Genesis 45:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 45:3
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
brethren
אֶחָיו֙'e.Chav
H251
a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Joseph
יוֹסֵ֔ףyo.Sef
H3130
Joseph · proper noun, a man's name
father
אָבִ֖י'a.Vi
H1
father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
live
חָ֑יChai
H2416
alive · adjective, masculine singular absolute
brethren
אֶחָיו֙'e.Chav
H251
a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
could
יָכְל֤וּya.khe.Lu
H3201
to be able · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
answer
לַעֲנ֣וֹתla.'a.Not
H6030
properly · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
troubled
נִבְהֲל֖וּniv.ha.Lu
H926
to tremble inwardly (or palpitate) · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person common plural
presence
מִפָּנָֽיוmi.pa.Nav
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + 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
Acts 7:13 And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.
Acts 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall loo…
Job 4:5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
Job 23:15 Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him.
Matthew 14:26-27 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
Mark 6:50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 45:1-15
Judah and his brethren were waiting for an answer, and could not but be amazed to discover, instead of the gravity of a judge, the natural affection of a father or brother.
I. Joseph ordered all his attendants to withdraw, Gen 45:1. The private conversations of friends are the most free. When Joseph would put on love he puts off state, and it was not fit his servants should be witnesses of this. Thus Christ graciously manifests himself and his loving-kindness to his people, out of the sight and hearing of the world.
II. Tears were the preface or introduction to his discourse, Gen 45:2. He had dammed up this stream a great while, and with much ado: but now it swelled so high that he could no…
I am Joseph--or, "terrified at his presence." The emotions that now rose in his breast as well as that of his brethren--and chased each other in rapid succession--were many and violent. He was agitated by sympathy and joy; they were astonished, confounded, terrified; and betrayed their terror, by shrinking as far as they could from his presence. So "troubled" were they, that he had to repeat his announcement of himself; and what kind, affectionate terms he did use. He spoke of their having sold him--not to wound their feelings, but to convince them of his identity; and then, to reassure their minds, he traced the agency of an overruling Providence, in his exile and present honor [Gen 35:5-7]…
I am Joseph - Mr. Pope supposed that the discovery of Ulysses to his son Telemachus bears some resemblance to Joseph's discovery of himself to his brethren. The passage may be seen in Homer, Odyss. l. xvi., ver. 186-218.
A few lines from Cowper's translation will show much of the spirit of the original, and also a considerable analogy between the two scenes: -
"I am thy father, for whose sake thou lead'st
A life of wo by violence oppress'd.
So saying, he kiss'd his son; while from his cheeks
Tears trickled, tears till then perforce restrain'd.
Then threw Telemachus
His arms around his father's neck, and wept.
Pangs of soft sorrow, not to be suppress'd,
Seized both. So they, their cheeks wit…
The Church Fathers
I cannot but be amazed here at this blessed man's remarkable fortitude in putting up with the strain of concealing his identity to this point and not letting on. And [I] am particularly surprised at the way they could stand there and gape without their soul parting company with their body, without their going out of their mind or hiding themselves in the ground. "His brothers were unable to say anything to him in reply. They were dumbfounded." No wonder! Aware of the way they had treated Joseph, of his position in comparison with theirs and realizing the high office he had attained, they feared for their very lives, so to say.
And Joseph ordered all to withdraw so that he could be recognized by his brothers. For, even as Jesus said, he had not come except to the lost sheep that were the lost of the house of Israel. And lifting up his voice with weeping he said, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" This means, Jesus stretched out his hands to an unbelieving and contradicting people, for he did not seek an envoy or messenger but, as their very Lord, desired to save his own people. "I myself who spoke, I am here," and "I was made manifest to those who sought me not; I appear to those who asked me not." What else did he cry out at that time but "I am Jesus"? When the leaders of the Jews tempted him and asked, "Are you the Son of God?" he answered, "You say that I am," and to Pilate he said, "You say that I am a king; in this I was born." And when the chief priest said, "I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are Christ, the Son of God," Jesus responded, "You have said it. Nevertheless I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming upon the clouds of heaven." This is what Joseph means when he says, "I am Joseph."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Brother · Joseph’s, for his brethren — Joseph’s, for his brethren
Conviction · .Joseph’s brother, on account of their cruelty to Joseph — .Joseph’s brother, on account of their cruelty to Joseph
Egypt · History of Israel in: Joseph makes himself known to his brethren — History of Israel in: Joseph makes himself known to his brethren
Readings, Select · JOSEPH REVEALING HIS I — JOSEPH REVEALING HIS I
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).
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph,.... As soon as he could compose himself a little, and utter his words, the first thing he said was, that he was Joseph; that was his right name, his Hebrew name; though he was called by the Egyptians Zaphnathpaaneah, and by which name Joseph's brethren only knew him, if they knew his name at all; and it must be very startling to them to bear this sound, and to be told by himself that that was his name; and which was not all he meant and they understood, but that he was Joseph their brother as afterwards expressed:
doth my father yet live? this he knew before, for they had told him he was alive; wherefore he puts this question not through ignor…
I am Joseph. Although he had given them the clearest token of his mildness and his love, yet, when he told them his name, they were terrified, as if he had thundered against them: for while they revolve in their minds what they have deserved, the power of Joseph seems so formidable to them, that they anticipate nothing for themselves but death. When, however, he sees them overcome with fear, he utters no reproach, but only labors to calm their perturbation. Nay, he continues gently to soothe them, until he has rendered them composed and cheerful. By this example we are taught to take heed lest sadness should overwhelm those who are truly and seriously humbled under a sense of shame. So long…
The Recognition. - Gen 45:1. After this appeal, in which Judah, speaking for his brethren, had shown the tenderest affection for the old man who had been bowed down by their sin, and the most devoted fraternal love and fidelity to the only remaining son of his beloved Rachel, and had given a sufficient proof of the change of mind, the true conversion, that had taken place in themselves, Joseph could not restrain himself any longer in relation to all those who stood round him. He was obliged to relinquish the part which he had hitherto acted for the purpose of testing his brothers' hearts, and to give full vent to his feelings. "He called out: Cause every man to go out from me. And there stoo…
