Genesis 50:16
in Genesis 50So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Before he died, your father commanded,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
KJV
And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
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This verse in Genesis 50
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThy father did command - Whether he did or not we cannot tell. Some think they had feigned this story, but that is not so likely. Jacob might have had suspicions too, and might have thought that the best way to prevent evil was to humble themselves before their brother, and get a fresh assurance of his forgiveness.
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.
This site's exposition
Before he died, your father commanded
The Hebrew says the brothers commanded Joseph, the same verb they then put in their father's mouth. They lean on Jacob's authority even after his death. Genesis records no such charge in Jacob's final words of chapter 49.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thy father did command - Thus in humbling ourselves to Christ by faith and repentance, we may plead that it is the command of his father and our father we should do so. We are the servants of the God of thy father - Not only children of the same Jacob, but worshippers of the same Jehovah.
): Thy father did command. Thus, in humbling ourselves to Christ by faith and repentance, we may plead that it is the command of his Father, and our Father, that we do so.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And they sent a messenger unto Joseph,....
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
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְצַוּ֕וּ | vaytzavu | and they commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יוֹסֵ֖ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אָבִ֣יךָ | ʾavikha | father your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| צִוָּ֔ה | tzivah | he commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מוֹת֖וֹ | moto | death his | H4194 → | 156 times |
| לֵאמֹֽר׃ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
וַיְצַוּ֕וּand they commanded
vaytzavuH6680 →494 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יוֹסֵ֖ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
אָבִ֣יךָfather your
ʾavikhaH1 →1212 times
צִוָּ֔הhe commanded
tzivahH6680 →494 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
מוֹת֖וֹdeath his
motoH4194 →156 times
לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 29:25The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.
it leads to
- Psalms 118:8
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
- Luke 12:4
I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
- Proverbs 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
- Psalms 91:14
“Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.
- Proverbs 16:20
Whoever heeds instruction will find success, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
- Psalms 118:8
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; 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.