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Genesis 45:2

in Genesis 45

But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household soon heard of it.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard.

KJV

And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.

This verse in Genesis 45

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
And he wept aloud,....; Or "gave forth his voice in weeping" (r); as he wept he cried aloud; for having put such a violent restraint on himself, as the flood of tears was the greater, so his voice was the stronger and louder for it: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard; the Egyptians, that were in the room or rooms adjoining to that where Joseph was, heard his cry, and perhaps a great deal of what was said; which they soon reported to others, and it quickly reached Pharaoh's court, which might not be at any great distance. (r) ויתן את קלו בבכי "et dedit vocem suam in fletu", Montanus; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt.

This site's exposition

Send everyone away from me

on Genesis 45:1-2

Joseph sends every attendant away before he speaks, and he makes himself known to his brothers alone. He wept loudly enough for the Egyptians to hear, and the news reached Pharaoh's household. The privacy is for the brothers. The sound that escaped it starts the rest of the chapter at verse sixteen.

This site's exposition

he wept so loudly

This is the third time Joseph weeps over his brothers. At 42:24 he turned away from them to weep, and at 43:30 he hurried into a private room. Now the weeping can no longer be hidden.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

He very abruptly (as one uneasy till it was out) tells them who he was: I am Joseph. They knew him only by his Egyptian name, Zaphnath-paaneah, his Hebrew name being lost and forgotten in Egypt; but now he teaches them to call him by that: I am Joseph; nay, that they might not suspect it was another of the same name, he explains himself (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

The Nineteenth Century4 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

he wept aloud--No doubt, from the fulness of highly excited feelings; but to indulge in vehement and long-continued transports of sobbing is the usual way in which the Orientals express their grief.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

I NEED not say to you, Beloved, who are conversant with Scripture, that there is scarcely any personal type in the Old Testament which is more clearly and fully a portrait of our Lord Jesus Christ than is the type of Joseph. You may run the parallel between Joseph and Jesus in very many directions, yet you need never strain the narrative so even much as once. I am not about to attempt that task on the present occasion, but I am going to take this memorable portion of the biography of Joseph and show you how, in making himself known to his brethren, he was a type of our Lord revealing himself to us. It seems that, at last, Joseph could bear the suspense no longer. He knew who his brethren were, he knew which was Benjamin and which was Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah and the rest, and he remembered all the story of their early days together. But they did not know him. They thought him some mysterious potentate, some great ruler of the land of Egypt—as indeed he was—but they did not know so much about him as he knew about them. Consequently, there was a distance between him and them and his loving heart ached to bridge that gulf by manifesting himself to them. It is the way of love to desire to make itself known. Now, in a still higher sense, the Lord Jesus Christ knows all about those in this place whom He has redeemed with His precious blood. The Father gave them to Him from before the foundation of the world and He took them into Covenant relationship with Himself before the earth was. Often has He thought of these as His beloved ones. His delights have been with the sons of men and He has looked forward and foreseen all that would happen to them.
I NEED not say to you, Beloved, who are conversant with Scripture, that there is scarcely any personal type in the Old Testament which is more clearly and fully a portrait of our Lord Jesus Christ than is the type of Joseph. You may run the parallel between Joseph and Jesus in very many directions, yet you need never strain the narrative so even much as once.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard - It seems strange that Joseph should have wept so loud that his cries should be heard at some considerable distance, as we may suppose his dwelling was not very nigh to the palace! “But this,” says Sir John Chardin, “is exactly the genius of the people of Asia - their sentiments of joy or grief are properly transports, and their transports are ungoverned, excessive, and truly outrageous.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

THEN JOSEPH COULD NOT ‘L’HITHAPEIK’ (REFRAIN HIMSELF) BEFORE ALL THEM THAT STOOD BY HIM. He could not bear that the Egyptians should stand by him witnessing how his brothers would be put to shame when he makes himself known to them. This is the language of Rashi.
Ramban: Spain, 1194–1270 · Ramban on Genesis 45:1:1, via Sefaria, Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Yoseif could not contain his emotions in the presence of all who stood before him, and he cried out Let everyone leave my presence.
Targum · Onkelos Genesis 45:1, via Sefaria, Metsudah Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009 [with Onkelos translation]

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

9 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּתֵּ֥ןand he gave

    vaiyitenH54142011 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • קֹל֖וֹvoice his

    koloH6963506 times

  • בִּבְכִ֑יin weeping

    bivkhiH1065

  • וַיִּשְׁמְע֣וּand they heard

    vaiyishmeuH80851159 times

  • מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt

    mitzrayimH471370 times

  • וַיִּשְׁמַ֖עand it heard

    vaiyishma'H80851159 times

  • בֵּ֥ית[the] household of

    beitH10042046 times

  • פַּרְעֹֽה׃Pharaoh

    parohH6547274 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Ruth 1:9

    May the LORD enable each of you to find rest in the home of your new husband.” And she kissed them as they wept aloud

    it leads to

    • Acts 20:37

      They all wept openly as they embraced Paul and kissed him.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Ruth 3:1

      One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek a resting place for you, that it may be well with you?

    • Genesis 29:11

      Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.

    • Genesis 27:27

      So he came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothing, he blessed him and said: “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has…

  • Through

    Genesis 46:29

    Joseph prepared his chariot and went there to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, embraced him, and wept profusely.

    it leads to

    • 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.

  • Through

    2 Kings 20:3

    “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

    it leads to

    • Nehemiah 13:22

      Then I instructed the Levites to purify themselves and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this as well, O my God, and show me mercy according…

    • Nehemiah 13:14

      Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out my deeds of loving devotion for the house of my God and for its services.

    • Nehemiah 5:19

      Remember me favorably, O my God, for all that I have done for this people.

About Genesis

Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2516: “Jesus and His Brethren” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole 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.