The Meaning of Genesis 47:29 Explained

Genesis 47:29

KJV: And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:

YLT: And the days of Israel are near to die, and he calleth for his son, for Joseph, and saith to him, 'If, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and thou hast done with me kindness and truth; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt,

Darby: And the days of Israel approached that he should die. And he called his son Joseph, and said to him, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me: bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt;

ASV: And the time drew near that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found favor in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me: bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the time  drew nigh  that Israel  must die:  and he called  his son  Joseph,  and said  unto him, If now I have found  grace  in thy sight,  put,  I pray thee, thy hand  under my thigh,  and deal  kindly  and truly  with me; bury  me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: 

What does Genesis 47:29 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 47:27-31 - Joseph Visits His Dying Father
How inexorable is the must of death! For many years Jacob had exceeded the ordinary span of human life, and now, like the last apple on the tree, he must be gathered. For seventeen years he had been familiar with Egypt's splendid temples, obelisks and pyramids; he had been surrounded with all the comforts that filial love could devise; but nothing could make him forget that distant cave in the land of Canaan. In his judgment Egypt's most splendid pyramid was not to be compared with that humble sepulcher where the mortal remains of Abraham and Sarah, of Isaac and Rebekah, and of the faithful Leah awaited his. On Joseph's second visit he was weaker, and with an effort nerved himself for the interview. The angel-ladder and Rachel's death stood prominently out before the dying eyes. When he returned from this pathetic reverie he turned to the two boys who stood awestruck beside him and adopted them, for their beloved father's sake. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 47

1  Joseph presents his father, and five of his brothers before Pharaoh
11  He gives them habitation and maintenance
13  He gets the Egyptian's money;
16  their cattle;
18  and their lands, except the priests', to Pharaoh
23  He restores the land for a fifth
28  Jacob's age
29  He swears Joseph to bury him with his fathers

What do the individual words in Genesis 47:29 mean?

And when drew near the time for Israel to die then he called his son Joseph and said to him if now I have found favor in your sight put please your hand under my thigh and deal with me kindly and truly Not please do bury me in Egypt
וַיִּקְרְב֣וּ יְמֵֽי־ יִשְׂרָאֵ֘ל‪‬ לָמוּת֒ וַיִּקְרָ֣א ׀ לִבְנ֣וֹ לְיוֹסֵ֗ף וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ אִם־ נָ֨א מָצָ֤אתִי חֵן֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ שִֽׂים־ נָ֥א יָדְךָ֖ תַּ֣חַת יְרֵכִ֑י וְעָשִׂ֤יתָ עִמָּדִי֙ חֶ֣סֶד וֶאֱמֶ֔ת אַל־ נָ֥א תִקְבְּרֵ֖נִי בְּמִצְרָֽיִם

וַיִּקְרְב֣וּ  And  when  drew  near 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: קָרַב  
Sense: to come near, approach, enter into, draw near.
יְמֵֽי־  the  time 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֘ל‪‬  for  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
לָמוּת֒  to  die 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
וַיִּקְרָ֣א ׀  then  he  called 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
לִבְנ֣וֹ  his  son 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
לְיוֹסֵ֗ף  Joseph 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄוסֵף  
Sense: the eldest son of Jacob by Rachel.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לוֹ֙  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
נָ֨א  now 
Parse: Interjection
Root: נָא  
Sense: I (we) pray, now, please.
מָצָ֤אתִי  I  have  found 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
חֵן֙  favor 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֵן  
Sense: favour, grace, charm.
בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ  in  your  sight 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, cdc, second person masculine singular
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
שִֽׂים־  put 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
נָ֥א  please 
Parse: Interjection
Root: נָא  
Sense: I (we) pray, now, please.
יָדְךָ֖  your  hand 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
תַּ֣חַת  under 
Parse: Preposition
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
יְרֵכִ֑י  my  thigh 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: יָרֵךְ  
Sense: thigh, side, loin, base.
וְעָשִׂ֤יתָ  and  deal 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
עִמָּדִי֙  with  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: עִמָּד  
Sense: with.
חֶ֣סֶד  kindly 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֶסֶד 
Sense: goodness, kindness, faithfulness.
וֶאֱמֶ֔ת  and  truly 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֱמֶת  
Sense: firmness, faithfulness, truth.
נָ֥א  please 
Parse: Interjection
Root: נָא  
Sense: I (we) pray, now, please.
תִקְבְּרֵ֖נִי  do  bury  me 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: קָבַר  
Sense: to bury.
בְּמִצְרָֽיִם  in  Egypt 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.