Genesis 43:27
in Genesis 43He asked if they were well, and then he asked, “How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
KJV
And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
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This verse in Genesis 43
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd he asked them of their welfare - This verse may be thus translated: “And he asked them concerning their prosperity; and he said, is your father prosperous, the old man who ye told me was alive? And they said, Thy servant our father prospers; he is yet alive.”
This site's exposition
they bowed to the ground before him
on Genesis 43:26-28
Joseph's question at the meal is about his father, whether the old man is still alive. They answer that their father is well, and they call him your servant. The words put Jacob under the son he believes dead. They bowed when they handed over the gift and bowed again when they answered about their father.
This site's exposition
He asked if they were well
The Hebrew behind He asked if they were well speaks of their peace, shalom, the word the steward used in verse 23. Joseph asks after the old man with more care than a stranger would show. The question comes again in his own voice at 45:3.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
When Joseph entered the house, his brothers brought him an offering and bowed down to him trembling. He inquired about their welfare, and they took heart. He asked if their father was alive, and they were put at ease.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he asked them of their welfare,....
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁאַ֤ל | vaiyishal | and he asked | H7592 → | 171 times |
| לָהֶם֙ | lahem | of them | ||
| לְשָׁל֔וֹם | leshalom | to welfare | H7965 → | 236 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֲשָׁל֛וֹם | hashalom | ¿ health | H7965 → | 236 times |
| אֲבִיכֶ֥ם | ʾavikhem | [is] father your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| הַזָּקֵ֖ן | hazaken | <the> old | H2205 → | 178 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲמַרְתֶּ֑ם | ʾamartem | you spoke | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַעוֹדֶ֖נּוּ | haodenu | ¿ [is] still he | H5750 → | 490 times |
| חָֽי׃ | chai | alive | H2416 → | 498 times |
וַיִּשְׁאַ֤לand he asked
vaiyishalH7592 →171 times
לָהֶם֙of them
lahem
לְשָׁל֔וֹםto welfare
leshalomH7965 →236 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הֲשָׁל֛וֹם¿ health
hashalomH7965 →236 times
אֲבִיכֶ֥ם[is] father your
ʾavikhemH1 →1212 times
הַזָּקֵ֖ן<the> old
hazakenH2205 →178 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֲמַרְתֶּ֑םyou spoke
ʾamartemH559 →5305 times
הַעוֹדֶ֖נּוּ¿ [is] still he
haodenuH5750 →490 times
חָֽי׃alive
chaiH2416 →498 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 41:16“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 3:5
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
- Genesis 40:8
“We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
- Daniel 2:47
The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”
- Acts 3:12
And when Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you surprised by this? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had…
- Numbers 12:6
He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
- 2 Corinthians 3:5
Through
Genesis 37:14Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when…
it leads to
- Genesis 35:27
Jacob returned to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
- Genesis 35:27
Through
Genesis 42:13But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
it leads to
- Genesis 37:30
returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”
- Genesis 44:20
And we answered, ‘We have an elderly father and a younger brother, the child of his old age. The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and…
- Genesis 37:30
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 37:6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.