Genesis 44:5

Genesis 44:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.
• New International Version (NIV)Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’ ”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.'"
• New King James Version (NKJV)Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.’ ”

Context of Genesis 44:5

3In the morning, when it was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. 4They were gone out of the city, [and] not [yet] far off, when Joseph said to him who was over his house, Up! follow after the men; and when thou overtakest them, thou shalt say to them, Why have ye rewarded evil for good? Is not this [it] in which my lord drinks, and in which indeed he divines? Ye have done evil [in] what ye have done. 6And he overtook them, and he spoke to them these words. 7And they said to him, Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from thy servants to do such a thing!

Genesis 44:5 word by word

הֲל֣וֹא זֶ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשְׁתֶּ֤ה אֲדֹנִי֙ בּ֔וֹ וְה֕וּא נַחֵ֥שׁ יְנַחֵ֖שׁ בּ֑וֹ הֲרֵעֹתֶ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר עֲשִׂיתֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

• lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
• drinksשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• indeedנָחַשׁnâchash · to divineH5172
• evilרָעַעrâ‛a‛ · be evilH7489

Cross-references for Genesis 44:5

• Genesis 44:15And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye have done? Did ye not know that such a man as I can certainly divine?
• Genesis 30:27And Laban said to him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes — I have discovered that Jehovah has blessed me for thy sake.
• Leviticus 19:26Ye shall eat nothing with the blood. — Ye shall not practise enchantment, nor use auguries.
• 1 Kings 20:33And the men took it as a good omen, and hastened to catch what came from him, and they said, Thy brother Ben-Hadad. ...And he said, Go, bring him. And Ben-Hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
• 2 Kings 21:6And he caused his son to pass through the fire, and used magic and divination, and appointed necromancers and soothsayers: he wrought evil beyond measure in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.

Commentaries on Genesis 44:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Whereby - he divineth? - Divination by cups has been from time immemorial prevalent among the Asiatics; and for want of knowing this, commentators have spent a profusion of learned labor upon these words, in order to reduce them to that kind of meaning which would at once be consistent with the scope and design of the history, and save Joseph from the impeachment of sorcery and divination. I take the word נחש nachash here in its general acceptation of to…Read the comment
• 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
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5This description would help the brothers see that the ruler knew things that other people could not know. Hydromancy (trying to learn hidden things by pouring water into oil) and oenomancy (trying to learn hidden things by pouring wine into other liquids) were forms of divination (seeking knowledge through supernatural means) used in the ancient Near East. A special cup was often used for these practices. Joseph was still pretending (see 42:7; compare…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. Is not this it in which my lord drinketh--not only kept for the governor's personal use, but whereby he divines. Divination by cups, to ascertain the course of futurity, was one of the prevalent superstitions of ancient Egypt, as it is of Eastern countries still. It is not likely that Joseph, a pious believer in the true God, would have addicted himself to this superstitious practice. But he might have availed himself of that popular notion to carry…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 44:5

• Money

In the dictionaries

• Couch
• Cruel
• Cup
• Earing
• Famine
• Joseph
• Magic
• Surety
• Antediluvian Patriarchs
• Augury

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