And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan; and there they lamented with a great and very grievous lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father of seven days.
The last chapter of Genesis carries Jacob's body out of Egypt. On the way the whole procession stops at a threshing floor called Atad, and mourns there seven days. Why the long pause? Why so vast a show of grief? And what did the Canaanites who watched make of it?
Atad is not a settled town but a working floor, and the mourning held there gave the spot a new name. A Bible dictionary notes that the Hebrew allows two readings, and that the surrounding verses settle which one fits:
Morrish Bible DictionaryWith the Hebrew vowel points, this name means "meadow of the Egyptians." Read without them, or with different points, it means "mourning of the Egyptians." The context in Genesis 50:11 shows that "mourning" is part of the name. It was the threshing floor of Atad, "beyond the Jordan." That seems to place the seven days' mourning east of the Jordan. If so, the mourning came before they carried the body into Canaan for burial. But some hold that Moses by "beyond the Jordan" means the west, because he was standing on the east side. The people of the land are called Canaanites, which also points to the west. Jerome uses a similar phrase, "across the Jordan," and then says that Atad, the same place, lay between the Jordan and Jericho. The site has not been identified.
A threshing floor exists for one purpose. One writer reads the grief held there in the light of it:
L. M. GrantComing to the threshing floor of Atad, the company mourned deeply for seven days (v. 10). On the threshing floor the chaff is separated from the grain. It speaks of blessing that comes out of suffering. It pictures the nation Israel blessed at last through the tribulation (the threshing).
Scripture sets this week of weeping beside other scenes like it:
The Bible TreasuryIt is a divine command to "weep with those who weep," and examples are not lacking in the history Scripture gives. The household of Joseph and his brothers mourned for the death of Jacob with a "very great and grievous lamentation" at Abel-mizraim (Gen. 50:10-11). Job's three friends wept aloud for him in his sorrow. They tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat with him in silence for seven days (Job 2). Jeremiah lamented the death of King Josiah (2 Chron. 35:25).
Why such a grand funeral? One writer explains the splendour as a promise made visible, and draws a sharp conclusion for today:
J. G. BellettSo it was with funerals, as well as with worship. In earlier days they were meant to be magnificent, because resurrection was then only in prospect. Funerals then were a pledge of the resurrection they expected. It was fitting that the pledge should be splendid, matching the glory of what it pledged. But now resurrection has become fact in the person of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. So the grand funeral, like ceremonious worship, is more of a reproach. It is as though the great mystery itself had not yet become real in its substance and power. For it is not funeral pomp that is now the pledge of our coming resurrection; the resurrection of the Lord is that, the firstfruits of a promised harvest.
Egypt paid these honours because of Joseph's rank. But the place of burial told another story:
F. B. HoleThey were in Egypt, so they kept the burial customs of that land up to a point. But Jacob's body was not to lie embalmed in an Egyptian tomb. Jacob wanted it to lie in the land of promise, and so did Joseph. God's promise was real to their faith. Jacob's funeral bore witness to the extraordinary position of power and influence Joseph had reached. Pharaoh gave permission without hesitation. All Jacob's sons joined Joseph in it, along with many important people of Egypt. Canaan recognised it as a great mourning of the Egyptians. Even so, they laid his body in the grave that testified these men of faith were still strangers and pilgrims.
The onlookers saw only overwhelming grief. Believers now stand somewhere else entirely:
William KellyGenesis 49 ends with Jacob's death. The closing chapter (Gen. 50) tells us of his sons carrying him to the field of Machpelah in Canaan, where his fathers lay buried. It was a grievous mourning in the eyes of the people of the land. What a difference for those who know Christ glorified in heaven! Those who are "not of the world" depart to be with Him.
- Place. Atad was a threshing floor "beyond the Jordan," named after the mourning held there. Commentators differ over which side of the river it lay on. No one has identified the site.
- Pledge. Grand funerals belonged to an age when resurrection was still only promised. The splendour matched the glory it stood for.
- Grief. Seven days of loud lament is no failure of faith. Scripture commands us to weep with those who weep. It records the same sorrow in Job's friends and in Jeremiah.
- Pilgrimage. Egypt supplied the honours. But the body went to Machpelah, to a grave that marked these men as strangers and pilgrims.
- Hope. The threshing floor pictures blessing that comes through suffering. Christ is now glorified, and those who leave this world depart to be with Him.
And the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing-floor of Atad, and they said, This is a grievous mourning of the Egyptians. Therefore the name of it was called Abel-Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.
Egypt sends a royal escort with Jacob's body, and on the way to the burial cave the procession stops to mourn at a threshing floor. The local people watch, and the name they give the place says as much about them as about the grief they saw.
The Canaanites named the place, not Joseph's family. What the name means depends on how you read the Hebrew:
Morrish Bible DictionaryWith the Hebrew points, the name means "meadow of the Egyptians." Read without them, or with different points, it means "mourning of the Egyptians." The context in Genesis 50:11 points to "mourning" as part of the name. The place was the threshing floor of Atad, "beyond the Jordan." That seems to put the seven days of mourning east of the Jordan, before they carried the body into Canaan for burial. But some hold that Moses means the west by "beyond the Jordan," because he stood on the east side. The name Canaanites for the people of the land also points to the west.
Commentators differ on exactly where this took place. One writer notes that not everyone in the procession went all the way to the grave:
J. N. DarbyThey went to Atad, and Joseph went on to Canaan. "Beyond the Jordan" only makes sense from where the writer was standing. Verse 13 shows, I think, that Jacob's sons carried him and buried him in Machpelah. That was not Atad, and not everyone in verse 9 crossed over.
Strangers named a place after this grief. Joseph is the reason Egypt grieved:
L. M. GrantThe Canaanites living in the land were so impressed by this sight that they named the place Abel-mizraim, meaning "the mourning of the Egyptians" (v. 11). Joseph had saved Egypt, so the Egyptians recognized that salvation came from Israel (John 4:22). The nations therefore have every reason to show deep respect for Israel. We Christians today must never forget that our Savior came from Israel.
Earlier funerals in this family were nothing like it:
L. M. GrantThere was nothing like this at the funerals of Abraham or Isaac. Here God is showing us the sovereignty of His great power and grace. He produced sympathy among the Gentiles for His people Israel. Israel's immediate father dies, but his descendants remain, and God gives them favour among the Gentiles.
The Canaanites saw one crowd of mourners and called the grief Egyptian. One writer shows how much they missed. A threshing floor is where grain is beaten loose from the chaff:
Numerical Bible NotesAtad is the buckthorn. The threshing floor expresses well the whole lesson of Jacob's life of discipline. The thorn is the sign of the curse — what grows on barren soil… Here are the thorns, and here is the threshing floor; and here, too, is the mourning. The world can see the thorns, and so can faith; but faith alone can see the threshing floor. The world mourns the "few and evil days" — the spoiling and the poverty of life. Faith, smiling through her tears, accepts the necessary chastening of a Father's love. Joseph and the Egyptians are not one, even though the Canaanites may well mix them up.
The funeral showed how high Joseph had risen. The grave said something else:
F. B. HoleJacob's funeral showed the extraordinary place of power and influence Joseph had reached. Pharaoh gave his permission at once. All Jacob's sons joined Joseph in it, and so did many important people of Egypt. Canaan saw it as a great mourning of the Egyptians. Yet they laid his body in a grave that showed these men of faith were still strangers and pilgrims.
The splendour was fitting for its moment, but that moment has passed:
J. G. BellettIn earlier days funerals were meant to be magnificent. Resurrection was then still ahead. A funeral was a kind of pledge of the resurrection they expected, and it was fitting that the pledge should be magnificent, matching the glory of what it promised. But resurrection has now come true in the person of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. So the grand funeral, like ceremonious worship, is more of a reproach, as if the great mystery had not yet come true in substance and power.
The same contrast is felt in how the onlookers described the scene:
William KellyThe closing chapter tells us of his sons carrying him to the field of Machpelah in Canaan, where his fathers were buried: a grievous mourning in the eyes of the people of the land. What a difference for those who know Christ glorified in heaven, when those who are "not of the world" depart to be with Him!
- Named — the watching Canaanites called the place Abel-mizraim, "mourning of the Egyptians." The name records what outsiders saw. Writers differ over whether the spot lay east or west of the Jordan.
- Caused — Egypt wept for Jacob because Joseph had saved Egypt. The nation that received salvation through Israel honoured Israel's father.
- Given — Abraham and Isaac had no funeral like this. The sympathy of the nations was God's own gift of favour to His people.
- Missed — the world saw the thorns of a hard life, but not the threshing floor. Faith takes the same sorrows as a Father's chastening. Joseph and the Egyptians were never one.
- Ended — the grave in Canaan marked these men as strangers and pilgrims. Grand funerals once pledged a resurrection still to come; Christ is risen, so that pledge is no longer needed.