Genesis 45:12
in Genesis 45Behold! You and my brother Benjamin can see that I, Joseph, am the one speaking with you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
KJV
And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
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This verse in Genesis 45
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThat it is my mouth that speaketh unto you - The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel renders the place thus: - “Your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my own mouth that speaketh with you, in the language of the house of the sanctuary.” Undoubtedly Joseph laid considerable stress on his speaking with them in the Hebrew tongue, without the assistance of an interpreter, as in the case mentioned Gen 42:23.
This site's exposition
there I will provide for you
on Genesis 45:11-13
Goshen and five more years of food are offered to a family that owns one piece of ground in the world, the burial cave Abraham bought at Machpelah. Joseph points at his own mouth, and the brothers see that the man speaking is Joseph. The wall of the interpreter at 42:23 is down. He tells them to bring his father down quickly and to report all his splendor in Egypt.
This site's exposition
my brother Benjamin can see
Benjamin is named apart from the other ten. He had no share in the sale, and he is the son Jacob has loved most since Joseph was lost. His word would carry weight at home that theirs had lost with the bloodied coat.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He promiseth to provide for him, I will nourish - Our Lord Jesus being, like Joseph, exalted to the highest honours and powers of the upper world, it is his will that all that are his should be with him where he is. This is his commandment, that we be with him now in faith and hope, and a heavenly conversation; and this is his promise, that we shall be forever with him.
And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin,....
If they would recollect themselves, they might remember something of his features, speech, &c., and be satisfied. He is very earnest that his father and all his family should come to him to Egypt: Come down unto me, tarry not,
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
I.e., in the Holy Language. This is the opinion of the commentators, 41 Rashi, Ibn Ezra and R’dak. and it is also the translation of Onkelos.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Joseph said this by way of respect for his father. To his brothers he said, For G-d did send me before you to preserve life, 39 Verse 5 here. and to give you a remnant, 40 Verse 7 here.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִנֵּ֤ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| עֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ | ʾeineikhem | eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| רֹא֔וֹת | root | [are] seeing | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְעֵינֵ֖י | veeinei | and [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| אָחִ֣י | ʾachi | brother my | H251 → | 630 times |
| בִנְיָמִ֑ין | vinyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| פִ֖י | fi | mouth my | H6310 → | 498 times |
| הַֽמְדַבֵּ֥ר | hamdaber | [is] the [one which] speaks | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃ | ʾaleikhem | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
וְהִנֵּ֤הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
עֵֽינֵיכֶם֙eyes your
ʾeineikhemH5869 →887 times
רֹא֔וֹת[are] seeing
rootH7200 →1300 times
וְעֵינֵ֖יand [the] eyes of
veeineiH5869 →887 times
אָחִ֣יbrother my
ʾachiH251 →630 times
בִנְיָמִ֑יןBenjamin
vinyaminH1144 →166 times
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
פִ֖יmouth my
fiH6310 →498 times
הַֽמְדַבֵּ֥ר[is] the [one which] speaks
hamdaberH1696 →1141 times
אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃to you
ʾaleikhemH413 →5510 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
Luke 24:39Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself. Touch Me and see—for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
it leads to
- John 20:20
After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 20:27
Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”
- 1 John 1:1
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.
- Ecclesiastes 12:7
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- John 20:20
Through
John 20:27Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”
it leads to
- John 20:25
So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger where the nails have been, and put…
- Psalms 103:13–14
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
- 1 John 1:1–2
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.
- John 20:25
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.