They
buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver. They became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
Joshua 24:32
Joshua 24 [25.] So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Yahweh. Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all Yahweh’s words which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.” So Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
Joshua 24 [29.] After these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being one hundred ten years old. They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of Yahweh, that he had worked for Israel. They buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver. They became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
Meaning:
The book of Joshua ends with three burials: Joshua, Joseph and Eleazar the priest. Between the deaths of Joshua and Eleazar comes this short note about the bones of Joseph, who had died in Egypt centuries before. It quietly closes a story that began in Genesis and shows that God keeps his promises across generations.
- “They buried the bones of Joseph”
Before he died, Joseph told his brothers, “God will surely visit you, and bring you up out of this land,” and made them swear, “you shall carry up my bones from here” (Genesis 50:24-25). He did not want to remain in Egypt, however honoured he had been there. When Israel finally left Egypt, “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him” (Exodus 13:19). Now, at last, the promise is kept. The letter to the Hebrews counts Joseph’s instruction about his bones as an act of faith (Hebrews 11:22): he believed God would bring his people home.
- “In Shechem”
Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim, was one of the most important places in Israel’s story. Abram passed through “to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh” when he first entered Canaan (Genesis 12:6). Here Joshua gathered all Israel to renew the covenant and declared, “as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh” (Joshua 24:15). It was fitting that Joseph should be buried in the place where Israel had just recommitted itself to God.
- “In the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor”
On his return from Paddan Aram, Jacob camped before Shechem and bought “the parcel of ground where he had spread his tent,” building an altar there (Genesis 33:18-20). Jacob later told Joseph, “I have given to you one portion above your brothers” (Genesis 48:22). The land became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. Centuries later the Gospel of John mentions this same place: Jesus came “to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph,” and sat by Jacob’s well (John 4:5-6). There he offered living water to a Samaritan woman.
- “They became the inheritance of the children of Joseph”
The note reminds readers that God had given Israel the land as he promised. Just before, the book records that “Nothing failed of any good thing which Yahweh had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass” (Joshua 21:45). Joseph’s burial in his family’s own field is a small but powerful sign that the promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been fulfilled.
The Significance of Joshua 24:32
- God keeps his word across generations
Joseph died hundreds of years before his request was fulfilled, yet God brought it to pass. God’s promises do not fail, even when we do not live to see them completed.
Cross-References:
Genesis 50:25: “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” Joseph’s request.
Joshua 21:45: “Nothing failed of any good thing which Yahweh had spoken to the house of Israel.” God’s faithfulness.
John 4:5: “Near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph.” Jesus at Jacob’s well.
Conclusion: Joshua 24:32 records that the Israelites buried the bones of Joseph, which they had brought out of Egypt, at Shechem in the field Jacob had bought, and that the land became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants. The verse completes Joseph’s dying request and shows God’s faithfulness to his promises over many generations. The same field later became the setting for Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible