Genesis 50:3 (YLT)

Passage

and they fulfil for him forty days, for so they fulfil the days of the embalmed, and the Egyptians weep for him seventy days.

Nearby Context

Genesis 50:1 And Joseph falleth on his father's face, and weepeth over him, and kisseth him;

Genesis 50:2 and Joseph commandeth his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father, and the physicians embalm Israel;

Genesis 50:3 and they fulfil for him forty days, for so they fulfil the days of the embalmed, and the Egyptians weep for him seventy days.

Genesis 50:4 And the days of his weeping pass away, and Joseph speaketh unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, `If, I pray you, I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,

Genesis 50:5 My father caused me to swear, saying, Lo, I am dying; in my burying-place which I have prepared for myself in the land of Canaan, there dost thou bury me; and now, let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and return;'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fulfil", "forty", "days", "embalmed", "egyptians", and "weep". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fulfil" and "forty", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "and Joseph commandeth his servants the physicians..." into verse 4's "And the days of his weeping pass...", so "fulfil" and "forty" belong inside that flow. In Genesis context, the local focus is creation, human rebellion, covenant promise, and God's providence.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "fulfil" and "forty" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.