Introduction: At this stage of his life, Jacob was 130 years of age, and had relocated to Egypt thanks to his son Joseph. What Jacob may have thought of this, that his son was the second most powerful man in Egypt and maybe one of the most influential in that part of the world, is never known. But we do know Jacob had several things to say, and some blessings to give to a few people. He was, we might say, approaching the finish line even though he had not yet finished his race.
1 An encounter with Pharaoh
Text, Genesis 47:7-10, KJV: 7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? 9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
This event happened after Jacob and Joseph’s brothers had arrived in Egypt. Joseph had taken five of his brothers to meet Pharaoh and they had received a warm welcome (47:1-6).
Now Joseph took his father to meet Pharaoh. We’re not told anything about what Jacob might have been thinking or feeling at this time, but he could have felt gratitude, for one thing, by making he and his sons feel welcomed in Egypt. He could have been awed by standing before one of the most powerful men in the world—and Jacob had little except his family and what he brought with him.
Even so, Moses records that Jacob blessed Pharaoh! Compare this blessing he gave, to a total stranger, to the blessing he stole from Esau many years before. It could be that Jacob didn’t know what was going to happen, and we might be forgiven for wondering what he could have been thinking. Seldom did anyone see a ruler in those days unless there was a good reason.
Then Pharaoh asked Jacob a question that may seem rude to us, and to be honest, I don’t know of any other time in Scripture where anyone was asked his or her age. Pharaoh asked Joseph, “How old are you?” To be fair, Jacob was old when Joseph was born and Pharaoh seemed to be aware of this age difference. Further, Joseph was most likely dressed in Egyptian clothing and he probably looked like an Egyptian by this time. We’ll likely never know the true reason but we can still appreciate Pharaoh showing kindness to Joseph’s father. After all, Pharaoh was the ruler and he was under no special obligations to anybody.
Jacob’s reply to Pharaoh’s question is at once touching and troubling. He first called his life “the days of the years of my pilgrimage” which at least tells me he knew he wasn’t going to live forever on earth in those days. He had seen or at least experienced the loss of several loved one: Abraham, his grandfather, when he and Esau were 15; Rachel, his favorite wife, as they were heading back to Hebron and Isaac; then Isaac, his father, who died some years after Jacob and the others arrived. He also missed the death of his mother, Rebekah, and if Leah, his other wife, wasn’t dead by now she would be in the next few years. Thus, he knew life was really a pilgrimage, from one’s birth to the end of his days.
He added that his “pilgrimage (were) an hundred and thirty years” in duration. That tells me he had done some reflecting: nearly half of his life had spent in obscurity, living in Isaac and Rebekah’s household, then the other half in various journeys, winding up in a land where he had never been before.
And he concluded by saying the days of his “pilgrimage (were) few and evil”. He might have thought this because Abraham had lived to 175 years of age (Gen. 25:7) and Isaac, 180 (Gen. 35:28). He might have well been aware of his physical conditions by now. Truly, some of his days were evil, mostly of his own doing such as his dealings with Esau; and sometimes evil came upon him by someone else, such as Laban’s dealings with him and what had happened at Shechem some years before. Jacob may have weighed all of this in the balance and decided what he had done just didn’t add up. That may have been a regret he carried for a long, long time.
Once he and Pharaoh had spoken (was there more, not recorded?), Jacob blessed Pharaoh the second time. Pharaoh’s reaction to either of these blessings is never recorded but I myself would like to think he appreciated this.
After this, Jacob left Pharaoh and probably returned back to his family. That’s a testament to Jacob’s integrity at this stage of his life: he could have asked for anything from either Joseph or Pharaoh himself but he didn’t. He seemed content, if not happy or resigned, to staying in this land at least for a while.
Eventually, though, Jacob knew he would have to make some final preparations.
2 A final request for Joseph
Text, Genesis 47:27-31, KJV: 27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. 29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: 30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. 31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
This next chapter of Jacob’s life took place 17 years after he and his household arrived in Egypt. During this time, the Israelites “multiplied exceedingly”! Joseph’s plan to save his family seemed to be working very well: Goshen was near the Nile Delta and was probably some of the best land in that part of the world.
But Jacob became aware that his earthly journey was just about over. Jacob was now 147 years of age, and he was going to make one final request of his favorite son, Joseph. That request concerned where Jacob wanted to be buried once his life was over.
Notice how Jacob approached Joseph about this. He came to Joseph and first said, “If I have found grace in [your] sight. . .” He didn’t demand Joseph do anything at this point. This could be because Jacob didn’t know if Joseph had the wherewithal to make this happen. At this time, Hebrews and Egyptians were still an abomination to each other, if I read Gen. 43:32 correctly. Jacob was probably reasonably sure his other sons couldn’t do this, by the way.
Then Jacob appealed to a custom or tradition used in Abraham’s day. Much like Abraham had asked his servant (Gen 24:1-9) to place his hand “under (Abraham’s) thigh” and swear he would do what Abraham asked, Jacob now asked Joseph to do the same thing. Joseph said he would do as his father asked. I checked a couple of different sources and these are the only two times where this custom was observed in Scripture. I checked several different commentaries but I wasn’t able to find out when this custom was first established.
Once this was settled, Jacob “bowed himself upon the bed’s head” but he wasn’t done with his earthly journey yet.
He had another blessing in store, this time for Joseph’s sons.
3 A blessing for Joseph’s sons
Text, Genesis 48:8-14, KJV: 8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? 9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. 12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
Chapter 48 begins with a pair of notifications. One messenger got word to Joseph that Jacob was “sick”—his final illness, as it turned out; and another told Jacob that Joseph was coming to see Jacob. Give Joseph credit here: he could have said, “I’m too busy” or “The boss won’t let me take time off” or any such thing. No, his dad was sick and Joseph was going to do what he could during his father’s illness. It is not stated if Joseph was told how serious Jacob’s condition was.
Joseph also brought his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. These men (both were near 20 or so years of age at the time!) were Joseph’s sons by Asenath, an Egyptian woman (Gen 41:50-52). Note how this resembles Jacob’s own dealings with his grandfather Abraham, who was alive until Jacob and Esau reached 15. It would be interesting to see how this mixture of Hebrew, half-Canaanite (Judah’s sons), and half-Egyptian cousins interacted with each other but nothing is said about this. After all, the focus—rightly—was on Jacob and this home stretch of his final journey in this life.
Jacob’s eyes were “dim for age”, meaning he was almost blind. This is the same condition that had affected Isaac years before (Gen. 27:1) and many years later, Eli, high priest in the days of Samuel (1 Sam 4:15). As a result, and, since Joseph’s sons seemed to be close in age, Jacob may not really have known who Joseph had brought to see him.
After Jacob asked Joseph who had come with him, Joseph explained, “These are my sons”. Then Jacob, in a very touching gesture, asked Joseph to bring them to Jacob so that he could bless them. Again, what a contrast this was to the years before when Rebekah had schemed to get Jacob the blessing that was rightfully Esau’s. This time, Jacob chose to bless both of Joseph’s sons. There is no record Jacob did this for any of his other grandchildren.
Joseph now brought his two sons to Jacob. This part of the story is not easy to read without getting a little emotional: remember that Jacob had thought he’d lost Joseph forever, years before; but now he’s been reunited with Joseph. Also he’s rejoicing in that he’d not only seen Joseph but Joseph’s sons as well.
Once Jacob finished speaking, Joseph brought Manasseh (the first born) and Ephraim to Jacob’s left and right hands, respectively. But none of these three, I think, were prepared for what would happen next. Jacob, even though he may not have seen clearly with his eyes, could definitely see the future, and gave a blessing. Jacob crossed his hands and placed his right hand on Ephraim and his left on Manasseh! Joseph was concerned about this, and alerted Jacob, “Dad, you chose the wrong kid (in so many words)!”
The verses following describe why Jacob did what he did. He blessed Joseph and both of his sons. In brief, Jacob had adopted Manasseh and Ephraim as his own sons (verses 5-6) and gave them a blessing. This had to be something special for both Manasseh and Ephraim, to be so little acquainted with their grandfather but they received this tremendous blessing.
When we get to the home stretch of our earthly journey, when we see the finish line in sight, I hope we’ll be able to bless, as Jacob did. His example speaks volumes to us even today.
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).
