Commentary on Genesis 50:15-21

Genesis concludes with a scene of reconciliation and forgiveness between long-estranged brothers. 

Strangers in a strange land

The last major section of the book of Genesis contains the charming tale of Joseph in Egypt, a coherent and excellent example of Hebrew narrative style often called “the Joseph novella” (chapters 37, 39–50). The story contains many details authentic to its Egyptian setting, including geographical names, titles, and practices (for example, 41:45; 50:2–3). The novella plays upon ancient Egypt’s reputation for glory, power, and exotic wonder in telling the story of a successful Jew in the court of a foreign king (like Esther and Daniel). 

Joseph’s brothers have traveled to Egypt because there is a famine in the land of Canaan (42:1–3), a land of rain-based farming. Egypt is “the gift of the Nile,” as Herodotus describes it, since its fields are watered not by rain but from the Nile River, which begins its journey northward through the barren Sahara from southern rains in Ethiopia and Uganda. Jacob’s family thus finds food and, later, refuge from famine in their African sojourn under God’s guiding care. 

The theme of sojourners, exiles, and immigrants runs steadily through the book of Genesis. Adam and Eve are exiled from Eden; Abraham and Sarah emigrate from Mesopotamia to Canaan (and then to Egypt and back); and Jacob spends 20 years at his uncle Laban’s homeland in northern Syria before ending his days in Egypt.

In Genesis 50, Jacob’s extended family are living as guests of the Pharaoh in the land of Egypt, where they are initially tolerated as a foreign and detested population of shepherds (46:31–34). Joseph’s great power and authority provide their protection as a vulnerable immigrant community in the fields of Goshen, at least until there arises a Pharaoh who “knew not Joseph” (Exodus 1:8, King James Version). 

Rivalry and reconciliation

The theme of fraternal or sibling rivalry begins with Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 and permeates the rest of the biblical book. There is an especially complicated history of deception, grievance, and trauma in Jacob’s particular family history. Jacob himself steals his brother Esau’s birthright (Genesis 25) and blessing (Genesis 27) through deception and is subsequently deceived and manipulated by his uncle Laban in multiple ways (Genesis 29–31). 

This pattern of deception and trickery continues in the early sections of the Joseph novella. Joseph is literally sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, who resent the fact that he is their father’s favorite (37:4–8). Joseph’s youthful dream of his brothers bowing down to him in homage (37:5–9) only exacerbates their hatred of the dreamer in their midst. They convince their father that Joseph has been killed by a wild beast to cover their crime of human trafficking.

When Jacob’s 10 sons first arrive in Egypt decades later to purchase grain (Genesis 42), they do not recognize their brother in his Egyptian costume and royal finery. They bow low to him, as his youthful dream had predicted. Joseph then engages in his own complicated deceptions, intimidations, and “testing”—including hostage-taking and imprisonment (Genesis 42-44)—before eventually revealing himself to his estranged brothers. He then offers his generous provisioning of their entire family (Genesis 45–47) in the land of Goshen. Jacob is reunited with his lost son, and all is well until his dying days.

Hidden agendas?

Once Jacob has died, the brothers fear the hidden wrath of their powerful younger brother: “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?” (50:15). As many previous commentators have noted, their worry that Joseph might seek vengeance upon them now that their father is dead is quite realistic. Compare a young Esau’s explicit plan to murder his brother Jacob only after their father Isaac has died (27:41).

In this story, Joseph had suffered through 13 years in slavery and imprisonment: He was 17 when his brothers sold him into slavery (37:2) and 30 when Pharaoh released him from prison and gave him authority over all the land of Egypt (41:46). He has suffered grievously from their earlier lies and crime. Even now, the brothers may be fabricating the story that it was Jacob who was asking Joseph to truly forgive his brothers (50:16)! The brothers’ remorse appears to be authentic, however, as they describe themselves as “slaves” in submission to both God and Joseph (50:18).

The point of our passage seems to be that Joseph truly has forgiven his brothers. The Hebrew verb nasah, “to forgive,” denotes a lifting away of guilt or iniquity. Joseph rises above his personal grievance (“Am I in the place of God?”) to accept the larger scope of God’s plan to save a multitude of people.

Other examples of brotherly reconciliation in Genesis include Ishmael and Isaac reuniting to lay their father Abraham to rest (25:8–19) and Esau graciously welcoming Jacob back home (33:4–15).

Providence

A clear import of our lectionary passage is the theological concept of divine providence: “Even though you intended to do me harm, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today” (50:20). When Joseph first reveals himself to his brothers in 45:5, he similarly identifies their earlier sin and explains: “And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, because God sent me before you to preserve life.” 

God gave Joseph the individual gift of dream interpretation, but the intent was eventually to save the entire family, as well as the people of Egypt, from death. Working behind the scenes in this novella, God had taken Joseph from the pit to the prison to the palace for the greater good.

The story of Joseph offers a glimpse into a doctrine of providence that depicts God’s purposeful sovereignty in creating, upholding, and caring for human life. This doctrine may be comforting to many, but preachers and proclaimers should always treat the doctrine with special care. While a reliance on providence offers comfort and hope that God is in control, however stormy the situation seems, it can also wound when misapplied to people experiencing great suffering or grief (as Job’s friends teach us by negative example).

Forgiveness

The end of the Joseph novella pairs well with other biblical and lectionary passages such as Romans 14:1–12 and Matthew 18:21–35, which teach the need to forgive others for their sins against us, as Joseph models. Psalm 103 also shows how we should pray for forgiveness from God (mercy) and be thankful that God does not repay us according to our own sins (grace). Leviticus 19:18 also admonishes the people of God, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”