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,
Parallel translations
- WEB The time came near that Israel must die, and he called his son Joseph, and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please don’t bury me in Egypt,
- KJV 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:
- NKJV When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,
- NASB When the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your sight, place your hand under my thigh now and deal with me in kindness and faithfulness: please do not bury me in Egypt,
- NLT As the time of his death drew near, Jacob called for his son Joseph and said to him, “Please do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will treat me with unfailing love by honoring this last request: Do not bury me in Egypt.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Sensing death near, Israel makes Joseph swear by a solemn oath to bury him not in Egypt but in Canaan. He clings in faith to the promised land.
Overview
Jacob has Joseph place his hand under his thigh, a solemn ancient form of oath, to ensure burial in the land of promise. His refusal to rest permanently in Egypt expresses unshaken faith that Canaan, not Egypt, was Israel's true inheritance. Like the patriarchs in Hebrews 11, Jacob dies looking for the land God had pledged.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Gen 24:2So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,
- Gen 24:49Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; but if not, let me know, so that I may go elsewhere.”
- Deut 31:14Then 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 Kgs 2:1As the time drew near for David to die, he charged his son Solomon,
- Gen 50:24–25Then 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 7:15–16So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died.
- Ps 6:5For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?
- Gen 3:19By 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.”
- Job 30:23Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
- Heb 11:22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.
- Heb 9:27Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,
- 2 Sam 14:14For surely we will 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.
- Job 14:14When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, until my renewal comes.
- Job 7:1“Is not man consigned to labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand?
- Ps 89:48What man can live and never see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
- Ps 49:9that he should live on forever and not see decay.
- Gen 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 Sam 7:12And 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.
- Ps 49:7No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 47:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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