Genesis 45:14
in Genesis 45Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept as they embraced.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
KJV
And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
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This verse in Genesis 45
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept,.... On his neck first, because he was his own brother by father and mother's side; and he wept over him for joy that he had a sight of him once more: the word for "neck" is in the plural number, and being used, may signify that he fell first on one side of his neck, and then on the other, to show his great affection for him: and Benjamin wept upon his neck; their love and the tokens of it were reciprocal.
This site's exposition
Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept
on Genesis 45:14-15
The book that opened with a man killing his brother has a man weeping on the neck of the brother who sold him. Benjamin wept as they embraced, and Joseph kissed each of the others. At verse three they could not answer him, and afterward his brothers talked with him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), perhaps to think of their mother Rachel, who died in travail of Benjamin. Rachel, in her husband Jacob, had been lately weeping for her children, because, in his apprehension, they were not--Joseph gone, and Benjamin going; and now they were weeping for her, because she was not.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck - Among the Asiatics kissing the beard, the neck, and the shoulders, is in use to the present day; and probably falling on the neck signifies no more than kissing the neck or shoulders, with the arms around.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
NECK. Scripture employs both the plural and singular forms for the neck. 10 The singular of neck is tzavvar. Cf.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּפֹּ֛ל | vaiyipol | and he fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| צַוְּארֵ֥י | tzaverei | [the] neck<s> of | H6677 → | 42 times |
| בִנְיָמִֽן־ | vinyamin- | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| אָחִ֖יו | ʾachiv | brother his | H251 → | 630 times |
| וַיֵּ֑בְךְּ | vaiyevek | and he wept | H1058 → | 114 times |
| וּבִנְיָמִ֔ן | uvinyamin | and Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| בָּכָ֖ה | bakhah | he wept | H1058 → | 114 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| צַוָּארָֽיו׃ | tzavarav | neck<s> his | H6677 → | 42 times |
וַיִּפֹּ֛לand he fell
vaiyipolH5307 →435 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
צַוְּארֵ֥י[the] neck<s> of
tzavereiH6677 →42 times
בִנְיָמִֽן־Benjamin
vinyamin-H1144 →166 times
אָחִ֖יוbrother his
ʾachivH251 →630 times
וַיֵּ֑בְךְּand he wept
vaiyevekH1058 →114 times
וּבִנְיָמִ֔ןand Benjamin
uvinyaminH1144 →166 times
בָּכָ֖הhe wept
bakhahH1058 →114 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
צַוָּארָֽיו׃neck<s> his
tzavaravH6677 →42 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 33:4Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.
it leads to
- Genesis 45:14–15
Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept as they embraced.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Luke 15:20
So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 34:4
I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
- Genesis 45:14–15
Through
Genesis 29:11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.
it leads to
- Genesis 33:4
Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 43:30
Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother, and he went to a private room to weep.
- Genesis 45:2
But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household soon heard of it.
- Genesis 33:4
Through
Romans 1:31They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 3:3
unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,
- Proverbs 18:2
A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions.
- 2 Timothy 3:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.