Midrasch zu Bereschit 48:1

and take heed that none of your sons carry me, but yourselves. And thus shall ye do unto me ‎when ye are carrying my body to go with it unto the land of Canaan to bury me. Judah, and ‎Issachar, and Zebulun shall carry my bier at the east; Reuben, and Simeon, and Gad at the ‎south; Ephraim, and Manasseh, and Benjamin at the west; Dan, and Asher, and Naphtali at the ‎north. And suffer not Levi to carry me with you, for he and his children are destined to carry ‎the ark of the covenant of the Lord in Israel's camp, nor shall Joseph, my son, carry me, for he ‎is a king, and his honor must be given him accordingly; but let Ephraim and Manasseh be in ‎their stead. And thus ye shall do unto me when you carry me and do not omit the least from ‎what I have commanded you. And if you will faithfully do unto me all these things, the Lord will ‎remember you to all good and your children after you forever. And you, my sons, honor one ‎another and your relatives likewise, and instruct your children and your children’s children ‎after you to serve the Lord, the God of your forefathers, through all the days, that your days ‎may be prolonged in the land, and the days of your children and your children’s children, ‎forever, by your doing whatsoever is good and just in the eyes of the Lord your God, and by ‎walking in all his ways. And thou Joseph, my son, I pray thee to forgive the sins and ‎transgressions of thy brothers in the evil that they have done unto thee, for the Lord hath ‎ordained it for thy good, and the good of thy children. And do not forsake thy brothers, oh my ‎son, before the Egyptian, and do not cause thy brothers any grief, for behold, I have entrusted ‎them to the care of the Lord and to thy care, and it is in thy hand to protect them against the ‎Egyptians throughout thy days. And the sons of Jacob answered unto their father, saying: All ‎that thou hast commanded unto us will we do, oh our father, only may the Lord be with us! ‎And Jacob said unto his sons: Lo may the Lord be with you, as ye will observe all his ways. Do ‎not turn, neither to the right nor to the left, from doing all that is good and just in his eyes. For ‎verily I know that many disastrous evils will befall you in the latter days even in this land, as ‎also your children and children’s children; but serve ye the Lord and he will deliver you from all ‎troubles. And if you shall follow your God and serve him, and if you will instruct your children, ‎and your children’s children after you, to know the Lord, then the Lord will raise up unto you a ‎savior from among your own sons, and through his power the Lord will deliver you from all ‎troubles, and bring you out of this land and bring you back unto the land of your fathers to ‎possess it securely. And after Jacob had finished instructing his sons, Jacob withdrew his feet ‎into his bed and he was gathered to his people.‎

... [What about all] the praise of Joseph, who exceeded in the honor of his father? And yet he did not enter into him all the time, such that were it not that they came to tell him, "Your father is sick," he would not have known! Rather this is to inform you of his righteousness. For he did not want to be alone with his father, lest he say to him, "How did your brothers act with you?" And [then] he would curse them.... Hence he did not go to his father all the time.)

And Joseph fell upon his father crying and weeping, and he kissed his father and cried out in a ‎bitter voice, oh my father, my father! And all the wives of his sons, and all his household, ‎came, and they fell upon Jacob and wept over him and they cried over Jacob in an exceedingly ‎loud voice. And all the sons of Jacob rose up, and they rent their garments and put sackcloth ‎upon their loins, and they fell upon their faces and they scattered dust over their heads ‎heavenwards. And the sad news was told unto Osnath, Joseph’s wife, and she arose and she ‎put on a sack, and she came with all the Egyptian women and all of them mourned and wept ‎over Jacob. And all the people of Egypt that knew Jacob, on hearing this thing, assembled and ‎came likewise on that day to weep over Jacob, and all Egypt wept for Jacob many days. And ‎the women from the land of Canaan came also unto Egypt when they heard of Jacob’s death, ‎and they wept for him in Egypt seventy days. And after wards Joseph ordered his servants, ‎the physicians, to embalm his father with myrrh and frankincense, and with all sorts of spices ‎and perfumery. And the physicians embalmed Jacob according to Joseph’s commandments. ‎And all Egypt, and all the elders and inhabitants of Goshen wept and mourned for Jacob. And ‎all the sons of Jacob and the children of his household wept and mourned over Jacob, their ‎father, for many days. And when the days of weeping were over, at the end of seventy days, ‎Joseph said unto Pharaoh: I will go up to bury my father in the land of Canaan according to ‎what he caused me to swear, and then I shall return. And Pharaoh sent Joseph, saying: Go up ‎and bury thy father as he hath said, and as he hath caused thee to swear. And Joseph arose ‎with all his brothers, and they went up to the land of Canaan to bury their father as he had ‎commanded them. And Pharaoh issued a proclamation throughout Egypt, saying: All those ‎that fail to go up with Joseph and his brothers to the land of Canaan to bury Jacob, shall die. ‎And all Egypt obeyed Pharaoh’s order, and they rose up all together, and all the servants of ‎Pharaoh, and all the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt went up ‎with Joseph. And all the princes and officers of Pharaoh, the servants of Joseph, went up ‎likewise, to bury Jacob in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Jacob carried the bier on which ‎Jacob lay, according to all their father had commanded unto them, his sons did unto Jacob. And ‎the bier was of pure gold inlaid with onyx stones and bdellium all around, and the cover of the ‎work was a cloth woven of gold trimmed in fringes and over it were fastenings of onyx stones ‎and bdellium. And upon the head of his father, Jacob, Joseph placed a large crown of gold and ‎a scepter of gold he gave into his hand, and they surrounded the bier according to the manner ‎of kings during their life time.‎

And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph: “Benold, thy father is sick” (Gen. 48:1). May it please our master to teach us whether a benediction may be recited over the light or the spices stationed at the side of a corpse? Our masters teach us: A benediction may not be recited over the light or the spices used at the side of a corpse. What is the basis of this decision? It is written: The dead praise not the Lord (Ps. 115:17).

And it came to pass after these things (Gen. 48:1). Scripture states in response to this verse: For such as are blessed of Him shall inherit the land; and they that are cursed of Him shall be cut off (Ps. 37:22). R. Meir said: Every one who blesses Israel is considered to have blessed the Holy Spirit, since it is said: For such as blessed Him. The verse is not written “blessed them” but rather blessed Him. R. Simeon the son of Yohai declared: Every one who assists Israel is considered to be assisting the Holy Spirit, as is said: Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to help of the Lord (Judg. 5:23). Does the Holy One, blessed be He, actually require assistance? This verse teaches us that one who aids Israel is considered to be aiding the Holy Spirit. R. Ishmael said: You find that righteous men bless their children when they are about to leave this life. That is why Isaac said to Esau: And bless thee before the Lord before my death (Gen. 27:7). Therefore, when Jacob became ill, Joseph took his two sons unto his father so that he might bless them.

Another interpretation (of Gen. 24:1): NOW ABRAHAM WAS OLD. Three people loudly demanded three things, and from them they had their beginning. ¹⁸Gen. R. 65:9; 97:1 (Vatican MS); BM 87a; Tanh., Gen. 5:1; PRE 52. See also above, 2:20. Abraham demanded old age. Abraham said: When a father and his son enter into a city, no one knows which is the older and which is the younger. The Holy One said: You have loudly demanded old age. By your life, I am beginning with you. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 24:1): NOW ABRAHAM WAS OLD. Isaac demanded afflictions. Isaac said to the Holy One: Sovereign of the World, when someone sins, you exact retribution from him all at once. Afflict him little by little, and you are exacting retribution from him. If you had brought afflictions upon the generation of the flood, they would not have rebelled against you. You, however, bestowed prosperity upon them. They therefore rebelled against you. Thus it is stated (in Job 12:6): THE TENTS OF ROBBERS PROSPER, AND THOSE WHO PROVOKE GOD HAVE SECURITY. The Holy One said to him: You have loudly demanded afflictions. By your life, I am beginning with you. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 27:1): AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT ISAAC WAS OLD, [AND HIS EYES WERE TOO DIM TO SEE]. Jacob demanded illness. Jacob said to the Holy One, Sovereign of the World, one dwells in contentment. Then his life departs, and strife comes into the world. For that reason it is required for one to be in the hands of others; or, in the case of others, it is required for them to be in his hand. Now he dies suddenly and strife comes about in the world. Rather let [one] become [ill] for five or six days until he has ordained for his children everything that is necessary. Then let him depart from the world. The Holy One said to him: Jacob, you have demanded illness. By your life, I am beginning with you. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 48:1): AND IT CAME TO PASS AFTER THESE THINGS {THAT IT WAS TOLD} [THAT ONE SAID] TO JOSEPH: BEHOLD, YOUR FATHER IS ILL. Ergo: The three patriarchs established these three things. It is therefore stated (in Gen. 24:1): NOW ABRAHAM WAS OLD.

And it came to pass after these things (Gen. 48:1). What is written previously on this subject? And the time drew near that Israel must die, and he called his son Joseph (Gen. 47:29). He called his son Joseph because he (Joseph) was in a position of authority at that time.

Until the time of Abraham there was no mark of old age, and anyone who wanted to talk to Abraham spoke to Isaac, or vice versa, [since their appearance was the same]. Then Abraham prayed, and the mark of old age was visible, as it is said (Ib. 47) And Abraham was old. Until the time of Jacob there was no sickness [death occurred suddenly]. Then Jacob prayed that sickness should come before death; as it is said (Ib. 48, 1) Behold, thy father is sick. Until the time of the prophet Elisha there was no one who was cured of sickness. But Elisha prayed and was cured; as it is said (II Kings 13) Elisha was sick of the sickness where he had to die, which signifies that previously he was sick and was cured. Our Rabbis were taught: "Three times was Elisha sick; first at the time he discharged Gechazi from his service, secondly when he set the bears on the children, and the third time when he died."

Abraham was first with aging,⁶⁶BM 87a; Gen. R. 65:9; 97 (Vatican MS) on Gen. 48:1 (= pp. 1241—1243 in the Theodor-Albeck edition); Tanh., Gen. 5:1; PRE 52. See also above, 5:5. with trials, with an inn,⁶⁷Gk.: pandokeion. and with a legatum.⁶⁸The Latin word means “bequest.”
• With aging: When the father and the son would enter a city, no one knew whom to honor. The Holy One said: By your life, I am beginning < the aging process > with you, as stated (in Gen. 24:1): NOW ABRAHAM WAS AGED.⁶⁹Heb.: zaqen. In Scripture (Gen. 18:11) Abraham and Sarah are the first persons to whom this word is applied.
• With trials: Where is it shown? Abraham said to the Holy One: Sovereign of the World, if you had not given contentment to the generation of the flood, they would not have provoked you to anger. But, if you had brought trials upon them, they would not have rebelled against you. The Holy One said to him: With you I am beginning to have one suffer trials through his child. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 21:8.): SO THE CHILD (Isaac) GREW AND WAS WEANED.⁷⁰The passage goes on to show how the weaning led in vs. 11 to Abraham being distressed. {R. Joshua} [R. Osha'ya] and R. Abbin differed.⁷¹Gen. R. 53:10. The one said that he was weaned from trials. The other said that he was weaned from the evil drive to the good drive.
• With an inn, according to what is written (in Gen. 21:33): AND AT BEER-SHEBA HE PLANTED AN ESHEL, i.e., an inn.⁷²Eshel, which is commonly translated here as “tamarisk tree,” can also mean “inn.” Gen. R. 54:6; Sot. 10a.
• With a legatum {i.e., a gift}: Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Gen. 25:6): BUT TO ABRAHAM'S SONS BY CONCUBINES ABRAHAM GAVE GIFTS.

The fourth wonder (was): From the day when the heavens and the earth were created no man was ill, (who) sneezed and lived, but in every place where he happened to be, whether on the way or in the market, and (when he) sneezed, his soul went out through his nostrils; until our father Jacob came and prayed for mercy concerning this, and he said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Sovereign of all the worlds! Do not take my soul from me until I have charged my sons and my household; and He was entreated of him, as it is said, "And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick" (Gen. 48:1). || All the kings of the earth heard (thereof), and they wondered because there had been no one like him from the days when the heavens and earth had been created. Therefore a man is in duty bound to say to his fellow: Life! when the latter sneezes, for the death of the world was changed into light, as it is said, "His neesings flash forth light" (Job 41:18).