Bible Strands
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.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joseph addresses the sons of Israel on his deathbed, immediately following his promise that God will bring them back to the promised land. He issues this binding instruction just before his physical death and embalment.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיַּשְּׁבַע (va.yashva') translates literally as he made to swear an oath, while פָּקֹד (paqod) and יִפְקֹד (yifqod) mean he will surely visit or attend. These terms establish the binding nature of the command and the certainty of God’s future action.
The thread — The oath resurfaces in Exodus 13:19 when Moses carries the bones out, Joshua 24:32 when they are buried at Shechem, and Acts 7:16 which confirms the burial site. The narrative thread connects Joseph’s deathbed instruction to the Exodus and the eventual settlement in Canaan.
Why it lands — The text records a concrete command to transport remains out of Egypt, tying Israel’s physical departure to a divine promise. It requires a reader to recognize that covenant faithfulness operates across generations and demands tangible obedience to spoken word.
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 Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
Cross-references
- Joshua 24:32 And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the plot of land that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver. So it became an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.
- Exodus 13:19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear a solemn oath when he said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones with you from this place.”
- Acts 7:16 Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.
- 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,
- Hebrews 11:22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.
- 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.”