Genesis 48:11
in Genesis 48“I never expected to see your face again,” Israel said to Joseph, “but now God has let me see your children as well.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath let me see thy seed also.
KJV
And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.
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This verse in Genesis 48
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
I never expected to see your face again
on Genesis 48:11-12
The last thing of Joseph's that Jacob held was a robe soaked in blood at Genesis 37:33. He refused to be comforted then, and now God has shown him the son and the son's children. Joseph takes the boys from his father's knees and bows facedown.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Joseph saith, They are my sons whom God has given me - And to magnify the favour he adds, in this place of my banishment, slavery and imprisonment. Jacob saith here, God hath shewed me thy seed - Our comforts are then doubly sweet to us, when we see them coming from God's hand.
And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I had not thought to see thy face - There is much delicacy and much tenderness in these expressions. He feels himself now amply recompensed for his long grief and trouble on account of the supposed death of Joseph, in seeing not only himself but his two sons, whom God, by an especial act of favor, is about to add to the number of his own.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
This verse should have followed And he blessed them that day, etc. (v. 20). 15 So Krinsky, Weiser and Cherez.
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. 6 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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יוֹסֵ֔ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| רְאֹ֥ה | reoh | to see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| פָנֶ֖יךָ | faneikha | face your | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| פִלָּ֑לְתִּי | filalti | I judged | H6419 → | 84 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֨ה | vehineh | and here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הֶרְאָ֥ה | herah | he has shown | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֹתִ֛י | ʾoti | <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| גַּ֥ם | gam | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זַרְעֶֽךָ׃ | zarekha | offspring your | H2233 → | 229 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יוֹסֵ֔ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
רְאֹ֥הto see
reohH7200 →1300 times
פָנֶ֖יךָface your
faneikhaH6440 →2123 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
פִלָּ֑לְתִּיI judged
filaltiH6419 →84 times
וְהִנֵּ֨הand here!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
הֶרְאָ֥הhe has shown
herahH7200 →1300 times
אֹתִ֛י<obj.> me
ʾotiH853 →10935 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
גַּ֥םalso
gamH1571 →769 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
זַרְעֶֽךָ׃offspring your
zarekhaH2233 →229 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
Ephesians 3:20Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
- Romans 4:21
being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
- Jude 1:24
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- 1 Corinthians 2:9
Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
- 2 Corinthians 9:8
Through
Genesis 37:33His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”
it leads to
- Genesis 44:28
When one of them was gone, I said: “Surely he has been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 37:20
“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!”
- Genesis 44:28
Through
Genesis 42:36Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”
it leads to
- Genesis 43:14
May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”
- Genesis 43:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
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 Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.