New International Version
Genesis 44:20
20And 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.’
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.
- 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.’
- New Living Translation (NLT)And we responded, ‘Yes, my lord, we have a father who is an old man, and his youngest son is a child of his old age. His full brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him very much.’
Context of Genesis 44:20
18Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. 19My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 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.’ 21“Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’ 22And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will 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, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you.
- Genesis 35:18As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
- Genesis 37:3Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.
- Genesis 43:7They 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’?”
- Genesis 46:21The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.
- Genesis 37:33He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”
- Genesis 42:36Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”
- Genesis 44:27“Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.
- Luke 7:12As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.
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
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