.
   

Genesis 50

1. And Joseph fell upon his father’s face. In this chapter, what happened after the death of Jacob, is briefly related. Moses, however, states that Jacob’s death was honored with a double mourning — natural (so to speak) and ceremonial. That Joseph falls upon his father’s face and sheds tears, flows from true and pure affection; that the Egyptians mourn for him seventy days, since it is done for the sake of honor, and in compliance with custom, is more from ostentation and vain pomp, than from true grief: and yet the dead are generally mourned over in this manner, that the last debt due to them may be discharged. Whence also the proverb has originated, that the mourning of the heir is laughter under a mask. And although sometimes minds are penetrated with real grief; yet something is added to it, by the affectation of making a show of pious sorrow, so that they indulge largely in tears in the presence of others, who would weep more sparingly if there were no witnesses of their grief Hence those friends who meet together, under the pretext of administering consolation, often pursue a course so different, that they call forth more abundant weeping. And although the ceremony of mourning over the dead arose from a good principle; namely, that the living should meditate on the curse entailed by sin upon the human race, yet it has always been tarnished by many evils; because it has been neither directed to its true end, nor regulated by due moderation. With respect to the genuine grief which is not unnaturally elicited, but which breaks forth from the depth of our hearts, it is not, in itself, to be censured, if it be kept within due bounds. For Joseph is not here reproved because he manifests his grief by weeping; but his filial piety is rather commended. We have, however, need of the rein, and of self-government, lest, through intemperate grief, we are hurried, by a blind impulse, to murmur against God: for excessive grief always precipitates us into rebellion. Moreover, the mitigation of sorrow is chiefly to be sought for, in the hope of a future life, according to the doctrine of Paul.



2. And Joseph commanded his servants. Although formerly more labor was expended on funerals, and that even without superstition, than has been deemed right subsequently to the proof given of the resurrection exhibited by Christ: (218) yet we know that among the Egyptians there was greater expense and pomp than among the Jews. Even the ancient historians record this among the most memorable customs of that nation. Indeed it is not to be doubted (as we have said elsewhere) that the sacred rite of burial descended from the holy fathers, to be a kind of mirror of the future resurrection: but as hypocrites are always more diligent in the performance of ceremonies, than they are, who possess the solid substance of things; it happens that they who have declined from the true faith, assume a far more ostentatious appearance than the faithful, to whom pertain the truth and the right use of the symbol. If we compare the Jews with ourselves, these shadowy ceremonies, in which God required them to be occupied, would, at this time, appear intolerable; though compared with those of other nations, they were moderate and easily to be borne. But the heathen scarcely knew why they incurred so muck labor and expense. Hence we infer how empty and trivial a matter it is, to attend only to external signs, when the pure doctrine which exhibits their true origin and their legitimate end, does not flourish. It is an act of piety to bury the dead. To embalm corpses with aromatic spices, was, in former times, no fault; inasmuch as it was done as a public symbol of future incorruption. For it is not possible but that the sight of a dead man should grievously affect us; as if one common end, without distinction, awaited both us and the beasts that perish. At this day the resurrection of Christ is a sufficient support for us against yielding to this temptation. But the ancients, on whom the full light of day had not yet shone, were aided by figures: they, however, whose minds were not raised to the hope of a better life, did nothing else than trifle, and foolishly imitate the holy fathers. Finally, where faith has not so breathed its odour, as to make men know that something remains for them after death, all embalming will be vapid. Yea, if death is to them the eternal destruction of the body, it would be an impious profanation of a sacred and useful ceremony, to attempt to place what had perished under such costly custody. It is probable that Joseph, in conforming himself to the Egyptians, whose superfluous care was not free from absurdity; acted rather from fear than from judgment, or from approval of their method. Perhaps he improperly imitated the Egyptians, lest the condition of his father might be worse than that of other men. But it would have been better, had he confined himself to the frugal practice of his fathers. Nevertheless though he might be excusable, the same practice is not now lawful for us. For unless we wish to subvert the glory of Christ, we must cultivate greater sobriety.



(218) Que depuis que Jesus Christ nous a baille claire demonstrance de la resurrection des morts — than since the time that Jesus Christ has given us a clear demonstration of the resurrection of the dead. — French Translation.



3. And forty days were fulfilled for him. We have shown already that Moses is speaking of a ceremonial mourning; and therefore he does not prescribe it as a law, or produce it as an example which it is right for us to follow. For, by the laws, certain days were appointed, in order that time might be given for the moderating of grief in some degree; yet something also was conceded to ambition. Another rule, however, for restraining grief is given to us by the Lord. And Joseph stooped, more than he ought, to the perverted manners of the Egyptians; for the world affects to believe that whatever is customary is lawful; so that what generally prevails, carries along everything it meets, like a violent inundation. The seventy days which Moses sets apart to solemn mourning, Herodotus, in his second book, assigns to the embalming. But Diodorus writes that the seasoning of the body was completed in thirty days. Both authors diligently describe the method of embalming. And though I will not deny that, in the course of time, the skill and industry in practicing this art increased, yet it appears to me probable that this method of proceeding was handed down from the fathers. (219)



(219) It would appear that the mourning for Jacob was a kind of royal mourning. “On the death of every Egyptian king, a general mourning was instituted throughout the country for seventy-two days.” — Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, by Sir J. G. Wilkinson, vol. 1, p. 255. — Ed.



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.



6. And Pharaoh said. We have seen that Joseph adopts a middle course. For he was not willing utterly to fail in his duty; yet, by catching at a pretext founded on the command of his father, he did not conduct himself with sufficient firmness. It is possible that Pharaoh was inclined, by the modesty of his manner, more easily to assent to his requests. Yet this cowardice is not, on this account, so sanctioned that the sons of God are at liberty to indulge themselves in it: for if they intrepidly follow where duty calls, the Lord will give the issue which is desired, beyond all expectation. For, although, humanly speaking, Joseph’s bland submission succeeded prosperously, it is nevertheless certain that the proud mind of the king was influenced by God to concede thus benignantly what had been desired. It is also to be observed, what great respect for an oath prevailed among blind unbelievers. For, though Pharaoh himself had not sworn, he still deemed it unlawful for him to violate, by his own authority, the pledge given by another. But at this day, reverence for God has become so far extinct, that men commonly regard it as a mere trifle to deceive, on one side or another, under the name of God. But such unbridled license, which even Pharaoh himself denounces, shall not escape the judgment of God with impunity.



7. And Joseph went up. Moses gives a full account of the burial. What he relates concerning the renewed mourning of Joseph and his brethren, as well as of the Egyptians, ought by no means to be established as a rule among ourselves. For we know, that since our flesh has no self government, men commonly exceed bounds both in sorrowing and in rejoicing. The tumultuous glamour, which the inhabitants of the place admired, cannot be excused. And although Joseph had a right end in view, when he fixed the mourning to last through seven successive days, yet this excess was not free from blame. Nevertheless, it was not without reason that the Lord caused this funeral to be thus honorably celebrated: for it was of great consequence that a kind of sublime trophy should be raised, which might transmit to posterity the memory of Jacob’s faith. If he had been buried privately, and in a common manner, his fame would soon have been extinguished; but now, unless men willfully blind themselves, they have continually before their eyes a noble example, which may cherish the hope of the promised inheritance: they perceive, as it were, the standard of that deliverance erected, Which shall take place in the fullness of time. Wherefore, we are not here to consider the honor of the deceased so much as the benefit of the living. Even the Egyptians, not knowing what they do, bear a torch before the Israelites, to teach them to keep the course of their divine calling: the Canaanites do the same, when they distinguish the place by a new name; for hence it came to pass that the knowledge of the covenant of the Lord flourished afresh. (220)



(220) Calvin, in his criticism on Joseph’s conduct with reference to his father’s funeral, seems to bear hard upon the motives of the patriarch. As there is nothing in Joseph’s previous history which is derogatory either to his moral courage or his integrity, it is scarcely justifiable to impute a want of firmness and of straightforwardness to him on this occasion. Is not the concluding portion of Calvin’s remarks a sufficient answer to all that has gone before? And may we not conclude, that the whole of the circumstances of Jacob’s funeral were divinely ordered to perpetuate his memory? — Ed.



14. And Joseph returned. Although Joseph and the rest had left so many pledges in Egypt, that it would be necessary for them to return; it is yet probable that they were rather drawn back thither by the oracle of God. For God never permitted them to choose an abode at their own will; but as he had before led Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in their journeying, so he held their sons shut up in the land of Goshen, as within barriers. And there is no doubt that the holy fathers left that oracle which we have in the fifteenth chapter and the thirteenth verse, Gen 15:13. to their sons, to be kept in faithful custody as a precious treasure. (221) They return, therefore, into Egypt, not only because they were compelled by present necessity, but because it was not lawful for them to shake off with the hand, the yoke which God had put upon their necks. But if the Lord does not hold all men bound by voluntary obedience to himself, he nevertheless holds their minds by his secret rein, that they may not withdraw themselves from his government; nor can we form any other conjecture than that they were restrained by his fear, so that even when admonished of the tyrannical oppression which was coming upon them, they did not attempt to make their escape. We know that their disposition was not so mild as to prevent them from rebelling against lighter burdens. Wherefore, on this point, a special sense of religious obligation subdued them, so that they prepared themselves quietly and silently to endure the hardest servitude.



(221) “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.”

 



15. And when, Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead. Moses here relates, that the sons of Jacob, after the death of their father, were apprehensive lest Joseph should take vengeance for the injury they had done him. And whence this fear, but because they form their judgment of him according to their own disposition? That they had found him so placable they do not attribute to true piety towards God, nor do they account it a special gift of the Spirit: but rather, they imagine that, out of respect to his father alone, he had hitherto been so far restrained, as barely to postpone his revenge. But, by such perverse judgment, they do a great injury to one who, by the liberality of his treatment, had borne them witness that his mind was free from all hatred and malevolence. Part of the injurious surmise reflected even upon God, whose special grace had shone forth in the moderation of Joseph. Hence, however, we gather, that guilty consciences are so disturbed by blind and unreasonable fears, that they stumble in broad day-light. Joseph had absolved his brethren from the crime they had committed against him; but they are so agitated by guilty compunctions, that they voluntarily become their own tormentors. And they have not themselves to thank, that they did not bring down upon themselves the very punishment which had been remitted; because the mind of Joseph might well have been wounded by their distrust. For, what could they mean by still malignantly suspecting him to whose compassion they had again and again owed their lives? Yet I do not doubt, that long ago they had repented of their wickedness, but, perhaps, because they had not yet been sufficiently purified, the Lord suffered them to be tortured with anxiety and trouble: first, to make them a proof to others, that an evil conscience is its own tormentor, and, then, to humble them under a renewed sense of their own guilt; for, when they regard themselves as obnoxious to their brother’s judgment, they cannot forget, unless they are worse than senseless, the celestial tribunal of God. What Solomon says, we see daily fulfilled, that the wicked flee when no man pursueth; (Pro 28:1;) but, in this way, God compels the fugitives to give up their account. They would desire, in their supine torpor, to deceive both God and men; and they bring upon their minds, as far as they are able, the callousness of obstinacy: in the mean time, whether they will or no, they are made to tremble at the sound of a falling leaf, lest their carnal security should obliterate their sense of the judgment of God. (Lev 26:36.) Nothing is more desirable than a tranquil mind. While God deprives the wicked of this singular benefit, which is desired by all, he invites us to cultivate integrity. But especially, seeing that the patriarchs, who were already affected with penitence for their wickedness, are yet thus severely awakened, a long time afterwards, let none of us yield to self-indulgence; but let each diligently examine himself, lest hypocrisy should inwardly cherish the secret stings of the wrath of God; and may that happy peace, which can find no place in a double heart, shine within our thoroughly purified breasts. For this due reward of their neglect remains for all those who do not draw nigh to God sincerely and with all their heart, that they are compelled to stand before the judgment-seat of mortal man. Wherefore, there is no other method which can free us from disquietude, but that of returning into favor with God. Whosoever shall despise this remedy, shall be afraid not only of man, but also of a shadow, or a breath of wind.



16. And they sent a messenger. Because they are ashamed themselves to speak, they engage messengers of peace, in whom Joseph might have greater confidence. But here also we perceive that they who have an accusing conscience are destitute of counsel and of reason. For if Jacob had been solicitous on this point, why did he not effect reconciliation between the son who was so obedient unto himself, and his brethren? Besides, for what reason should they attempt to do that through mediators, which they could do so much better in their own persons? The Lord, therefore, suffers them to act like children; that we, being instructed by their example, may look for no advantage from the use of frivolous inventions. But it may be asked, where the sons of Jacob found men to whom they could venture to commit such a message; for it was no light thing to make known their execrable crime to strangers? And it would have been folly to subject themselves to this infamy among the Egyptians. The most probable conjecture is, that some domestic witnesses were chosen from the number of their own servants; for though Moses makes no mention of such, when he relates that Jacob departed into Egypt; yet that some were brought with him, may easily be gathered from certain considerations.



17. Forgive, I pray thee now. They do not dissemble the fact that they had grievously sinned; and they are so far from extenuating their fault, that they freely heap up words in charging themselves with guilt. They do not, therefore, ask that pardon should be granted them as if the offense were light: but they place in opposition to the atrocity of their crime, first, the authority of their father, and then the sacred name of God. Their confession would have been worthy of commendation, had they proceeded directly, and without tortuous contrivances, to appease their brother. Now, since they have drawn from the fountain of piety the instruction that it is right for sin to be remitted to the servants of God; we may receive it as a common exhortation, that if we have been injured by the members of the Church, we must not be too rigid and immovable in pardoning the offense. This humanity indeed is generally enjoined upon us towards all men: but when the bond of religion is superadded, we are harder than iron, if we are not inclined to the exercise of compassion. And we must observe, that they expressly mention the God of Jacob: because the peculiar faith and worship by which they were distinguished from the rest of the nations, ought to unite them with each other in a closer bond: as if God, who had adopted that family, stood forth in the midst of them as engaged to produce reconciliation.

And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. It cannot be ascertained with certainty from the words of Moses, whether the brethren of Joseph were present, and were speaking, at the time he wept. Some interpreters imagine that a part was here acted designedly; so that when the mind of Joseph had been sounded by others, the brethren, soon afterwards, came in, during the discourse. I rather incline to a different opinion; namely, that, when he knew, from the messengers, that their minds were tormented, and they were troubling themselves in vain, he was moved with sympathy towards them. Then, having sent for them, he set them free from all care and fear; and their speech, when they themselves were deprecating his anger, drew forth his tears. Moreover, by thus affectionately weeping over the sorrow and anxiety of his brethren, he affords us a remarkable example of compassion. But if we have an arduous conflict with the impetuosity of an angry temper, or the obstinacy of a disposition to hatred, we must pray to the Lord for a spirit of meekness, the force of which manifests itself not less effectually, at this day, in the members of Christ, than formerly in Joseph.



19. Am I in the place of God? Some think that, in these words, he was rejecting the honor paid him: as if he would say, that it was unjustly offered to him, because it was due to God alone. But this interpretation is destitute of probability, since he often permitted himself to be addressed in this manner, and knew that the minds of his brethren were utterly averse to transfer the worship of God to mortal man. And I equally disapprove another meaning given to the passage, which makes Joseph refuse to exact punishment, because he is not God: for he does not restrain himself from retaliating the injury, in the hope that God will prove his avenger. Others adduce a third signification; namely, that the whole affair was conducted by the counsel of God, and not by his own: which though I do not entirely reject, because it approaches the truth, yet I do not embrace the interpretation as true. For the word תחת (tachat) sometimes signifies instead of, sometimes it means subjection. Therefore if the note of interrogation were not in the way, it might well be rendered, “Because I am under God;” and then the sense would be, “Fear not, for I am under God;” so that Joseph would teach them, that because he is subject to the authority of God, it is not his business to lead the way, but to follow. But, whereas ה (he,) the note of interrogation, is prefixed to the word, it cannot be otherwise expounded than to mean that it would be wrong for him, a mortal man, to presume to thwart the counsel of God. But as to the sum of the matter, there is no ambiguity. For seeing that Joseph considers the design of divine providence, he restrains his feelings as with a bridle, lest they should carry him to excess. He was indeed of a mild and humane disposition; but nothing is better or more suitable to assuage his anger, than to submit himself to be governed by God. When, therefore, the desire of revenge urges us, let all our feelings be subjected to the same authority. Moreover, since he desires his brethren to be tranquil and secure, from the consideration, that he, ascribing due honor to God, willingly submits to obey the Divine command; let us learn, hence, that it is most to our advantage to deal with men of moderation, who set God before them as their leader, and who not only submit to his will, but also cheerfully obey him. For if any one is impotently carried away by the lust of the flesh, we must fear a thousand deaths from him, unless God should forcibly break his fury. Now as it is the one remedy for assuaging our anger, to acknowledge what we ourselves are, and what right God has over us; so, on the other hand, when this thought has taken full possession of our minds, there is no ardor, however furious, which it will not suffice to mitigate.



20. Ye thought evil against me. Joseph well considers (as we have said) the providence of God; so that he imposes it on himself as a compulsory law, not only to grant pardon, but also to exercise beneficence. And although we have treated at large on this subject, in Gen 45:1, yet it will be useful also to repeat something on it now. In the first place, we must notice this difference in his language: for whereas, in the former passage, Joseph, desiring to soothe the grief, and to alleviate the fear of his brethren, would cover their wickedness by every means which ingenuity could suggest; he now corrects them a little more openly and freely; perhaps because he is offended with their disingenousness. Yet he holds to the same principle as before. Seeing that, by the secret counsel of God, he was led into Egypt, for the purpose of preserving the life of his brethren, he must devote himself to this object, lest he should resist God. He says, in fact, by his action, “Since God has deposited your life with me, I should be engaged in war against him, if I were not to be the faithful dispenser of the grace which he had committed to my hands.” Meanwhile, he skillfully distinguishes between the wicked counsels of men, and the admirable justice of God, by so ascribing the government of all things to God, as to preserve the divine administration free from contracting any stain from the vices of men. The selling of Joseph was a crime detestable for its cruelty and perfidy; yet he was not sold except by the decree of heaven. For neither did God merely remain at rest, and by conniving for a time, let loose the reins of human malice, in order that afterwards he might make use of this occasion; but, at his own will, he appointed the order of acting which he intended to be fixed and certain. Thus we may say with truth and propriety, that Joseph was sold by the wicked consent of his brethren, and by the secret providence of God. Yet it was not a work common to both, in such a sense that God sanctioned anything connected with or relating to their wicked cupidity: because while they are contriving the destruction of their brother, God is effecting their deliverance from on high. Whence also we conclude, that there are various methods of governing the world. This truly must be generally agreed, that nothing is done without his will; because he both governs the counsels of men, and sways their wills and turns their efforts at his pleasure, and regulates all events: but if men undertake anything right and just, he so actuates and moves them inwardly by his Spirit, that whatever is good in them, may justly be said to be received from him: but if Satan and ungodly men rage, he acts by their hands in such an inexpressible manner, that the wickedness of the deed belongs to them, and the blame of it is imputed to them. For they are not induced to sin, as the faithful are to act aright, by the impulse of the Spirit, but they are the authors of their own evil, and follow Satan as their leader. Thus we see that the justice of God shines brightly in the midst of the darkness of our iniquity. For as God is never without a just cause for his actions, so men are held in the chains of guilt by their own perverse will. When we hear that God frustrates the wicked expectations, and the injurious desires of men, we derive hence no common consolation. Let the impious busy themselves as they please, let them rage, let them mingle heaven and earth; yet they shall gain nothing by their ardor; and not only shall their impetuosity prove ineffectual, but shall be turned to an issue the reverse of that which they intended, so that they shall promote our salvation, though they do it reluctantly. So that whatever poison Satan produces, God turns it into medicine for his elect. And although in this place God is said to have “meant it unto good,” because contrary to expectation, he had educed a joyful issue out of beginnings fraught with death: yet, with perfect rectitude and justice, he turns the food of reprobates into poison, their light into darkness, their table into a snare, and, in short, their life into death. If human minds cannot reach these depths, let them rather suppliantly adore the mysteries they do not comprehend, than, as vessels of clay, proudly exalt themselves against their Maker.

To save much people alive. Joseph renders his office subservient to the design of God’s providence; and this sobriety is always to be cultivated, that every one may behold, by faith, God from on high holding the helm of the government of the world, and may keep himself within the bounds of his vocation; and even, being admonished by the secret judgments of God, may descend into himself, and exhort himself to the discharge of his duty: and if the reason of this does not immediately appear, we must still take care that we do not fly in confused and erratic circuits, as fanatical men are wont to do. What Joseph says respecting his being divinely chosen “to save much people alive,” some extend to the Egyptians. Without condemning such an extension, I would rather restrict the application of the words to the family of Jacob; for Joseph amplifies the goodness of God by this circumstance, that the seed of the Church would be rescued from destruction by his labor. And truly, from these few men, whose seed would otherwise have been extinct before their descendants had been multiplied, that vast multitude sprang into being, which God soon afterwards raised up.



21. I will nourish you. It was a token of a solid and not a feigned reconciliation, not only to abstain from malice and injury, but also to “overcome evil with good,” as Paul teaches, (Rom 12:21 :) and truly, he who fails in his duty, when he possesses the power of giving help, and when the occasion demands his assistance, shows, by this very course, that he is not forgetful of injury. This requires to be the more diligently observed, because, commonly, the greater part weakly conclude that they forgive offenses if they do not retaliate them; as if indeed we were not taking revenge when we withdraw our hands from giving help. You would assist your brother if you thought him worthy: he implores your aid in necessity; you desert him because he has done you some unkindness; what hinders you from helping him but hatred? Therefore, we shall then only prove our minds to be free from malevolence, when we follow with kindness those enemies by whom we have been ill treated. Joseph is said to have spoken “to the heart of his brethren,” because, by addressing them with suavity and kindness, he removed all their scruples; as we have before seen, that Shechem spoke to the heart of Dinah, when he attempted to console her with allurements, in order that, forgetting the dishonor he had done her, she might consent to marry him.



22. And Joseph dwelt in Egypt. It is not without reason that Moses relates how long Joseph lived, because the length of the time shows the more clearly his unfailing constancy: for although he is raised to great honor and power among she Egyptians, he still is closely united with his father’s house. Hence it is easy to conjecture, that he gradually took his leave of the treasures of the court, because he thought there was nothing better for him to do than to hold them in contempt, lest earthly dignity should separate him from the kingdom of God. He had before spurned all the allurements which might have occupied his mind in Egypt: he now counts it necessary to proceed further, that, laying aside his honor, he may descend to an ignoble condition, and wean his own sons from the hope of succeeding to his worldly rank. We know how anxiously others labor, both that they themselves may not be reduced in circumstances, and that they may leave their fortune entire to their posterity: but Joseph, during sixty years, employed all his efforts to bring himself and his children into a state of submission, lest his earthly greatness should alienate them from the little flock of the Lord. In short, he imitated the serpents, who cast off their exuviae, that, being stripped of their old age, they may gather new strength. He sees the children of his own grandchildren; why does not his solicitude to provide for them increase, as his children increase? Yet he has so little regard for worldly rank or opulence, that he would rather see them devoted to a pastoral life, and be despised by the Egyptians, if only they might be reckoned in the family of Israel. Besides, in a numerous offspring during his own life, the Lord afforded him some taste of his benediction, from which he might conceive the hope of future deliverance: for, among so many temptations, it was necessary for him to be encouraged and sustained, lest he should sink under them.



24. And Joseph said unto his brethren. It is uncertain whether Joseph died the first or the last of the brethren, or whether a part of them survived him. Here indeed Moses includes, under the name of brethren, not only those who were really so, but other relations. I think, however, that certain of the chiefs of each family were called at his command, from whom the whole of the people might receive information: and although it is probable that the other patriarchs also gave the same command respecting themselves, since the bones of them all were, in like manner, conveyed into the land of Canaan; yet special mention is made of Joseph alone, for two reasons. First, since the eyes of them all were fixed upon him, on account of his high authority, it was his duty to lead their way, and cautiously to beware lest the splendor of his dignity should cast a stumbling block before any of them. Secondly, it was of great consequence, as an example, that it should be known to all the people, that he who held the second place in the kingdom of Egypt, regardless of so great an honor, was contented with his own coalition, which was only that of the heir of a bare promise.

I die. This expression has the force of a command to his brethren to be of good courage after his death, because the truth of God is immortal; for he does not wish them to depend upon his life or that of another man, so as to cause them to prescribe a limit to the power of God; but he would have them patiently to rest till the suitable time should arrive. But whence had he this great certainty, that he should be a witness and a surety of future redemption, except from his having been so taught by his father? For we do not read that God had appeared unto him, or that an oracle had been brought to him by an angel from heaven; but because he was certainly persuaded that Jacob was a divinely appointed teacher and prophet, who should transmit to his sons the covenant of salvation deposited with him; Joseph relies upon his testimony not less securely than if some vision had been presented to him, or he had seen angels descending to him from heaven: for unless the hearing of the word is sufficient for our faith, we deserve not that God, whom we then defraud of his honor, should condescend to deal with us: not that faith relies on human authority, but because it hears God speaking through the mouth of men, and by their external voice is drawn upwards; for what God pronounces through men, he seals on our hearts by his Spirit. Thus faith is built on no other foundation than God himself; and yet the preaching of men is not wanting in its claim of authority and reverence. This restraint is put upon the rash curiosity of those men, who, eagerly desiring visions, despise the ordinary ministry of the Church; as if it were absurd that God, who formerly showed himself to the fathers out of heaven, should send forth his voice out of the earth. But if they would reflect how gloriously he once descended to us in the person of his only-begotten Son, they would not so importunately desire that heaven should daily be opened unto them. But, not to insist upon these things; when the brethren saw that Joseph, — who in this respect was inferior to his fathers, as having been partaker of no oracle, — had been imbued by them with the doctrine of piety, so that he contended with a faith similar to theirs; they would at once be most ungrateful and malignant, if they rejected the participation of his grace.



25. God will surely visit you. By these words he intimates that they would be buried as in oblivion, so long as they remained in Egypt: and truly that exile was as if God had turned his back on them for a season. Nevertheless, Joseph does not cease to fix the eyes of his mind on God; as it is written in the Prophet,

“I will wait upon the Lord that hideth his face

from the house of Jacob.” (Isa 8:17.)

This passage also clearly teaches what was the design of this anxious choice of his sepulcher, namely, that it might be a seal of redemption: for after he has asserted that God was faithful, and would, in his own time, grant what he had promised, he immediately adjures his brethren to carry away his bones. These were useful relics, the sight of which plainly signified that, by the death of men, the eternal covenant in which Joseph commands his posterity safely to rest, had by no means become extinct; for he deems it sufficient to adduce the oath of God, to remove all their doubts respecting their deliverance.

End of the Commentaries on the first book of Moses called Genesis.

Genesis 50

Gen 50:1. And Joseph fell upon his father's face- Thus what God had promised, ch. Gen 46:4. that Joseph should close his father's eyes, was fulfilled: and after having performed this last and tender office, he, according to the custom of those times, parted from the body with a kiss; expressing all the filial sorrow which such a loss could inspire.

Gen 50:2. His servants the physicians- The profession of physic appears to have been carried on in ancient times by domestics; and Joseph, as viceroy of AEgypt, may well be supposed to have kept some of these in his retinue. Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus assure us, that it was the custom of the AEgyptians to embalm their dead by the hands of the physicians, or embalmers. Indeed, if we may believe Herodotus, every particular disease in AEgypt had its physician; and Homer describes AEgypt as a land of physicians, every individual pretending to some skill in the medical art. See Odyss. 4: The AEgyptians, says Calmet, ascribe to Isis the invention of medicine, particularly the medicine of immortality; whereby she rendered her son Orus immortal, which seems to be nothing else but the art of embalming, or preserving bodies from putrefaction. Be that as it may, this custom was of great antiquity in AEgypt. The overflowing of the Nile, it is said, put them upon the invention; for, during the time that the country was laid under water (which was for two months annually) they had not access to deposit the dead in their respective burying-places. That which was at first the effect of necessity, became afterwards a subject of pomp and ostentation: for so great is the inclination of man to vain-glory, that things the most proper in the world to humble and mortify him, are turned by him into subjects of vanity. See Saurin's Dissert. 42: We see great use, says Bishop Warburton, in the AEgyptians having a different physician to every distemper, it having been the best, nay, perhaps the only expedient [in those times] for improving medicine into an art. The physicians, who embalmed, were enabled, by inspecting the bodies, to instruct themselves in the causes of the occult diseases, which was the district of each class; and to improve their knowledge in anatomy, which was the business of them all. Pliny expressly says, that it was the custom of their kings to cause dead bodies to be dissected, to find out the origin and nature of diseases. See Jer 46:11.

The AEgyptians excelled all other people in the art of embalming. Bodies remain to the present day preserved by this means, under the name of mummies. The practice was common to both rich and poor; though it was more or less costly according to the rank of the person. Diodorus tells us, that the method of embalming was, first to cure the whole body with a wash, or oil of cedar, and some other ingredients, for the space of more than thirty days: afterwards to mix myrrh and cinnamon, not only to preserve the body, but to make it send forth an agreeable smell. We are told in the third verse, that forty days was the time allotted for embalming, which agrees with Diodorus, who says, more than thirty; hence it appears, that Joseph had his father's body embalmed in the noblest manner.

Gen 50:3. And forty days were fulfilled for him- The reader will find, in the first volume of Univ. Hist. 8vo. p. 489, a minute account of the manner of embalming, which was done without disfiguring the body; so that the very hairs remained on the brows and eyelids, and the resemblance of the countenance was preserved. At the expiration of the days allowed for embalming, they washed the whole body, and bound fillets of fine linen round every part, covering it with gum, which the AEgyptians used instead of glue. The embalmers having performed their parts, the relations received the corpse, and put it into a wooden coffin, shaped like a man, which they set upright against the wall of the edifice designed for that purpose; for several of the AEgyptians kept their dead at home with them above ground in magnificent apartments, having, by this method, the pleasure of seeing the lineaments of their ancestors; and often they brought the dried corpse of a friend as a guest to their feasts. We must not hastily condemn Joseph for following the custom of the AEgyptians in this instance, by embalming his father; for nothing less would have appeared decent in the eyes of the AEgyptians, towards the memory of his deceased parent.

The AEgyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days- In forty days the embalming was finished: the body continued thirty days more in the pickle, till it was thoroughly seasoned; and these were the set days for mourning. During this time, as Diodorus informs us, it was the custom to daub the heart with mud, as the Jews sprinkled ashes on their heads, and to go about lamenting till the corpse was buried, or otherwise properly disposed of; abstaining from bathing, from wine, from all delicate food, and fine clothes. The female relations particularly went about making great lamentations, and beating themselves.

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.

Gen 50:5. Which I have digged for me- Rather, according to the Hebrew, which I have cut out for me: alluding to the manner of laying the corpse in a niche cut out for that purpose in the cave, or place of burying. See ch. Gen 23:9.

Gen 50:7. All the servants of Pharaoh- All may be put here, as Mat 3:5 for a great number; the major part; all the principal officers of the court. The elders of his house, i.e.. the persons of first dignity, a title of honour used, 2

Sam. Gen 12:17. and so in various languages, senator, senior, signior, signeur, are used as titles of distinction: so our first Saxon ancestors gave the name ealder-man to a governor of a province, as we do now to a magistrate of a city. Thus the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of AEgypt, signify, persons of the first authority and dignity, both in court and country. With these went all the family of Jacob, and a numerous cavalcade of chariots and horsemen, Gen 12:9 a grand procession to travel so great a distance; for it was near three hundred miles. The splendor and magnificence of our patriarch's funeral, says Parker, seems to be without a parallel in history. What hitherto have most affected me in the comparison, were, indeed, the noble obsequies of Marcellus, as Virgil has described them: but how do even these, with all their parade of poetry about them, fall short of the plain and simple narrative before us! for what are the six hundred beds, for which the Roman solemnities, on this occasion, were so famous, in comparison of that national itinerant multitude, which swelled like a flood, and moved like a river;-to all Pharaoh's servants, to the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of AEgypt: i.e.. to the officers of his household, and the deputies of his provinces, with all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house, conducting their solemn sorrow, for near three hundred miles, into a distant country.

Gen 50:10. They came to the threshing-floor of Atad- Atad is, according to some, the proper name of a person; according to others, the word is an appellative, and signifies brambles; and so should be rendered the threshing-floor of brambles. See Jdg 9:14. Psa 58:9. The place is supposed to be about two leagues from Jericho, on the other side Jordan, at fifty miles distance from Hebron. Beyond Jordan, is, by Junius and others, translated, at the passage of Jordan, which agrees with some of the ancient persons. Those who justify our translation suppose these words to have been spoken in respect of the place where Moses was when he wrote this history, which was in the wilderness of Arabia, on the east of Jordan; Deu 1:1; Deu 25:19.

He made a mourning for his father seven days- We have here the most ancient monument of the mourning of seven days, which was afterwards observed among the Jews. See Num 19:19. 1Sa 31:13. Sir 22:12. And their rejoicing at weddings was of the same continuance. See ch. Gen 29:27. Other passages however shew that their funeral mourning, on other occasions, lasted a month, or thirty days; Num 20:29. Deu 21:13; Deu 34:8. It is difficult to say why Joseph observed this ceremonial at the threshing-floor of Atad: the most probable reason is that which is given by Musculus, that they chose this place for the solemnity, as being a proper place for them to rest their weary cattle, which had travelled a long way through the solitary and sandy desert, and needed refreshment. See Calmet's Dissertation on the Funerals of the Hebrews. Note; 1. Those who have been eminent in their day deserve to be honourably attended to their grave. The death of a great good man is not only a loss to his family but to his country. 2. When we attend the funerals of others, it becomes us seriously to think of our own. 3. Who could have thought, that the nation who thus lamented the father could afterwards so sorely have afflicted the children? 4. We must not give way to over-much sorrow; the living call for our regard, and our tears cannot profit the dead.

Gen 50:15. When Joseph's brethren saw- One cannot have a stronger proof of the restless anxiety of a guilty conscience, than in this message and address of Joseph's brethren to him; nor can any thing more finely describe the feelings of an ingenuous disposition, than the actions and words of Joseph on this occasion. Sensibly touched at the message, he wept, Gen 50:17 when it was delivered to him; while, with the utmost benignity and tenderness, he removed all their fears, when his brethren appeared before him. This single circumstance is sufficient to remove every imputation from the character of Joseph, who, it is certain, had he been a bad man, now enjoyed the fairest opportunity to wreak his revenge; whereas his whole conduct speaks nothing but tenderness, piety, (Gen 50:20.) generosity, and affection.

Gen 50:16. Thy father did command- It seems most probable, from the history, that this was a story feigned by the brethren, in order to influence Joseph the more; and this supposition well suits with that mean temper which they here shew; a temper which induced them to think Joseph capable of the most permanent and deep resentment, as well as to subject themselves in the most abject manner; Behold, we be thy servants, Gen 50:18. It is no wonder that a great and generous soul, like Joseph's, could not bear such behaviour, or refrain from tears. Besides the request of their father, they urge their common religion, the servants of the God of thy father. This has always been reckoned one of the firmest bonds of affection, yea, even among the heathens themselves, per communes deos, per communia sacra, by their common gods, their common religion, was the most solemn manner of adjuring among the Greeks and Romans.

Gen 50:17. And now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father- What a conjuration of pardon, says Bishop Hall, was this! What wound could be either so deep, or so festered, that this plaster could not cure? They say not the sons of thy father; for they knew Jacob was dead, and they had degenerated; but the servants of thy father's God: how much stronger are the bonds of religion than of nature? If Joseph had been rancorous, this deprecation had charmed him; but now it resolves him into tears! They are not so ready to acknowledge their old offence as he to protest his love; and if he chide them for any thing, it is for that they thought they needed to entreat him; since they might have known it could not stand with the fellow-servant of their father's God, to harbour maliciousness, or to purpose revenge.

Gen 50:19. For am I in the place of God?- See ch. Gen 30:2. where this same phrase occurs; the meaning of which seems to be the same in both places; as if Joseph had said, "Shall I presume to oppose myself to what is come to pass, as if I were God?" Or, shall I punish you for that which God hath turned so much to the advantage of us all? The words also may well be rendered affirmatively, I am in the place of God; i.e.. I have been the instrument, under God, of your preservation and support hitherto; and can you think that I should prejudice those whom Providence has enabled me so signally to bless? See ch. Gen 45:5.

Learn hence, 1. They who would have forgiveness should humble themselves to ask it. 2. We are bound to treat them with especial kindness, who are worshippers of the same God and sharers in the same covenant. 3. God, though never the author of evil, can bring good out of evil; not that sin thereby is less malignant, but he appears more glorious. 4. Broken spirits need kind words. 5. A brotherly heart will be not only ready to forgive the injurious, but the first to comfort them when desponding.

Gen 50:22. Joseph lived an hundred and ten years- A shorter life than his ancestors; because he was the son, says Bishop Patrick, of his father's old age, and lived a great part of his time amidst afflictions and care, having the weight of a great kingdom's affairs lying upon him; for eighty of these years he spent in AEgypt, being but thirty years old when he first stood before Pharaoh. Shuckford says that he governed AEgypt during the reigns of four kings, and died in the twentieth year of the reign of Ramesse-Tubeate, fifty two years after his father, and in the year of the world 2367. He had the pleasure of seeing his father's prophetic blessing upon his two sons in part fulfilled; for he saw great-grandchildren from Ephraim; and grandchildren from one branch of Manasseh, Gen 50:23 were brought up upon Joseph's knees; that is, according to the Chaldee, were brought up or educated by Joseph. The phrase seems to allude to the natural custom of dandling children upon the knees. Job, in ch. Gen 3:12. says, Why did the knees prevent me? i.e.. Why was I sustained or dandled on the nurse's or midwife's knee? See ch. Gen 30:3.

Gen 50:24. God will surely visit you- See ch. Gen 21:1. The subsequent words, and bring you out of this land, evidently shew in what manner Joseph believed that GOD would visit the Israelites. Thus he died in the same faith with his ancestors, agreeable to what the apostle to the Hebrews says: By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones. Heb 11:22.

Gen 50:25. Ye shall carry up my bones from hence- The word bones frequently in scripture means the same thing with corpse, as here Joseph's embalmed body (see Gen 50:26 and Exo 13:19.) is called his bones. Thus the lying prophet terms his body, just become breathless, his bones: When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones, 1Ki 13:31. This remark renders useless many things which have been said concerning the bones of Joseph, whose remains, according to this request, were carried up from AEgypt by the Israelites and buried in Shechem, Jos 24:32 where also the other patriarchs were laid, Act 7:15-16. of whom we have no further account given us, though they seem all to have outlived Joseph. See Exo 1:6. And, after his example, their remains seem all to have been carried to Shechem, where, St. Jerome tells us, he saw the sepulchres of the twelve patriarchs, and a most noble one of Joseph in particular. It has been asked by some, and with an invidious view, as if the Hebrews' credit was now upon the decline, why Joseph's bones were not immediately carried into Canaan, as his father's had been? Now it is most probable that the AEgyptians themselves were not willing to part with them. A people so remarkable for gratitude as they confessedly were, could not but have the highest esteem and veneration for their great patron and benefactor: they probably looked upon him as something more than human while alive, and weakly thought, perhaps, that his very bones preserved among them would, like an amulet, defend and protect their country from all future evils; or, perhaps, Joseph himself might not desire it, as he knew that the Lord would, in due time, surely visit his brethren, and bring them to the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and that then it would be soon enough for them to carry his bones from AEgypt, ver. 24, &c. It is a proof of his faith.

Gen 50:26. And they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin- The same care of his body was taken as of that of his father Jacob; he was embalmed and put into a coffin, which was considered as a mark of distinction. With us the poorest people have their coffins; if the relations cannot afford them, the parish is at that expence. In the East, on the contrary, they are not at all made use of in our times. Christians and Turks, Thevenot assures us, part i. p. 58. agree in this. The ancient Jews seem to have buried their dead in the same manner; neither was the body of our Lord, it should seem, put into a coffin; nor that of Elisha, whose bones were touched by the corpse that was let down a little after into his sepulchre, 2Ki 13:21. That they, however, were anciently made use of in AEgypt, all agree; and antique coffins of stone and sycamore wood are still to be seen in that country; not to mention those said to be made of a kind of pasteboard, formed by folding and gluing cloth together a great number of times, curiously plaistered, and then painted with hieroglyphics. Thev. part. 1: p. 137. Its being an ancient AEyptian custom, and its not being used in the neighbouring countries, were, doubtless, the cause that the sacred historian expressly observes of Joseph, that he was not only embalmed, but that he was put into a coffin also, both being managements peculiar in a manner at that time to the AEgyptians. Maillet apprehends that all were not inclosed in coffins who were laid in the AEgyptian repositories of the dead; but that it was an honour appropriated to persons of consequence; for, after having given an account of several niches that are found in those chambers of death, he adds, "But it must not be imagined that the bodies deposited in these gloomy apartments were all inclosed in chests and placed in niches. The greatest part were simply embalmed, and swathed after that manner which every one has some notion of; after which they laid them one by the side of another, without any ceremony. Some were even put into these tombs without any embalming at all, or such a slight one, that there remains nothing of them in the linen in which they were wrapped but the bones, and those half rotten. It is probable that each considerable family had one of these burial-places to themselves; that the niches were designed for the bodies of the heads of the family, and that those of their domestics and slaves had no other care taken of them than the laying them on the ground after having been embalmed, or even without that, which, without doubt, was also all that was done, even to the heads of families of less distinction." See Maillet's Letters, let. 7: p. 281. After which he gives an account of a way of burial practised anciently in that country, which had been but lately discovered, and which consisted in placing the bodies, after they were swathed up, on a layer of charcoal, and covering them with a mat, under a depth of sand of seven or eight feet.

Coffins then were not universally used in AEgypt: that is undoubted from these accounts; and, probably, they were only persons of distinction who were buried in them. It is also reasonable to believe, that, in times so remote as those of Joseph, they might be much less common than afterwards; and, consequently, that Joseph's being put into a coffin in AEgypt might be mentioned to express the great honours the AEgyptians did him in death as well as in life, being interred after the most sumptuous manner of the AEgyptians, embalmed, and in a coffin.

REFLECTIONS.-Joseph was long spared through mercy, to fulfil his promise to his brethren. We have here,

1. His blessing in his children. It is the comfort of age to see an increasing and prosperous family.

2. His injunctions to his brethren when he perceived his death approaching. He confirms them in the fulfilment of God's promises; he bids them expect their removal, and neither be induced by prosperity to settle in AEgypt, nor faint under any adversity, for God would bring them up. He charges them to take his bones along with them, expresses his own faith, and strengthens theirs by this pledge, and the oath he required of them. He then expires content, in a good old age; and, after embalming, is laid in his coffin, ready for removal, when God's appointed time shall call them into the promised land. Note; (1.) When we lose our best friends, our comfort is, that God will surely bring them up again in a resurrection-day. (2.) A decent care ought to be had of the corpse, not for any effect it can produce on the departed soul, but in honour to its having been once the temple of the Holy Ghost, and in prospect of its rising again a glorious body, to be the companion of saints and angels to eternity.

Thus ends the admirable, instructive, and most ancient book of GENESIS; in which it is observable, that Moses confines himself to the history of the patriarchs, and of the holy line. Nothing further enters into his plan: for other circumstances we must refer to prophane authors. We shall now conclude our comment on this book with a short review of the character of Joseph, and more especially as he may be considered a type of our glorious Redeemer.

It is observable, that the sacred Writer is more diffuse upon the history of Joseph than upon that of any other of the patriarchs. Indeed, the whole is a master-piece of history. There is not only in the manner throughout such a happy, though uncommon mixture of simplicity and grandeur, which is a double character, so hard to be united, that it is seldom to be met with in compositions merely human; but it is likewise related with the greatest variety of tender and affecting circumstances, which might afford matter for reflections useful for the conduct of almost every part and stage of man's life.

For consider him in whatever point of view, or in whatever relation you will, and you will behold him amiable and excellent, worthy of imitation, and claiming the greatest applause. You see him spoken of in the sacred books with the highest honour; as a person greatly in the favour of God, and prospered by him wheresoever he went, even in so extraordinary a manner as to become the observation of others; as one of the strictest fidelity in every trust committed to him; of the most exemplary chastity, which no solicitations could overcome; of the most fixed reverence for God, in the midst of all the corruptions with which he was surrounded; of the noblest resolution and fortitude, which the strongest temptations could never subdue; of the most admirable sagacity, wisdom, and prudence, which made even a prince and his nobles look upon him as under Divine inspiration; of indefatigable industry and diligence, which made him successful in the most arduous attempts; of the most generous compassion and forgiveness of spirit, which the most malicious and cruel injuries could never weaken or destroy; as the preserver of AEgypt and the neighbouring nations, and as the stay and support of his own father and family; as one patient and humble in adversity; moderate in the use of power, and in the height of prosperity; faithful as a servant, dutiful as a son, affectionate as a brother; just and generous as a governor and ruler: in a word, as one of the best and most finished characters, and as an instance of the most exemplary and prosperous piety and virtue.

Agreeable to this account, he is spoken of with the greatest honour and respect by other ancient writers. Artaphanus, an ancient Greek Writer, represents him as a person who excelled his brethren in wisdom and prudence, and therefore was betrayed and sold by them; and that when he came into AEgypt, and was presented to the king, he was made by him administrator of the whole kingdom; that whereas, before his time, the business of agriculture was in great disorder, because the country was not rightly divided, and the poorer sort of people were oppressed by the higher, Joseph first of all divided the lands, distinguished them by proper marks and bounds, recovered a good part of them from the waters, and made them fit for cultivation and tillage; that he divided some of them by lot to the priests, and found out the art of measurement; and that he was greatly beloved by the AEgyptians on these accounts. See Artaphan. apud Euseb. praep. Evang. l. ix. c. 23. Philo, an ancient poet, makes honourable mention of him, as the sort of Jacob, as an interpreter of dreams, as lord of AEgypt, and as conversant in the secrets of time, under the various fluctuations of fate. See Phil. apud Euseb. ib. c. 24.. Alexander Polyhistor, who made large extracts out of other authors, relating to the Jewish affairs, cites one Demetrius, as giving the character of the ancient Jewish patriarchs. He speaks honourably of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, who, he says, was sold to the AEgyptians at seventeen years of age; that he interpreted the king's dreams; that he was governor of all AEgypt, with other circumstances, agreeable to the sacred history. See Euseb. ib. c. 17, 18, 19, 21. The account of Joseph given by Justin, we have inserted on a former occasion. See ch. Gen 41:55.

The name of Joseph is venerable also in the Eastern world. The Arabian writers, from ancient tradition, give, in many respects, the same history of him as Moses does; and, particularly, ascribe to him the useful invention of measuring the Nile, the cutting some of the principal canals, and other works of great use and advantage in AEgypt. In a word, they attribute to him all the curious wells, cisterns, aqueducts, and public granaries, as well as some obelisks, pyramids, and other ancient monuments, which are all called by his name, and which are also ascribed by the natives of AEgypt themselves to him, as well as all the ancient works of public utility throughout the kingdom; particularly, the rendering the province of Al-Tey-yum, from a standing pool or marsh, the most fertile and best cultivated land in all AEgypt. The Koran of Mohammed is very liberal in his commendation: we find there one whole chapter (the twelfth, entitled JOSEPH) concerning him: and the Eastern tradition of him is, that he not only caused justice to be impartially administered, and encouraged the people in industry and the improvement of agriculture, during the seven years of plenty; but began and perfected several works of great benefit. See Chandler's Vindication.

Such was Joseph: a careful perusal of whose history will fully exemplify this character, some of the excellencies of which we have briefly hinted in the course of our remarks. Upon the whole, this history of Joseph may be considered as an exact picture in miniature of the conduct of Providence: of that Providence, "which," as Lord Bacon observes, "in all its works, is full of windings and turnings; so that one thing seems to be a doing, when, in the mean time, quite another thing is really intended." Thus the lowest stage of misfortune, to which Joseph, by the mysterious conduct of Providence, was reduced, proved the immediate step by which he rose to honour. And those who would see the same method of Providence exemplified in a reverse of fortune, may consult the instructive history of Haman, beautifully contrasted with that of Mordecai, in the book of Esther: a consideration this, which should check our forwardness in censuring the ways of God, because they often appear to us crooked and irregular; for this is no more than what must happen, while the ends of all things are placed at a distance far beyond our reach: a consideration, which should teach us, that whatever vicissitudes befal us in this life, it is our truest wisdom, as well as our highest duty, cheerfully to acquiesce, and readily to submit ourselves: assured that the hand of God is in all, and that His wisdom, by ways and means unknown to us, will, unquestionably, cause every thing to work together for the good of those who truly and unfeignedly love and serve him. But we should not fail to observe, that as there is hardly any character in the Old Testament more worthy of imitation than that of Joseph, so are there few saints in whom God hath been pleased to express so many circumstances of resemblance with his BLESSED SON, as in Joseph.

For Jesus Christ may be said to be the true Joseph, if you view him as a beloved Son; an affectionate Brother; a trusty Servant; an illuminated Prophet; a Resister of temptations; a Forgiver of injuries; but chiefly if you consider him as an innocent Sufferer; an exalted Prince; and an universal Saviour.

Like Joseph, he was a beloved Son, whom God the Father has blessed above all his brethren. Jacob made for Joseph a garment of divers colours; and God prepared for Christ a body curiously wrought in the lower parts of the earth. Like Joseph, he is an affectionate Brother. He came to seek his brethren in the wilderness of this world, though they received him not. He knows them, when they know not him; and his bowels yearn towards them, even when he seems severe. He may deal roughly with them at first, but his heart is full of mercy. He liberally supplies their wants without money and without price, and at last, when they have known him, and faithfully adhered to him, brings them to dwell with him in the heavenly Canaan, where they shall behold his glory, and be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of his house. Like Joseph, he was a trusty servant, acquitting himself dexterously in every part of the work which was given him to do: even as the prophet also foretels, "Behold, my Servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high," Isa 52:13. Like Joseph, he is a most illuminated Prophet, in whom the Spirit of God is: none is so discreet and wise as he, the true Zaphnath-paneah, or Revealer of secrets, who is worthy to take the sealed book of God, and open its seven seals. Like Joseph, he was a Resister of temptations; for he was solicited in vain to spiritual adultery by the great enemy of salvation, when he said unto him, "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me," Mat 4:9. Though this harlot world hath cast down, wounded, and slain many strong men, our Joseph overcame her: his heart declined not to her ways: he went not astray in her paths, though in the encounter he was stripped of his mortal life, which he willingly resigned, Like Joseph he was and is a Forgiver of injuries: for as on the cross he implored forgiveness to his murderers with his expiring breath; so on the throne he gave repentance unto Israel and remission of sins; many of them whose hand had been very deep in that bloody tragedy of his crucifixion being brought to a sincere profession, that, "Verily, they were guilty concerning their brother," and the blood which they impiously shed, spoke better things than that of Abel.

But chiefly let us view him as an innocent Sufferer, whose sufferings issued in glory to himself, and universal good to men. Joseph was mortally hated of his brethren, and the butt of their envy, because, he exposed their wicked courses, and foretold his own advancement. For these same reasons was Jesus Christ hated by the Jews; and Pilate knew that for envy they delivered him. Joseph was derided of his brethren as an idle fantastic dreamer; and Jesus Christ was esteemed a doting enthusiast, a madman, and one beside himself. Joseph's brethren conspired against him to take away his life: and of Jesus Christ it is prophesied, "Why do the Heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing, to plot against the Lord, and against his Anointed?" Psa 2:1-2. Joseph was cast into a pit, but he did not remain there long: Jesus Christ was laid in the grave, but he saw no corruption. Joseph was sold for a servant by the advice of the patriarch Judah; and Jesus Christ was, by the apostle Judas, sold for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave; a goodly price he was prized at by them! Joseph was unjustly accused in AEgypt, and cast into a dungeon with two noted criminals, Pharaoh's butler and baker; Jesus Christ was unjustly condemned in Canaan, and crucified between two thieves. Joseph adjudged the one criminal to death, and the other to life; Jesus Christ adjudged one of the thieves to everlasting life, while the other perished. Joseph entreated the person whom he delivered to remember him when he came to his glory; and the person whom Jesus Christ delivered, prayed him, "O Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." Joseph indeed could but foretel his companion's deliverance; but Christ Jesus effected, by his own power, what he foretold-"To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise."

Such were the patriarch's almost unparalleled afflictions; but as he soon emerged from these deep plunges of adversity, becoming, instead of a forlorn prisoner, a prime minister of state; so Jesus Christ was taken from prison and from judgment, and "receives from God the Father honour and glory, and a name above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Php 2:9-11. Behold, ye mistaken Jews, how vain were all your machinations to frustrate his predictions! Even you yourselves became subservient to fulfil the grand design, when you killed the Prince of life, who was, by suffering death, to enter into his glory. Here the patriarch's speech to his penitent brethren may fitly be applied: "As for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as at this day, to save much people alive."

For, as the sufferings and glory of Joseph issued in the common salvation of the lives of Pharaoh's subjects and of the family of Jacob, who was a Syrian ready to perish; even so thy sufferings, and thy glory, O thou once humbled, but now exalted Redeemer, were ordained for the salvation of the world, both Jews and Gentiles, from a far more dreadful destruction than a famine of bread or water! Go unto this Joseph for a supply of your numerous wants, ye that are ready to perish. His fulness shall never be exhausted, be their number ever so great who receive out of it. O that his glory might be the joy of our heart, and the grand theme on every tongue! With what cheerfulness ought we to forsake the stuff of all terrestrial things, when Joseph is alive, that we may be with him where he is, and enjoy those blessings which are "on the head of Jesus Christ, and on the crown of the head of Him who was separated from his brethren!"