There are various themes that come to the fore in these burials. To start with, burial in the land indicated ownership of the land.1 These leaders and their descendants thus received an inheritance because they had persevered in trusting the Lord.2 Thus the motif of land inheritance is the common thread that runs through all three burial notices.3 Additionally, the burials also provide connections between the exodus and the invasion of Canaan. Joseph was born in Canaan but was buried in Egypt (Genesis 30:23–24; Genesis 50:26), whereas Joshua and Eleazar were born in Egypt but were buried in Canaan (Exodus 6:23). By including the burial of Joseph, the book thematically links the exodus and settlement events, interpreting them as the bookends of a single grand plan.4
30 On l'ensevelit dans le territoire qu'il avait eu en partage, à Thimnath-Sérach, dans la montagne d'Ephraïm, au nord de la montagne de Gaasch.