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In Genesis 50, Joseph makes his family swear to carry his bones out of Egypt to the promised land. Hebrews 11 interprets that dying request as an act of faith in an exodus Joseph trusted would come after his death.
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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.
Hebrews 11:22
New Testament
21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped as he leaned on his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave instructions about his burial. 23 By faith, when Moses was born, his parents hid him for three months because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
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Notes and References
... The fourth episode focuses on the way that Joseph, at the end of his life, remembered the exodus, although the event would not happen for several centuries (Hebrews 11:22). Joseph could speak of the exodus, not because he had experienced it, but because God had promised it. Referring to it required faith because the exodus belonged to the realm of what was hoped for, but was yet unseen (11:1). Joseph was so certain of the future exodus that he based his burial plans on it, commanding that the people should take his bones with them to Canaan (11:22b; compare Genesis 50:25b). Despite his advancement in the Egyptian court, Joseph understood that he was a resident alien in Egypt, for his true home was elsewhere. For those addressed by Hebrews, Joseph’s confidence of being taken to the promised land after his death reinforces the hope that the believer’s final rest will be in the place that God has promised (Hebrews 12:22-24). ...
Koester, Craig R.
Hebrews: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
(pp. 499-500) Doubleday, 2001
* 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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