Genesis 44:15
in Genesis 44“What is this deed you have done?” Joseph declared. “Do you not know that a man like me can surely divine the truth?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I can indeed divine?
KJV
And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?
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This verse in Genesis 44
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
they fell to the ground before him
on Genesis 44:14-15
The text names Judah first, ahead of Reuben the firstborn. They fall to the ground before him for the third time in three chapters. Joseph asks what deed this is and says a man like him can surely divine, and he is still the Egyptian they take him for.
This site's exposition
a man like me can surely divine the truth
Divine is nachash, the verb Laban used at 30:27 when he claimed to learn by divination that the LORD had blessed him through Jacob. Joseph speaks of his cup and his brothers' deed as an Egyptian lord would. The law later forbids divining to Israel at Leviticus 19:26.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Joseph said unto them, what deed is this ye have done?....
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָהֶם֙ | lahem | to them | ||
| יוֹסֵ֔ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| מָֽה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| הַמַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה | hamaaseh | [is] the deed | H4639 → | 236 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עֲשִׂיתֶ֑ם | ʾasitem | you have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הֲל֣וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְדַעְתֶּ֔ם | yeda'tem | do you know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נַחֵ֧שׁ | nachesh | indeed <divine> | H5172 → | 11 times |
| יְנַחֵ֛שׁ | yenachesh | he practices divination | H5172 → | 11 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כָּמֹֽנִי׃ | kamoni | [is] like me | H3644 → | 143 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לָהֶם֙to them
lahem
יוֹסֵ֔ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
מָֽה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
הַמַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה[is] the deed
hamaasehH4639 →236 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עֲשִׂיתֶ֑םyou have done
ʾasitemH6213 →2628 times
הֲל֣וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
יְדַעְתֶּ֔םdo you know
yeda'temH3045 →945 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נַחֵ֧שׁindeed <divine>
nacheshH5172 →11 times
יְנַחֵ֛שׁhe practices divination
yenacheshH5172 →11 times
אִ֖ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
כָּמֹֽנִי׃[is] like me
kamoniH3644 →143 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 3:13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 11:3
I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
- 1 Timothy 2:14
And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.
- Genesis 4:10–12
“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
- 2 Corinthians 11:3
Through
Exodus 32:1Now when the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses…
it leads to
- Acts 7:40
They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us! As for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’
- Deuteronomy 9:9
When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.…
- 2 Peter 3:4
“Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”
- Exodus 24:18
Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
- Matthew 24:48
But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time.’
- Acts 7:40
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Chuck Missler, The Book of Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.