Hebrews 11:21 → Genesis 47:31

Near death in Egypt, Jacob made Joseph swear to bury him in Canaan: "So Joseph swore to him, and Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed" (Genesis 47:31). The Hebrew for bed (miṭṭâ, H4296) shares its consonants with the word for staff, and the LXX read it that way, so that Israel worshiped on the top of his staff. Hebrews 11:21 follows the Greek exactly, "worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff" (G4352, G206, G4464), and joins it to the blessing of Joseph's sons in Genesis 48, where Jacob crossed his hands and set the younger first (48:14-20). The tie is strong in wording, though Hebrews draws two deathbed scenes together. Jacob's faith shows in a burial oath that laid claim to the promised land while he lay dying in Egypt, and in worship offered from weakness. Such people "died in faith, without having received the things they were promised," yet "saw them and welcomed them from afar" (Hebrews 11:13). Their worship looks toward what Hebrews names plainly: "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise" (13:15). Every weak believer who worships through Jesus shares Jacob's posture toward "a better country" (11:16).