Bible Strands
Genesis 47:29
When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Israel (Jacob) summons his son Joseph near the end of his life to issue final burial instructions.
The words — The Hebrew phrase יְמֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל לָמוּת (ye.mei-Yis.ra.'El la.Mut) literally renders "the days of Israel to die," marking the imminent end of his lifespan.
The thread — The oath formula of placing a hand under the thigh and pledging kindness and faithfulness appears in Genesis 24:2 and 24:49, while the explicit notice of impending death parallels Deuteronomy 31:14.
Why it lands — The text explicitly commands a physical oath and a specific burial location, requiring the reader to acknowledge the binding nature of ancestral promises and the refusal to remain in Egypt.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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:
Cross-references
- Genesis 24:2 So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,
- Genesis 24:49 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; but if not, let me know, so that I may go elsewhere.”
- Deuteronomy 31:14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, the time of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting.
- 1 Kings 2:1 As the time drew near for David to die, he charged his son Solomon,
- Genesis 50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
- Acts 7:15 So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died.
- Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
- Genesis 47:9 “My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”
- 2 Samuel 7:12 And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.
- 2 Samuel 14:14 For we will surely die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life, but He devises ways that the banished one may not be cast out from Him.