Genesis 44:20

And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
said	וַנֹּ֙אמֶר֙ va.No.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common plural
lord	אֲדֹנִ֔י 'a.do.Ni	H113	sovereign · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
have	יֶשׁ yesh-	H3426	there is or are (or any other form of the verb to be · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
father	אָ֣ב 'av	H1	father · noun, common masculine singular absolute
man	זָקֵ֔ן za.Ken	H2205	old · adjective, masculine singular absolute
child	וְיֶ֥לֶד ve.Ye.led	H3206	something born · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
age	זְקֻנִ֖ים ze.ku.Nim	H2208	old age · noun, common masculine plural absolute
one	קָטָ֑ן ka.Tan	H6996	abbreviated · adjective, masculine singular absolute
brother	וְאָחִ֨יו ve.'a.Chiv	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
dead	מֵ֜ת met	H4191	to die (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
left	וַיִּוָּתֵ֨ר vai.yi.va.Ter	H3498	to jut over or exceed · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
mother	לְאִמּ֖וֹ le.'i.Mo	H517	a mother (as the bond of the family) · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
father	וְאָבִ֥יו ve.'a.Viv	H1	father · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
loveth	אֲהֵבֽוֹ 'a.he.Vo	H157	to have affection for (sexually or otherwise) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Genesis 42:38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the whic…
Genesis 35:18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin.
Genesis 37:19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
Genesis 37:33-35 And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
Genesis 42:13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our f…
Genesis 42:36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away:…
Genesis 43:7-8 And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 44:18–end

We have here a most ingenious and pathetic speech which Judah made to Joseph on Benjamin's behalf, to obtain his discharge from the sentence passed upon him. Perhaps Judah was a better friend to Benjamin than the rest were, and more solicitous to bring him off; or he thought himself under greater obligations to attempt it than the rest, because he had passed his word to his father for his safe return; or the rest chose him for their spokesman, because he was a man of better sense, and better spirit, and had a greater command of language than any of them. His address, as it is here recorded, is so very natural and so expressive of his present feelings that we cannot but suppose Moses, who wro…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 44:16

Judah said, What shall we say?--This address needs no comment--consisting at first of short, broken sentences, as if, under the overwhelming force of the speaker's emotions, his utterance were choked, it becomes more free and copious by the effort of speaking, as he proceeds. Every word finds its way to the heart; and it may well be imagined that Benjamin, who stood there speechless like a victim about to be laid on the altar, when he heard the magnanimous offer of Judah to submit to slavery for his ransom, would be bound by a lifelong gratitude to his generous brother, a tie that seems to have become hereditary in his tribe. Joseph's behavior must not be viewed from any single point, or in…

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Adam Clarke on Genesis 44:18

Thou art even as Pharaoh - As wise, as powerful, and as much to be dreaded as he. In the Asiatic countries, the reigning monarch is always considered to be the pattern of all perfection; and the highest honor that can be conferred on any person, is to resemble him to the monarch; as the monarch himself is likened, in the same complimentary way, to an angel of God. See Sa2 14:17, Sa2 14:18. Judah is the chief speaker here, because it was in consequence of his becoming surety for Benjamin that Jacob permitted him to accompany them to Egypt. See Gen 43:9. "Every man who reads," says Dr. Dodd, "to the close of this chapter, must confess that Judah acts here the part both of the affectionate brot…

Dictionary and topics

Judah — Praise, the fourth son of Jacob by Leah. The name originated in Leah’s words of praise to the Lord on account of his birth: “Now will I praise [Heb. odeh] Jehovah, and she called his name Yehudah”…
Judah · .Goes down into Egypt for corn (grain) — .Goes down into Egypt for corn (grain)
Parents · Good - Exemplified: Jacob — Good - Exemplified: Jacob
Readings, Select · General references — General references

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 44:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 44:18–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 44:16

Adam Clarke on Genesis 44:18

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 44:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 44:18–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 44:16

Adam Clarke on Genesis 44:18

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Genesis 44:20

John Calvin on Genesis 44:18–end

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 44:18-20

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 44:18-34

Rashi on Genesis 44:20