Bible Strands
Genesis 47:30
but when I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me with them.” Joseph answered, “I will do as you have requested.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jacob, approaching death in Egypt, speaks to his son Joseph and commands him to remove his body from the land. Joseph immediately agrees to fulfill the burial demand.
The words — The phrase שָׁכַבְתִּי עִם־אֲבֹתַי (sha.khav.Ti 'im- 'a.vo.Ta/i) literally means "and I will lie down with my ancestors." The verb קְבַרְתַּנִי (ke.var.Ta./ni) from קָבַר specifies the physical act of interment.
The thread — This directive connects to Genesis 49:29, Genesis 23:19, and Genesis 25:9, which document the patriarchal burial site at Machpelah as the established resting place for the family line.
Why it lands — The text requires a tangible transfer of remains to secure ancestral continuity. The reader must acknowledge how geographic relocation functions as a concrete assertion of covenant belonging.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Genesis 49:29 Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
- Genesis 23:19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
- Genesis 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
- Genesis 50:5 my father made me swear an oath when he said, ‘I am about to die. You must bury me in the tomb that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Now let me go and bury my father, and then return.”
- Genesis 50:25 And Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath and said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”
- 2 Samuel 19:37 Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.”
- 1 Kings 13:22 but you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place where He told you not to do so, your body shall never reach the tomb of your fathers.’”
- Nehemiah 2:3 and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
- Nehemiah 2:5 and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city where my fathers are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”
- Acts 7:15 So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died.