New King James Version
Genesis 43:31
31Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.”
Genesis 43:31 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
- New International Version (NIV)After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, “Serve the food.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, "Serve the food."
- New Living Translation (NLT)After washing his face, he came back out, keeping himself under control. Then he ordered, “Bring out the food!”
Context of Genesis 43:31
29Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” 30Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there. Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.” 32So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 33And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another.
Read all of Genesis 43Genesis 43:31 word by word
וַיִּרְחַ֥ץ פָּנָ֖יו וַיֵּצֵ֑א וַיִּ֨תְאַפַּ֔ק וַיֹּ֖אמֶר שִׂ֥ימוּ לָֽחֶם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 43:31
- Genesis 45:1Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
- Isaiah 42:14“I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once.
- Jeremiah 31:16Thus says the Lord: “Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord, And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
- 1 Peter 3:10For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.
- Genesis 43:25Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.
Commentaries on Genesis 43:31
- 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
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 26-34Verses 26-34 Observe the great respect Joseph's brethren paid to him. Thus were Joseph's dreams more and more fulfilled. Joseph showed great kindness to them. He treated them nobly; but see here the early distance between Jews and gentiles. In a day of famine, it is enough to be fed; but they were feasted. Their cares and fears were now over, and they ate their bread with joy, reckoning they were upon good terms with the lord of the land. If God accept…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-34Joseph did several unusual things to his brothers when they came looking for grain. The last time Joseph had been with them, they were filled with jealousy, hatred, and anger; they attempted to destroy their brother, and they deceived their father. Joseph put them through various tests, similar to the trying situations they had put him through, to see if they had changed.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 31-3431. Joseph said, Set on bread--equivalent to having dinner served, "bread" being a term inclusive of all victuals. The table was a small stool, most probably the usual round form, "since persons might even then be seated according to their rank or seniority, and the modern Egyptian table is not without its post of honor and a fixed gradation of place" [Wilkinson]. Two or at most three persons were seated at one table. But the host being the highest in…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 43:31
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries