“He said, ‘Swear to me,’ and he swore to him.” Joseph swore that he would bury Jacob in Canaan in the cave with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and where Jacob had buried his first wife Leah, and Joseph kept his word (Gen. 50:13).

“bowed down.” The common biblical way of bowing down before people or God was to fall to one’s knees and bow the upper body and face to the earth. Here Jacob would likely just bow his upper body down on the bed. It may have been at this time or a little earlier that Jacob was also using his staff for support (Heb. 11:21).

[For more on bowing down, see commentary on 1 Chron. 29:20.]