14And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, lthey said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may 3actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.”
16So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying,
17‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; mfor they did evil to you.’” Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of nthe God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
18Then his brothers also went and ofell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
19Joseph said to them, p“Do not be afraid, qfor am I in the place of God?
20r“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but sGod meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
21“Now therefore, do not be afraid; tI will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke 4kindly to them.
Death of Joseph
(Heb. 11:22)
22So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father’s household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.
23Joseph saw Ephraim’s children uto the third generation. vThe children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, wwere also brought up on Joseph’s knees.
24And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but xGod will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land yof which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
25Then zJoseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely 5visit you, and ayou shall carry up my bbones from here.”
26So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. Joseph—A Type of Christ
Genesis Commentaries
Genesis 1
1:1—2:3 This description of God creating heaven and earth is understood to be: 1) recent, i.e., thousands not millions of years ago; 2) ex nihilo, i.e., out of nothing; and 3) special, i.e., in 6 consecutive 24 hour periods called “days” and further distinguished as such by this phrase, “the evening and the morning.” Scripture does not support a creation date earlier than about 10,000 years ago. In the beginning. While God exists eternally (Ps. 90:2), this marked the beginning of the universe in time and space. In explaining Israel’s identity and purpose to her on the plains of Moab, God wanted His people to know about the origin of the world in which they found themselves. God. Elohim is a general term for deity and a name for the True God, though used also at times for pagan gods (31:30), angels (Ps. 8:5), men (Ps. 82:6), and judges (Ex. 21:6). Moses made no attempt to defend the existence of God, which is assumed, or explain what He was like in person and works which is treated elsewhere (cf. Is. 43:10, 13). Both are to be believed by faith (cf. Heb. 11:3, 6). created. This word is used here of God’s creative activity alone, although it occasionally is used elsewhere of matter which already existed (Is. 65:18). Context demands in no uncertain terms that this was a creation without preexisting material (as does other Scripture: cf. Is. 40:28; 45:8, 12, 18; 48:13; Jer. 10:16; Acts 17:24). the heavens and the earth. All of God’s creation is incorporated into this summary statement which includes all 6, consecutive days of creation.
1:2 without form, and void. This means “not finished in its shape and as yet uninhabited by creatures” (cf. Is. 45:18, 19; Jer. 4:23). God would quickly (in 6 days) decorate His initial creation (1:2—2:3). deep. Sometimes referred to as primordial waters, this is the term used to describe the earth’s water-covered surface before the dry land emerged (1:9, 10). Jonah used this word to describe the watery abyss in which he found himself submerged (Jon. 2:5). Spirit of God. Not only did God the Holy Spirit participate in creation, but so did God the Son (cf. John 1:1–3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2).
1:3 God said. God effortlessly spoke light into existence (cf. Pss. 33:6; 148:5). This dispelled the darkness of v. 2. light. The greater and lesser lights (the sun and moon) were created later (1:14–19) on the fourth day. Here, God was the provider of light (2 Cor. 4:6) and will in eternity future be the source of light (cf. Rev. 21:23).
1:4 good. Good for the purposes it was intended to serve (cf. 1:31).
1:4, 5 divided…called. After the initial creation, God continued to complete His universe. Once God separated certain things, He then named them. Separating and naming were acts of dominion and served as a pattern for man, who would also name a portion of God’s creation over which God gave him dominion (2:19, 20).
1:5 first day. God established the pattern of creation in 7 days which constituted a complete week. “Day” can refer to: 1) the light portion of a 24 hour period (1:5, 14); 2) an extended period of time (2:4); or 3) the 24 hour period which basically refers to a full rotation of the earth on its axis, called evening and morning. This cannot mean an age, but only a day, reckoned by the Jews from sunset to sunset (vv. 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). “Day” with numerical adjectives in Hebrew always refers to a 24 hour period. Comparing the order of the week in Ex. 20:8–11 with the creation week confirms this understanding of the time element. Such a cycle of light and dark means that the earth was rotating on its axis, so that there was a source of light on one side of the earth, though the sun was not yet created (v. 16).
1:6 firmament. The portion of God’s creation named “heavens,” that which man saw when he looked up, i.e., the atmospheric and stellar heaven.
1:7 under the firmament. Refers to subterranean reservoirs (cf. 7:11). above the firmament. This could possibly have been a canopy of water vapor which acted to make the earth like a hothouse, provided uniform temperature, inhibited mass air movements, caused mist to fall, and filtered out ultraviolet rays, thus extending life.
1:9, 10 dry land. This was caused by a tremendous, cataclysmic upheaval of the earth’s surface, and the rising and sinking of the land, which caused the waters to plunge into the low places, forming the seas, the continents and islands, the rivers and lakes (cf. Job 38:4–11; Ps. 104:6–9).
1:11 whose seed is in itself. The principle of reproduction that marks all life (cf. vv. 22, 24, 28).
1:11, 12 according to its kind. God set in motion a providential process whereby the vegetable kingdom could reproduce through seeds which would maintain each one’s unique characteristics. The same phrase is used to describe the perpetuating reproduction of animals within their created species (vv. 21, 24, 25), and indicates that evolution, which proposes reproduction across species lines, is a false explanation of origins.
1:14 lights. Cf. v. 16. For 3 days there had been light (v. 4) in the day as though there were a sun, and lesser light at night as though there were the moon and stars. God could have left it that way, but did not. He created the “lights, sun, moon, and stars,” not for light, but to serve as markers for signs, seasons, days, and years. signs. Certainly to include: 1) weather (Matt. 16:2, 3); 2) testimony to God (Pss. 8, 19; Rom. 1:14–20; 3) divine judgment (Joel 2:30, 31; Matt. 24:29); and 4) navigation (Matt. 2:1, 2). seasons. It is the earth’s movement in relation to the sun and moon that determines the seasons and the calendar.
1:15–19 two great lights…to divide the light from the darkness. It was God (not some other deity) who created the lights. Israel had originally come from Mesopotamia, where the celestial bodies were worshiped, and more recently from Egypt, where the sun was worshiped as a primary deity. God was revealing to them that the very stars, moons, and planets which Israel’s neighbors had worshiped were the products of His creation. Later, they became worshipers of the “host of heaven” (see note on 2 Kin. 17:16), which led to their being taken captive out of the Promised Land.
1:20 living creatures. These creatures, including the extraordinarily large ones, included all sorts of fish and mammals, even dinosaurs (see notes on Job 40:15—4
1:1).
1:22 blessed. This is the first occurrence of the word “bless” in Scripture. God’s admonition to “be fruitful and multiply” was the substance of the blessing.
1:24, 25 cattle…beast. This probably represents all kinds of large, four-legged animals.
1:24 beast of the earth. Different from and larger than the clan of cattle, this would include dinosaurs like Behemoth (Job 40:15ff.).
1:26 Us…Our. The first clear indication of the triunity of God (cf. 3:22; 11:7). The very name of God, Elohim (1:1), is a plural form of El. man. The crowning point of creation, a living human, was made in God’s image to rule creation. Our image. This defined man’s unique relation to God. Man is a living being capable of embodying God’s communicable attributes (cf. 9:6; Rom. 8:29; Col. 3:10; James 3:9). In his rational life, he was like God in that he could reason and had intellect, will, and emotion. In the moral sense, he was like God because he was good and sinless.
1:26–28 have dominion…subdue. This defined man’s unique relation to creation. Man was God’s representative in ruling over the creation. The command to rule separated him from the rest of living creation and defined his relationship as above the rest of creation (cf. Ps. 8:6–8).
1:27 male and female. Cf. Matt. 19:4; Mark 10:6. While these two persons equally shared God’s image and together exercised dominion over creation, they were by divine design physically diverse in order to accomplish God’s mandate to multiply, i.e., neither one could reproduce offspring without the other.
1:28 blessed. This second blessing (cf. 1:22) involved reproduction and dominion. “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it…” God, having just created the universe, created His representative (dominion) and representation (cf. image and likeness). Man would fill the earth and oversee its operation. “Subdue” does not suggest a wild and unruly condition for the creation because God Himself pronounced it “good.” Rather, it speaks of a productive ordering of the earth and its inhabitants to yield its riches and accomplish God’s purposes.
1:29, 30 for food…for food. Prior to the curse (3:14–19), both mankind and beasts were vegetarians.
1:31 very good. What had been pronounced good individually (vv. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25) was now called “very good” collectively. The words anticipated God’s conclusion that it was “not good” for a man to be alone (2:18), which occurred on the sixth day.
Genesis 2
2:1–3 These words affirm that God had completed His work. Four times it is said that He finished His work, and 3 times it is said that this included all His work. Present processes in the universe reflect God sustaining that completed creation, not more creation (cf. Heb. 1:3).
2:2 ended…rested. God certainly did not rest due to weariness; rather, establishing the pattern for man’s work cycle, He only modeled the need for rest. Later, the Sabbath ordinance of Moses found its basis in the creation week (cf. Ex. 20:8–11). The Sabbath was God’s sacred ordained day in the weekly cycle. Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man…” (Mark 2:2) and Gen. 2:3 stated that God “sanctified” or set apart the Sabbath day because He rested in it. Later, it was set aside for a day of worship in the Mosaic law (see note on Ex. 20:8). Hebrews 4:4 distinguishes between physical rest and the redemptive rest to which it pointed. Colossians 2:16 makes it clear that the Mosaic “Sabbath” has no symbolic or ritual place in the New Covenant. The church began worshiping on the first day of the week to commemorate the resurrection of Christ (Acts 20:7).
2:4—4:26 The history of the heavens and the earth (v. 4).
2:4–25 This section fills in the details of man’s creation on day six. How did Moses obtain this account, so different from the absurd fictions of the pagans? Not from any human source, for man was not in existence to witness it. Not from the light of reason, for though intellect can know the eternal power of the Godhead (Rom. 1:18–20) and that God made all things, it cannot know how. None but the Creator Himself could give this data and, therefore, it is through faith that one understands that the worlds were formed by the Word of God (Heb. 11:3).
2:6 mist went up. This should be translated “flow.” It indicates that water came up from beneath the ground as springs and spread over the whole earth in an uninterrupted cycle of water. After the fall, rain became the primary means of watering the earth and allowed for floods and droughts that did not exist originally. Rains also allowed for God to judge through floods and droughts.
2:7 formed. Many of the words used in this account of the creation of man picture a master craftsman at work shaping a work of art to which he gives life (1 Cor. 15:45). This adds detail to the statement of fact in 1:27 (cf. 1 Tim. 2:13). Cf. Ps. 139:14. Made from dirt, a man’s value is not in the physical components that form his body, but in the quality of life which forms his soul (see Job 33:4).
2:8 garden…Eden. The Babylonians called the lush green land from which water flowed edenu; today, the term “oasis” describes such a place. This was a magnificent garden paradise, unlike any the world has seen since, where God fellowshiped with those He created in His image. The exact location of Eden is unknown; if “eastward” was used in relationship to where Moses was when he wrote, then it could have been in the area of Babylon, the Mesopotamian Valley.
2:9 tree of life. A real tree, with special properties to sustain eternal life. It was placed in the center of the garden, where it must have been observed by Adam, and its fruit perhaps eaten by him, thus sustaining his life (2:16). Such a tree, symbolic of eternal life, will be in the new heavens and new earth (see note on Rev. 22:2). tree…knowledge. Cf. 2:16; 3:1–6, 11, 22. It was perhaps given that title because it was a test of obedience by which our first parents were tried, whether they would be good or bad—obey God or disobey His command.
2:10 out of. That is to say “the source,” and likely refers to some great spring gushing up inside the garden from some subterranean reservoir. There was no rain at that time.
2:11 Pishon…Havilah. Locations are uncertain. This represents pre-Flood geography, now dramatically altered.
2:12 Bdellium. A gum resin. This refers more to appearance than color, i.e., it had the appearance of a pale resin.
2:13 Gihon…Cush. The river location is uncertain. Cush could be modern-day Ethiopia.
2:14 Hiddekel…Assyria. The post-Flood Tigris River runs NW to SE east of the city of Babylon through the Mesopotamian Valley. Euphrates. A river that runs parallel (NW to SE) to the Tigris and empties into the Persian Gulf after joining the Tigris.
2:15 tend and keep it. Work was an important and dignified part of representing the image of God and serving Him, even before the Fall. Cf. Rev. 22:3.
2:17 surely die. To “die” has the basic idea of separation. It can mean spiritual separation, physical separation, and/or eternal separation. At the moment of their sin, Adam and Eve died spiritually, but because God was merciful they did not die physically until later (5:5). There is no reason given for this prohibition, other than it was a test (see note on v. 9). There was nothing magical about that tree, but eating from it after it had been forbidden by God would indeed give man the knowledge of evil—since evil can be defined as disobeying God. Man already had the knowledge of good.
2:18 not good. When God saw His creation as very good (1:31), He viewed it as being to that point the perfect outcome to His creative plan. However, in observing man’s state as not good, He was commenting on his incompleteness before the end of the sixth day because the woman, Adam’s counterpart, had not yet been created. The words of this verse emphasize man’s need for a companion, a helper, and an equal. He was incomplete without someone to complement him in fulfilling the task of filling, multiplying, and taking dominion over the earth. This points to Adam’s inadequacy, not Eve’s insufficiency (cf. 1 Cor. 11:9). Woman was made by God to meet man’s deficiency (cf. 1 Tim. 2:14).
2:19 This was not a new creation of animals. They were created before man on the fifth and sixth days (1:20–25). Here the Lord God was calling at
tention to the fact that He created them “out of the ground” as He did man, but man, who was a living soul in the image of God was to name them, signifying his rule over them.
2:20 gave names to. Naming is an act of discerning something about the creature so as to appropriately identify it and also an act of leadership or authority over that which was named. There is no kinship with any animal since none was a fitting companion for Adam.
2:21 one of his ribs. This could also be “sides,” including surrounding flesh (“flesh of my flesh,” v. 23). Divine surgery by the Creator presented no problems. This would also imply the first act of healing in Scripture.
2:23 bone of my bones. Adam’s poem focuses on naming the delight of his heart in this newly found companion. The man (ish) names her “woman” (isha) because she had her source in him (the root of the word “woman” is “soft”). She truly was made of bone from his bones and flesh from his flesh. Cf. 1 Cor. 11:8. The English words man/woman sustain the same relationship as the Hebrew words, hinting at that original creation.
2:24 leave…be joined to. The marital relationship was established as the first human institution. The responsibility to honor one’s parents (Ex. 20:12) does not cease with leaving and the union of husband with wife (Matt. 19:5; Mark 10:7, 8; 1 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 5:31), but does represent the inauguration of a new and primary responsibility. “Joined” carries the sense of a permanent or indissoluble union, so that divorce was not considered (cf. 2:16). “One flesh” speaks of a complete unity of parts making a whole, e.g., one cluster, many grapes (Num. 13:23) or one God in 3 persons (Deut. 6:4); thus this marital union was complete and whole with two people. This also implies their sexual completeness. One man and one woman constitute the pair to reproduce. The “one flesh” is primarily seen in the child born of that union, the one perfect result of the union of two. Cf. uses of this verse in Matt. 19:5, 6; Mark 10:8; 1 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 5:31. Permanent monogamy was and continues to be God’s design and law for marriage.
The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV Page 21