We see that there are three death bed scenes of Yaakov; and two requests for burial outside of Egypt. What gives?
In a second moment, we discuss the strange request of the brothers (the father has been dead for at least four months, what do "they see"?
(א) וַיְהִ֗י אַחֲרֵי֙ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְיוֹסֵ֔ף הִנֵּ֥ה אָבִ֖יךָ חֹלֶ֑ה וַיִּקַּ֞ח אֶת־שְׁנֵ֤י בָנָיו֙ עִמּ֔וֹ אֶת־מְנַשֶּׁ֖ה וְאֶת־אֶפְרָֽיִם׃ (ב) וַיַּגֵּ֣ד לְיַעֲקֹ֔ב וַיֹּ֕אמֶר הִנֵּ֛ה בִּנְךָ֥ יוֹסֵ֖ף בָּ֣א אֵלֶ֑יךָ וַיִּתְחַזֵּק֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב עַל־הַמִּטָּֽה׃ ... (כ) וַיְבָ֨רֲכֵ֜ם בַּיּ֣וֹם הַהוּא֮ לֵאמוֹר֒ בְּךָ֗ יְבָרֵ֤ךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר יְשִֽׂמְךָ֣ אֱלֹהִ֔ים כְּאֶפְרַ֖יִם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁ֑ה וַיָּ֥שֶׂם אֶת־אֶפְרַ֖יִם לִפְנֵ֥י מְנַשֶּֽׁה׃ (כא) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אֶל־יוֹסֵ֔ף הִנֵּ֥ה אָנֹכִ֖י מֵ֑ת וְהָיָ֤ה אֱלֹהִים֙ עִמָּכֶ֔ם וְהֵשִׁ֣יב אֶתְכֶ֔ם אֶל־אֶ֖רֶץ אֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם׃
(1) And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph: ‘Behold, thy father is sick.’ And he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. (2) And one told Jacob, and said: ‘Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee.’ And Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. ... (20) And he blessed them that day, saying: ‘By thee shall Israel bless, saying: God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’ And he set Ephraim before Manasseh. (21) And Israel said unto Joseph: ‘Behold, I die; but God will be with you, and bring you back unto the land of your fathers.
(א) וַיִּקְרָ֥א יַעֲקֹ֖ב אֶל־בָּנָ֑יו וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הֵאָֽסְפוּ֙ וְאַגִּ֣ידָה לָכֶ֔ם אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרָ֥א אֶתְכֶ֖ם בְּאַחֲרִ֥ית הַיָּמִֽים׃ (ב) הִקָּבְצ֥וּ וְשִׁמְע֖וּ בְּנֵ֣י יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְשִׁמְע֖וּ אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל אֲבִיכֶֽם׃ ... (כט) וַיְצַ֣ו אוֹתָ֗ם וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ אֲנִי֙ נֶאֱסָ֣ף אֶל־עַמִּ֔י קִבְר֥וּ אֹתִ֖י אֶל־אֲבֹתָ֑י אֶל־הַ֨מְּעָרָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּשְׂדֵ֖ה עֶפְר֥וֹן הַֽחִתִּֽי׃ (ל) בַּמְּעָרָ֞ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר בִּשְׂדֵ֧ה הַמַּכְפֵּלָ֛ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־פְּנֵי־מַמְרֵ֖א בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן אֲשֶׁר֩ קָנָ֨ה אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה מֵאֵ֛ת עֶפְרֹ֥ן הַחִתִּ֖י לַאֲחֻזַּת־קָֽבֶר׃ (לא) שָׁ֣מָּה קָֽבְר֞וּ אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֗ם וְאֵת֙ שָׂרָ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ שָׁ֚מָּה קָבְר֣וּ אֶת־יִצְחָ֔ק וְאֵ֖ת רִבְקָ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וְשָׁ֥מָּה קָבַ֖רְתִּי אֶת־לֵאָֽה׃ (לב) מִקְנֵ֧ה הַשָּׂדֶ֛ה וְהַמְּעָרָ֥ה אֲשֶׁר־בּ֖וֹ מֵאֵ֥ת בְּנֵי־חֵֽת׃ (לג) וַיְכַ֤ל יַעֲקֹב֙ לְצַוֺּ֣ת אֶת־בָּנָ֔יו וַיֶּאֱסֹ֥ף רַגְלָ֖יו אֶל־הַמִּטָּ֑ה וַיִּגְוַ֖ע וַיֵּאָ֥סֶף אֶל־עַמָּֽיו׃
(1) And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: ‘Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days. (2) Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; And hearken unto Israel your father. ... (29) And be charged them, and said unto them: ‘I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, (30) in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place. (31) There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. (32) The field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.’ (33) And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his people.
Read the text explaining the process of burial of Yaakov. How long does it take altogether? Embalming takes 40 days; the mourning in Egypt takes 70 days, followed by the trip to Canaan and back for the burial, including a 7-day mourning ritual. In other words, by the time of this verse, it has been at least four months since Jacob’s death. It seems odd to introduce a story that takes place half a year or more after his death with the words “the brothers saw that their father was dead” - one would expect the more general “after (אחרי) the death of their father.”
Yosef and the brothers already talked about this back in his revelation - in 45:4-8. Why the same discussion more than 17 years later? What do you think makes them do it?
Traditional explanations
1. Death scenes
(כט) ויקרבו, שהרגיש בעצמו כי קרובה מיתתו, כי רבה חולשתו לרוב יגיעתו ולרוב צרותיו אשר מצאהו, ופחד שמא תבאהו המיתה פתאום וצוה ליוסף שישאהו ממצרים ויקברהו בקברות אבותיו.
(Provence, 13th c.)
(29) ויקרבו, Yaakov felt himself that he was approaching death, as his physical weakness kept increasing, and he began to be afraid that his death would occur without adequate warning signs, suddenly. This is why he commanded Joseph that when the time came he should carry him to his final resting place in the land of Canaan where he wished to lie next to his fathers.
ויקרבו ימי ישראל למות – פתרונו, כאשר קרבו ימי ישראל למות קרא לבנו ליוסף, והוא בשנה האחרונה לימיו. וענינו, כי הרגיש בעצמו אפיסת הכחות ויתרון החולשה, ואיננו חולה, אבל ידע כי לא יאריך ימים, ולכן קרא לבנו ליוסף. ואחרי שוב יוסף למצרים חלה, והוגד ליוסף, ובא לפניו עם שני בניו כדי שיברכם
Ramban (Spain, 13th c.) on Gen. 47:29And when the time approached for Israel to die – the meaning of this is that when the time for Israel to die came near he called his son Joseph, this was during the final year of his life. The point is that he felt his strength fading and was becoming weaker, not that he was ill but he knew that he would not live much longer, therefore he called for his son, Joseph. But after Joseph returned to Egypt [from visiting his father in Goshen] he [Jacob] became ill, and it was told to Joseph, and he came before him [a second time] with his two sons so that he [Jacob] would bless them.
In the two death scenes - we tend not to go near the dying, we don't like to think about it, but those who know that their time has come use it wisely - Yaakov is setting an example for us. In our community, Bea Golub z"l, Sarah Kruzanski z"l and Pearl Turk z"l have both lived this through, and used their last moments to set their houses in order.
2. Why two death wishes?
(כט) ויצו אותם. שילכו כולם עם יוסף לקברו
And he commanded them - that they should go with Yosef to bury him.
(כט) קברו אותי אל אבותי עם אבותי לשון רש"י ולא פירש אל המערה ואיננו עם ויתכן שיהיה לשון המקרא הזה קצר קברו אותי ושאוני אל אבותי אל המערה ... ואמר רבי אברהם כי טעם קברו אותי אל אבותי שילכו עם יוסף ולא היה יעקב צריך לכך אבל צוה לכולם עתה שיקברו אותו אל המערה כאשר השביע ליוסף כי פחד אולי לא יתן פרעה רשות ליוסף לצאת מן הארץ שלא יתעכב בארצו והלא תראה שהוצרך יוסף לחלות פני בית פרעה שיבקשו עליו מפרעה שילך והוא ענה כאשר השביעך כי בעבור השבועה יתרצה בזה
Rashi explains that he hadn't made clear that he wanted to be buried in the Cave of Machpelah, and this is not correct, because the text is just short, and the words 'with my fathers' make clear that he means the cave. ... Rabbi Abraham [ibn Ezra] says that what Jacob means by telling [the brothers] “bury me with my fathers” is that the brothers should go with Joseph [who had already promised to go bury Jacob with his fathers.] Jacob didn’t really need to say this, but he commanded all of them now to bury him in the cave [of Machpelah] as Joseph already promised to do, since he was afraid that Pharaoh might not give Joseph permission to leave the country, lest he tarry in his homeland. And didn't you see that Yosef had to ask the house of Pharaoh for them to ask permission for him to go, and that he answered 'as you swore'? It was only because of the oath that he permitted.
The two commands not to be buried - Yaakov could be using this as a way of assuring himself that the brothers would remain together, and in peace - that is behind Ibn Ezra's explanation. Ramban takes the second command as an insurance policy.
(טו) ויראו אחי יוסף כי מת אביהם מַהוּ וַיִּרְאוּ? הִכִּירוּ בְּמִיתָתוֹ אֵצֶל יוֹסֵף, שֶׁהָיוּ רְגִילִים לִסְעוֹד עַל שֻׁלְחָנוֹ שֶׁל יוֹסֵף וְהָיָה מְקָרְבָן בִּשְׁבִיל כְּבוֹד אָבִיו, וּמִשֶּׁמֵּת יַעֲקֹב לֹא קֵרְבָן (בראשית רבה):
(15) ויראו אחי יוסף כי מת אביהם And when Yosef's brothers saw that their father was dead — What is the meaning of “and they saw”? They recognized that [there were consequences that] he was dead through Yosef - previously they used to dine at Joseph’s table and he used to bring them close [to his table] out of respect to his father; after Jacob’s death, however, he no longer invited them (Yalkut).
(טז) ויצוו אל יוסף. ובחה' אביהם למה לא צוו אלא אמרו מה לנו לעורר השנאה שהרי כבר שכחה והלכה לה כיון שחזרו מלקבור אביהם ועבר יוסף על הבור שהשליכוהו אחיו אמר ברוך שעשה לי נס במקום הזה אמרו עדיין יש שנאה טמונה בלבו מיד ויצוו אל יוסף:
(16) ויצוו אל יוסף , “they sent a messenger to deliver an urgent message to Joseph;” why did they not do so during the lifetime of their father? During the lifetime of their father they had thought it best not to resurrect old hatreds, etc. they assumed that the past had been buried. When they had passed the pit into which they had thrown Joseph they observed how Joseph recited the blessing appropriate for people who had been the witness and beneficiaries of Divine miracles. When they saw this, they were afraid that he had not forgiven them for the past.