NOTES
47:28 “Jacob lived seventeen years in Egypt (2238-2255). At the end of this period, Jacob’s days, i.e., the years of his lifetime, totaled one-hundred forty-seven years. Thus, Jacob did not live as long as his grandfather Abraham (175 years) or his father Isaac (180 years).
29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph (who was still viceroy of Egypt at the time and thus had the authority to carry out his father’s last requests) to come to Goshen. When Joseph arrived, Israel said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please place your hand under my thigh and swear1 that, upon my death, you will do for me the following act—which is one of genuine kindness—since I will be able to neither thank you for it nor repay you for it in this lifetime: Please do not bury me in Egypt. I foresee that its soil beneath my body will swarm with lice when God will punish this country with plagues,2 and I do not want to feel them. Furthermore, if you bury me here, then, when it comes time for the Resurrection of the Dead, I, along with all others who are buried outside the Land of Israel, will have to undergo the painful experience of rolling through underground channels until reaching the Land of Israel, where the Resurrection will occur. Finally, I know that Pharaoh will want me to be buried in Egypt in order that the merit of my presence continue to bring blessings of prosperity to his country after my death, just as it has during my lifetime.3 But I do not want to risk the Egyptians’ making me into an object of worship after my death. True, they are already idolaters in any case, but I want to prevent them from transgressing this commandment to whatever extent I can.4
30 For I am going to soon lie down with my fathers, i.e., die, and then you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” Joseph replied, “I will do as you say.” He promised, but he did not swear, for he felt that his promise was sufficient surety.
31 Nonetheless, Jacob knew that firstly, it would not be easy for Joseph to resist Pharaoh’s insistence that he be buried in Egypt. Secondly, since they were under foreign rule in Egypt, circumstances could change in the future, making it difficult for Joseph to keep his word. Finally, he knew that Joseph himself would be more inclined to bury him in Egypt so the merit of his presence could continue to protect his descendants there even after his death. So, aware that someone who takes an oath to do something needs to remain constantly alert to changing circumstances and plan his strategies judiciously in order to ensure that he be able to fulfill his oath,5 he said, “Swear to me that you will fulfill my request.” So Joseph swore to him.
Even though they both knew that Israel was Joseph’s spiritual superior, Israel prostrated himself before Joseph in order to arouse his son’s sense of power and grant him the confidence he would require to carry out his request.6 Before prostrating himself, he positioned himself to face toward the Divine Presence, which was resting on the head of the bed, just as it rests on the head of the bed of all sick people, in order to prostrate himself before God while simultaneously doing so before Joseph. By prostrating himself before Joseph, Israel was fulfilling his part in Joseph’s second dream.7 By prostrating himself before God, Israel was thanking Him that all his children, conceived on his bed, had remained loyal to his religious ideals.”
Genesis 47:28-31 Kehot Chumash
28 “Jacob lived seventeen years in Egypt: As we saw in the Overview, these were Jacob’s best years.1 As we saw previously, when Jacob heard that Joseph was both alive and still loyal to the Torah, “the spirit of Jacob…revived.”2 It would thus seem that Jacob’s seventeen years in Egypt were the happiest in his life because he was there reunited with Joseph and proud that his son had been faithful to his instruction, withstanding all his tests—from those of slavery to those of public office.
Nonetheless, when Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (the Tzemach Tzedek) was a young boy, he asked his grandfather, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi: “How could it be that the best years of Jacob’s life were those he lived in Egypt, the epitome of decadence?”
His grandfather answered: “It is written, ‘[Jacob] had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to make advance preparations in Goshen.’3 Rashi quotes the Midrash’s interpretation of this verse: Jacob sent Judah to set up a house of study so he and his sons could study the Torah in Egypt.4 When we study the Torah, we become closer to God, so in this way it is possible to live good years even in Egypt.”5
Yet, if, indeed, it was the presence of a house of Torah study in Egypt—rather than being united with Joseph—that made Jacob’s last years there his best, could he not have set up a house of study in the land of Israel all those years?
The answer is that the young Menachem Mendel, aware of how depraved the Egyptian environment was, felt that despite Jacob’s joy in being reunited with Joseph and seeing him faithful to his ideals, the antagonistic atmosphere of Egypt should have nonetheless made Jacob’s life miserable. Rabbi Shneur Zalman answered that the Torah is the antidote even to Egypt; because the Torah connects us to God Himself, who is beyond the limitations and evil of Egypt, when we study the Torah we are immune to the detrimental effects Egypt can otherwise have on us.6
Thus, like Joseph, it was by cleaving to God through studying the Torah that Jacob was able to remain aloof from the spiritual darkness of Egypt and thrive spiritually. The Torah academy he established enabled his children to remain true to God (to “live”) in Egypt as well.7
But whereas Jacob remained completely aloof from the Egyptian outlook on life, his children, who were on a lower spiritual level than he, were aware of this consciousness. Even so, by studying Torah, they were able to remain unaffected by it.
By overcoming the challenge of Egypt, Jacob’s children grew in a way that is only possible through challenge. Although Jacob did not experience this directly—since Egypt did not present a challenge to him in the first place—he grew just as his children did since he facilitated their Torah study. His years in Egypt were therefore his best years, since never before did he derive the benefit that being Egypt afforded him.
Similarly, we often find ourselves in “Egypt,” in places of spiritual darkness. Like Jacob, through Torah study we can remain aloof from “Egypt” and reveal Godliness even there. Even if we have been influenced by “Egypt” (as Jacob’s children were, to some extent), or even seduced by it, we should not despair. By returning to God despite the challenges of Egypt, we not only emerge from the darkness but gain the spiritual advantage that results from overcoming spiritual adversity.
Those who have never been seduced by Egypt need not worry that they are missing out on this advantage. By helping those who have been seduced to return to God and the Torah, they, like Jacob, attain the advantage of those who have strayed and returned.”
Kehot Chumash Commentary on Genesis 47:28
Matthew 5:14-16 CJB
Genesis 49 – The Blessing of the Sons/ Formation of the Tribes
- v. 6 – Korach, Levi’s great-grandson, challenged Moses’ authority (Num. 16).
- Moses calls Joseph an ox (Deut. 33:17).
- Simeon and Levi’s rage was cursed, but they were not cursed.
- Judah was blessed.
- King David comes from this tribe.
- Yeshua is the lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5).
- Matt. 1:1; Lk. 2:1-6
- Lk. 18:38; Matt. 15:22
- v. 10 – prophecy of Messiah teaching the nations.
- Zech. 8:23; Isa. 2:1-3; Isa. 9:2-6(1-7 Christian Bibles).
- Gen. 49:28 (Kehot Chumash) 28 “All these are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all. This is what their father said to them, and even though it appears that he did not bless Reuben, Simeon, or Levi, he actually blessed them all, giving each one the blessing appropriate to what would befall him and his tribe in the future, and giving them all the blessings that he had given each one individually. Thus, they all received Judah’s lion-like strength, Benjamin’s wolf-like rapacity, Naphtali’s deer-like speed, and so on, although each tribe’s dominant blessing was the one Jacob mentioned specifically with reference to it.”
- Kehot Chumash Commentary: 48:19; 49:9-27; 49:11
- Judah: Leaders and Kings
- Levi: Priests
- Issachar: Scholars
- Zebulun: Business
- Gad: Soldiers
- Dan: Judges
- Asher: Olive Growers
- Naphtali: Words of Beauty
- Joseph: The Blessing of Fertility
- Inclusion of Manasseh and Ephriam
- Benjamin: Son of the Right-Hand
- [Gen. 29-30; 35:16-26; Gen. 48-49:28; Deut. 33]
Gen. 50:15-26 CJB
Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened.
Haftarah and New Testament Portion
1 Kings 2:1-12 CJB
key verses 3-5 (diagram verses)
Matthew 28:18-20 CJB
Casey D. Bell 
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