John Calvin Commentary Genesis 50:4

"And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found favor in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying," — Genesis 50:4 (ASV)

Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh. A brief account is inserted here about the permission Joseph obtained, so that, with the king's goodwill and permission, he could transport his father’s remains to the tomb of the double cave. Now, although he himself enjoyed a significant degree of favor, he still used the courtiers as his intercessors.

Why did he act this way, if not because the matter was in itself offensive to the people? For nothing (as we have said before) was less tolerable to the Egyptians than for their land, whose sanctity they especially boasted about, to be despised. Therefore, to shift the offense from himself to another, Joseph pleaded necessity, as if to say that burying his father was not left to his own choice, because Jacob had obligated him to this manner of burial by an oath.

Therefore, we see that he was oppressed by slavish fear, so that he did not dare to profess his own faith frankly and boldly, since he was compelled to play a role in order to transfer to the deceased whatever offense might accompany the action. Now, since a more straightforward and upright confession of faith is required of the sons of God, let none of us seek refuge in such excuses. Instead, let us learn to ask the Lord for the spirit of fortitude and constancy that will direct us to bear our testimony to true religion.

Yet if people allow us the free profession of religion, let us give thanks for it. Now, since Joseph did not dare to take a step without the king's permission, we infer from this that he was bound by his splendid fortune, as if by golden fetters. And indeed, such is the condition of all who are promoted to honor and favor in royal courts, so that there is nothing better for people of sound mind than to be content with a private station in life.

Joseph also lessened the offense he feared he was causing by another point, explaining that the desire to be buried in the land of Canaan was not something that had recently entered his father’s mind, because he had dug his grave there long before. From this it follows that he had not been led to do so by any dislike of the land of Egypt.