I am about to die: see the same words spoken by Jacob in 48.21.

But God will visit you: see Exo 13.19. Visit with God as subject, used in this way for the first time in Genesis, means to intervene in the affairs of people or to come to do something powerful or significant for them. The context determines whether this is for good or bad. Here Joseph’s meaning is that God will come to Jacob’s family, to protect, to help, to care for them. The form of the expression both here and in verse 25 is emphatic, with the sense of “he will certainly visit you.” It occurs also in Exo 3.16 (where it is used in an emphatic expression, translated “I have observed you”) and 4.31, and serves here as a link to the Exodus story. In many languages this clause is translated “but God will come to help you” or “I am sure that God will appear to you.”

The remainder of this verse is essentially the same as the words spoken by Jacob to Joseph in 48.21.

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 .