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In Genesis 50, Joseph makes Israel swear to carry his bones out of Egypt. Exodus 13 reports Moses keeping that oath as the people leave, repeating Joseph’s words about carrying his bones up from this place.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 50:25
Hebrew Bible
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 25 Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, “God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of 110. After they embalmed him, his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
Exodus 13:19
Hebrew Bible
18 So God brought the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea, and the Israelites went up from the land of Egypt prepared for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly swear, “God will surely attend to you, and you will carry my bones up from this place with you.” 20 They journeyed from Sukkoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the desert.
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Notes and References
... My thesis is that they connect Genesis with Exodus and Joshua and create a plot or storyline. More precisely, they create a bridge between the ancestors and the settlement in the land. This bridge is not only chronological in nature. This time, there is an element of causality, since there is a reason why Joseph wants his bones to be buried in Shechem, namely, that God will “visit” Israel in Egypt in the future. The reader may ask, “Why does Joseph want to be buried in Shechem?” and “When will Joseph’s bones be buried in Shechem?” This narrative program is to be carried out and generates expectation and suspense. ...
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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