This final verse is the narrative closure of the whole section from chapter 37 to chapter 50.

So Joseph died: So or a word that marks a conclusion is appropriate here. Note that Good News Translation has moved in Egypt, which comes at the end of the verse in Hebrew and Revised Standard Version, to the opening sentence. This is because in Egypt should be taken with the whole verse and not just with put in a coffin.

A hundred and ten years: Joseph’s age is apparently important in the Egyptian setting (see verse 22) and serves as a frame for this unit.

They embalmed him: they refers to the Egyptian morticians. For embalmed see discussion of Gen 50.2.

Was put in a coffin: the verb is impersonal. A coffin is a box used for burial. For illustrations of Egyptian coffins used for mummies or bodies that were preserved, see a Bible dictionary. These coffins were often made out of stone.

According to Exo 13.19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him when the people of Israel left Egypt.

If was put in a coffin suggests to the reader that Joseph’s body was left without burial, it may be necessary to complete the action. We may say, for example, “They put his body in a coffin for burial” or “He was put in a coffin so he could be buried.” Some versions attempt a translation of coffin that gives a more permanent status of the corpse. For example, Moffatt has “embalmed and put in a mummy case,” and Bible en français courant says “laid in a coffin of stone.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .