Genesis 50:15
in Genesis 50When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge? Then he will surely repay us for all the evil that we did to him.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
KJV
And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
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This verse in Genesis 50
Commentary
5 notes on this verseSaw that their father was dead - This at once argues both a sense of guilt in their own consciences, and a want of confidence in their brother. They might have supposed that hitherto he had forborne to punish them merely on their father’s account; but now that he was dead, and Joseph having them completely in his power, they imagined that he would take vengeance on them for their former conduct towards him. Thus conscience records criminality; and, by giving birth to continual fears and doubtfulness, destroys all peace of mind, security, and confidence.
This site's exposition
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead
on Genesis 50:15-17
The brothers still believe Joseph was waiting for their father to die. They send word ahead instead of coming themselves, and Adam Clarke takes the charge they report as one Jacob did give. The word forgive stands here for the first time in Scripture, in a brother's mouth asking a brother. Joseph weeps when the message reaches him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): Joseph will peradventure hate us. While their father lived, they thought themselves safe under his shadow; but now that he was dead they feared the worst from Joseph. Note, A guilty conscience exposes men to continual frights, even where no fear is, and makes them suspicious of every body, as Cain, ch. iv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
When Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, &c.--Joseph was deeply affected by this communication. He gave them the strongest assurances of his forgiveness and thereby gave both a beautiful trait of his own pious character, as well as appeared an eminent type of the Saviour.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּרְא֤וּ | vaiyiru | and they saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֲחֵֽי־ | ʾachei- | [the] brothers of | H251 → | 630 times |
| יוֹסֵף֙ | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מֵ֣ת | met | he had died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אֲבִיהֶ֔ם | ʾavihem | father their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֥וּ | lu | if | H3863 → | 22 times |
| יִשְׂטְמֵ֖נוּ | yistemenu | he will bear a grudge us | H7852 → | 6 times |
| יוֹסֵ֑ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| וְהָשֵׁ֤ב | vehashev | and certainly <to repay> | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| יָשִׁיב֙ | yashiv | he will repay | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| לָ֔נוּ | lanu | to us | ||
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָ֣רָעָ֔ה | haraah | the harm | H7451 → | 662 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| גָּמַ֖לְנוּ | gamalnu | we dealt out to | H1580 → | 37 times |
| אֹתֽוֹ׃ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
וַיִּרְא֤וּand they saw
vaiyiruH7200 →1300 times
אֲחֵֽי־[the] brothers of
ʾachei-H251 →630 times
יוֹסֵף֙Joseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מֵ֣תhe had died
metH4191 →839 times
אֲבִיהֶ֔םfather their
ʾavihemH1 →1212 times
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
ל֥וּif
luH3863 →22 times
יִשְׂטְמֵ֖נוּhe will bear a grudge us
yistemenuH7852 →6 times
יוֹסֵ֑ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
וְהָשֵׁ֤בand certainly <to repay>
vehashevH7725 →1056 times
יָשִׁיב֙he will repay
yashivH7725 →1056 times
לָ֔נוּto us
lanu
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָ֣רָעָ֔הthe harm
haraahH7451 →662 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
גָּמַ֖לְנוּwe dealt out to
gamalnuH1580 →37 times
אֹתֽוֹ׃<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 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
Proverbs 28:1The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:7
The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.
- Psalms 53:5
There they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to fear. For God has scattered the bones of those who besieged you. You put them to shame, for God has despised them.
- Isaiah 26:3–4
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
- Psalms 27:1–2
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?
- Psalms 112:7
He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 28:7
Through
Psalms 53:5There they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to fear. For God has scattered the bones of those who besieged you. You put them to shame, for God has despised them.
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:1
The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
- Leviticus 26:36
As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to…
- Ezekiel 6:5
I will lay the corpses of the Israelites before their idols and scatter your bones around your altars.
- Proverbs 28:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
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 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.