And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.
31. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head. By this expression, Moses again affirms that Jacob esteemed it a singular kindness, that his son should have promised to do what he had required respecting his burial. For he exerts his weak body as much as he is able, in order to give thanks unto God, as if he had obtained something most desirable.
Observe, 1. The comfort Jacob lived in (Gen 47:27, Gen 47:28); while the Egyptians were impoverished in their own land, Jacob was replenished in a strange land. He lived seventeen years after he came into Egypt, far beyond his own expectation.
Commenting on Genesis 47:27-31
Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head--Oriental beds are mere mats, having no head, and the translation should be "the top of his staff," as the apostle renders it (Heb 11:21). Next: Genesis Chapter 48