Genesis 50:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Medical practitioners. It is likely that the practice of healing and preparing bodies for burial was a tradition among the ancient Egyptians, aimed at fostering a unified identity. This process involved embalming, which Josephus aligns with Egyptian customs. Herodotus describes this practice as involving the removal of the brain through the nostrils and the extraction of the internal organs through an incision on the left side. The purified organs were then filled with spices, the entire body was treated with salt through immersion in natron, and ultimately, it was wrapped and coated with a resinous substance.

Joseph fell on his father’s face, likely to close his eyes, fulfilling the promise made by the Lord to Jacob when He offered him comfort (Genesis 46:4). The burial that Joseph arranged for his father does not refer to the customary transfer of the body to the tomb, which, as we will observe later, occurred afterward. Rather, it pertains to the actual preparations for the burial itself, which involved embalming. There existed a class of individuals known as embalmers who specialized in this practice to preserve bodies from decay. They employed various fragrant resins and balsams, applying these substances externally and internally to the corpses.