Genesis 50:6

Genesis 50:6, in plain English

Pharaoh immediately grants Joseph's request without hesitation. He not only allows it but affirms Joseph's commitment to his oath.

Why it's here

Pharaoh's response is swift and warm. He's not suspicious or threatened. Instead, he honors Joseph's integrity and loyalty by releasing him to fulfill his father's dying wish. This shows the deep relationship between them—Pharaoh trusts Joseph completely.

Who's speaking

Pharaoh, responding to Joseph

Where it sits in the story

God has given Joseph favor even with Egypt's most powerful person. Pharaoh's generosity makes it possible for Joseph to honor both his role in Egypt and his devotion to his family and heritage.

The scholarly reading

Pharaoh immediately grants Joseph's request, honoring both the oath and Joseph's familial piety with a direct, magnanimous permission.

Language and setting

Pharaoh's response is remarkably swift and unqualified—no hesitation, no conditions. This reflects both Joseph's exceptional standing and the Egyptian respect for paternal duty and proper burial (concepts central to Egyptian religious ethics). The brevity of Pharaoh's reply (approximately thirteen Hebrew words) demonstrates his authority and confidence. He affirms Joseph's obligation rather than viewing it as disloyalty, suggesting that even pagan political authority recognizes certain transcendent claims.

Voice

Pharaoh, granting Joseph's petition.

Significance

This permission inaugurates the first exodus-like movement from Egypt—Joseph leads a great procession toward Canaan. Though he returns, this journey prefigures the later, permanent departure of Israel. The Pharaoh's willing cooperation here contrasts sharply with the later Exodus Pharaoh's resistance, marking a historical and spiritual shift.

4When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please tell Pharaoh that

5my father made me swear an oath when he said, ‘I am about to die. You must bury me in the tomb that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Now let me go and bury my father, and then return.”

6Pharaoh replied, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

7Then Joseph went to bury his father, and all the servants of Pharaoh accompanied him—the elders of Pharaoh’s household and all the elders of the land of Egypt—

8along with all of Joseph’s household, and his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children and flocks and herds were left in Goshen.

Read all of Genesis 50 — Joseph looks his brothers in the eye and speaks one of the most redemptive sentences in Scripture.