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Genesis 50 Bible study: God meant it for good
Jacob's sons carried him home to Machpelah. Afraid, the brothers asked forgiveness, and Joseph said, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive." He comforted them. Dying, he said, "God will surely visit you... carry up my bones from here." Genesis ends with a coffin in Egypt and a promise.
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“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“Joseph asks, ‘Am I in the place of God?’, as Jacob once asked Rachel.”
Is that in Genesis 50, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Jacob carried home
"Joseph fell on his father’s face, wept on him, and kissed him" (50:1). The physicians embalm Israel, and "The Egyptians wept for Israel for seventy days" (50:3). Pharaoh lets Joseph go, and a great company goes up with him (50:6-9). "His sons did to him just as he commanded them, for his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah" (50:12-13), as Joseph had sworn (47:29-31).
Where it leads to Jesus
Instructions concerning his bones
Genesis 50:25leads toHebrews 12:2
Joseph says, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here" (50:25). Hebrews names this as faith: "By faith Joseph, when his end was near, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones" (Hebrews 11:22). It says those in that list "didn’t receive the promise", "so that apart from us they should not be made perfect" (Hebrews 11:39-40), and tells its readers to run "looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith" (Hebrews 12:2).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Genesis 50
That was a taste
The rest of Genesis 50 is waiting in Favor
- "It may be that Joseph will hate us"
- "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good"
- "God will surely visit you"
- Carrying Joseph's bones
- From "will surely visit" to "have surely visited"
- 14 questions as you read
- 5 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Genesis 50 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
פָּקַדpaqadsay pa-KAD
"Attend to, visit, muster, appoint" (Brown-Driver-Briggs); Strong's: "to visit (with friendly or hostile intent)". "God will surely visit you" (50:24, 25) doubles the verb, paqod yifqod, and Joseph says it twice. Its first use in Genesis is "The LORD visited Sarah as he had said" (21:1), when Isaac was born. God later tells Moses, "I have surely visited you" (Exodus 3:16).
For your group
Genesis 50 Bible study questions
- 1Joseph said, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." Where have you seen God bring good out of something meant to hurt?
- 2Years after Joseph wept over his brothers and provided for them, they still feared payback. Why is it sometimes hard to believe we've really been forgiven?
- 3Genesis ends with a coffin in Egypt and a promise: "God will surely visit you." What promise of God are you still waiting to see kept?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Genesis 50 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
How much does it cost?
Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.
Can I read Genesis 50 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Genesis 50 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home