God’s Word Translation
Genesis 43:7
7They answered, “The man kept asking about us and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How could we possibly know he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”
Genesis 43:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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 told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
- New International Version (NIV)They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’ he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)They replied, "The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
Context of Genesis 43:7
5If you won’t let him go, we won’t go. The man said to us, ‘You won’t be allowed to see me again unless your brother is with you.’ ” 6Israel asked, “Why have you made trouble for me by telling the man you had another brother?” They answered, “The man kept asking about us and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How could we possibly know he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?” 8Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy along with me. Let’s get going so that we won’t starve to death. 9I guarantee that he will come back. You can hold me responsible for him. If I don’t bring him back to you and place him here in front of you, you can blame me the rest of my life.
Read all of Genesis 43Genesis 43:7 word by word
וַיֹּאמְר֡וּ שָׁא֣וֹל שָֽׁאַל־הָ֠אִישׁ לָ֣נוּ וּלְמֽוֹלַדְתֵּ֜נוּ לֵאמֹ֗ר הַע֨וֹד אֲבִיכֶ֥ם חַי֙ הֲיֵ֣שׁ לָכֶ֣ם אָ֔ח וַנַ֨גֶּד־ל֔וֹ עַל־פִּ֖י הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה הֲיָד֣וֹעַ נֵדַ֔ע כִּ֣י יֹאמַ֔ר הוֹרִ֖ידוּ אֶת־אֲחִיכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- The manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- askedשָׁאַלshâ'al shâ'êl · to askH7592
- of our state, and of our kindredמוֹלֶ֫דֶתmôledeth · relativesH4138
- your fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
- yet aliveחַיchay · aliveH2416
- have yeיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
- brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- and we toldנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
- him accordingעַל‛al · uponH5921
- to the tenorפֶּהpeh · lip: accordingH6310
- of these wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- could we certainlyיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- Bringיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
Cross-references for Genesis 43:7
Commentaries on Genesis 43:7
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-34Verses 1-34 - Joseph and His Eleven Brethren 11. דבשׁ debash “honey,” from the bee, or sirup from the juice of the grape. בטנים bôṭen “pistachio nuts.” שׁקד shâqêd “almond tree;” related: “awake.” The tree is also called לוּז lûz Some refer the former to the fruit, the latter to the tree. The eleven brothers are now to bow down before Joseph. Genesis 43:1-10 The famine was severe. The pressure began to be felt more and more. The twelve households had…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-7As the famine continued, Jacob's family needed more grain. But, they could not go back to Egypt without Benjamin (42:16, 20). Jacob understood he was in a difficult situation. He needed more food but he would not risk losing Benjamin.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-142. their father said, ... Go again, buy us a little food--It was no easy matter to bring Jacob to agree to the only conditions on which his sons could return to Egypt (Ge 42:15). The necessity of immediately procuring fresh supplies for the maintenance of themselves and their families overcame every other consideration and extorted his consent to Benjamin joining in a journey, which his sons entered on with mingled feelings of hope and anxiety--of hope…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 43:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 43
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries