Genesis 49:29Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In due time, guided by the Spirit, he expressed to them, “I am united with my people; inter me alongside my ancestors.” They may have understood that a just individual would not pass this on unless he had earnestly anticipated their eventual redemption and liberation from slavery in Egypt. He then designates the burial site, saying, “in a cave,” referring to “the field of Ephron the Hittite.”

With the conclusion of the prophetic age, Jacob's words undergo a transformation: they are no longer filled with fervor, gravity, or divine majesty. His speech resembles a lifeless form devoid of spirit. The Lord, who had once spoken through the elder's voice, has halted His enigmatic utterances: the inspired seer is now quiet. The fading patriarch begins to speak, weary and depleted: "I ask," were Jacob’s final words, "that you entomb me in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite. There lie Abraham and Sarah; there rest Isaac and Rebekah; and there I have buried Leah."