Amplified Bible
Genesis 44:20
20We said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a young [brother, Benjamin, the] child of his old age. Now his brother [Joseph] is dead, and he alone is left of [the two sons born of] his mother, and his father loves him.’
Genesis 44:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’
- English Standard Version (ESV)And we said to my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, who is young; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’
Context of Genesis 44:20
18Then Judah approached him, and said, “O my lord, please let your servant say a word to you in private, and do not let your anger blaze against your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh [so I speak as if directly to him]. 19My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ We said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a young [brother, Benjamin, the] child of his old age. Now his brother [Joseph] is dead, and he alone is left of [the two sons born of] his mother, and his father loves him.’ 21Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me that I may actually see him.’ 22But we said to my lord, ‘The young man cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’
Read all of Genesis 44Genesis 44:20 word by word
וַנֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־אֲדֹנִ֔י יֶשׁ־לָ֙נוּ֙ אָ֣ב זָקֵ֔ן וְיֶ֥לֶד זְקֻנִ֖ים קָטָ֑ן וְאָחִ֨יו מֵ֜ת וַיִּוָּתֵ֨ר ה֧וּא לְבַדּ֛וֹ לְאִמּ֖וֹ וְאָבִ֥יו אֲהֵבֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And we saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto my lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- We haveיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
- a fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
- an old manזָקֵןzâqên · oldH2205
- and a childיֶ֫לֶדyeled · youthH3206
- of his old ageזְקֻנִיםzâqûn · extreme ageH2208
- a little oneקָטָןqâţân qâţôn · smallH6996
- and his brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- is deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- and he alone is leftיָתַרyâthar · to remainH3498
- of his motherאֵם'êm · motherH517
- lovethאָהֵב'âhab 'âhêb · to love: loverH157
Cross-references for Genesis 44:20
- Genesis 49:8“Judah, you are the one whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
- Genesis 35:18And as her soul was departing, (for she died), she named him Ben-oni (son of my sorrow); but his father called him Benjamin (son of the right hand).
- Genesis 37:3Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a [distinctive] multicolored tunic.
- Genesis 43:7And they said, “The man asked us straightforward questions about ourselves and our relatives. He said, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down [here to Egypt]’? ”
- Genesis 46:21And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
- Genesis 37:33He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces!”
- Genesis 42:36Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me [by causing the loss] of my children. Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin [from me]. All these things are [working] against me.”
- Genesis 44:27Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife [Rachel] bore me [only] two sons.
- Luke 7:12Now as He approached the city gate, a dead man was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her [in the funeral procession].
Commentaries on Genesis 44:20
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-34Verses 1-34 - The Ten Brothers Were Tested Joseph has had the satisfaction of seeing his brother Benjamin safe and well. He has heard his brothers acknowledging their guilt concerning himself. He resolves to put their attachment to Benjamin, and the genuineness of their change of disposition, to a test that will at the same time expose Benjamin to no hazard. Genesis 44:1-5 And my cup. - Besides returning each man‘s money as before, a silver cup of…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-34Verses 18-34 Had Joseph been, as Judah supposed him, an utter stranger to the family, he could not but be wrought upon by his powerful reasonings. But neither Jacob nor Benjamin need an intercessor with Joseph; for he himself loved them. Judah's faithful cleaving to Benjamin, now, in his distress, was recompensed long afterwards by the tribe of Benjamin keeping with the tribe of Judah, when the other tribes deserted it. The apostle, when discoursing of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-34Judah kept his promise to make sure Benjamin was safe (43:8–10). His lengthy plea to take Benjamin's place in prison is one of the most sincere examples of intercession in the Bible (44:33). It showed Judah's care for their father and his willingness to sacrifice everything for his brother. With this integrity, Judah proved himself a true leader, worthy of the firstborn's blessing (see John 15:13). Through him, Israel's kings would emerge (see Genesis…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-3416-34. 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…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 44:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 44
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Amplified Bible — © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
Commentaries