Genesis 44:19
in Genesis 44My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
KJV
My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
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This verse in Genesis 44
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Do you have a father or a brother
on Genesis 44:19-20
Judah gives their old answer back in fuller words than chapter 42 recorded. Three things are new here, the child of his old age, the brother who is dead, and a father who loves the boy. The love is the fact Judah wants in front of the man holding Benjamin.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And for which he would search thoroughly - So it may be rendered. God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants - Referring to the injury they had formerly done to Joseph, for which they thought God was now reckoning with them. Even in those afflictions wherein we apprehend ourselves wronged by men, yet we must own that God is righteous, and finds out our iniquity.
My lord asked his servants,.... The first time they came down to Egypt to buy corn; he puts him in mind of what passed between them at that time: saying, have ye a father or a brother? which question followed upon their saying that they were the sons of one man, Gen 42:11.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Joseph's behavior must not be viewed from any single point, or in separate parts, but as a whole--a well-thought, deep-laid, closely connected plan; and though some features of it do certainly exhibit an appearance of harshness, yet the pervading principle of his conduct was real, genuine, brotherly kindness.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲדֹנִ֣י | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| שָׁאַ֔ל | shaal | he asked | H7592 → | 171 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֲבָדָ֖יו | ʾavadav | servants his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֲיֵשׁ־ | hayesh- | ¿ [does] there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| לָכֶ֥ם | lakhem | [belong] to you | ||
| אָ֖ב | ʾav | a father | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אוֹ־ | ʾov- | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| אָֽח׃ | ʾach | a brother | H251 → | 630 times |
אֲדֹנִ֣יlord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
שָׁאַ֔לhe asked
shaalH7592 →171 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֲבָדָ֖יוservants his
ʾavadavH5650 →799 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
הֲיֵשׁ־¿ [does] there
hayesh-H3426 →140 times
לָכֶ֥ם[belong] to you
lakhem
אָ֖בa father
ʾavH1 →1212 times
אוֹ־or
ʾov-H176 →321 times
אָֽח׃a brother
ʾachH251 →630 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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 43:29When Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” Then he declared, “May God be gracious to…
it leads to
- Genesis 42:13
But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 6:25
may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
- Genesis 30:22–24
Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb,
- Psalms 67:1
May God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
- Isaiah 33:2
O LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.
- Genesis 42:13
Through
Genesis 43:7They replied, “The man questioned us in detail about ourselves and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that…
it leads to
- Genesis 43:3
But Judah replied, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’
- Genesis 43:27
He asked if they were well, and then he asked, “How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?”
- Genesis 43:3
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
This page draws on 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.