And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
The Israelites buried Joseph's bones, which they had carried with them from Egypt, in Shechem. They buried them in a piece of land that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor (Shechem's father) for a hundred pieces of silver. This land became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants.
The writer is describing how the Israelites finally fulfilled their promise to Joseph by burying his remains in the Promised Land, on property their ancestor Jacob had purchased centuries earlier.
📚 Historical Context
In the biblical narrative, after the Israelites had conquered the Promised Land under Joshua's leadership, they honored a promise made centuries earlier by burying the bones of Joseph, whom they had carried from Egypt. Joseph, a patriarch who rose to power in Egypt, had requested this burial in the land God swore to his ancestors, symbolizing the fulfillment of God's covenant. This event took place in Shechem, a site tied to Jacob's purchase of land from the sons of Hamor, reinforcing the continuity of Israel's history.
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