New Living Translation
Genesis 42:13
13“Sir,” they said, “there are actually twelve of us. We, your servants, are all brothers, sons of a man living in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is back there with our father right now, and one of our brothers is no longer with us.”
Genesis 42:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
- New International Version (NIV)But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And they said, "We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”
Context of Genesis 42:13
11We are all brothers—members of the same family. We are honest men, sir! We are not spies!” 12“Yes, you are!” Joseph insisted. “You have come to see how vulnerable our land has become.” “Sir,” they said, “there are actually twelve of us. We, your servants, are all brothers, sons of a man living in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is back there with our father right now, and one of our brothers is no longer with us.” 14But Joseph insisted, “As I said, you are spies! 15This is how I will test your story. I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you will never leave Egypt unless your youngest brother comes here!
Read all of Genesis 42Genesis 42:13 word by word
וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ שְׁנֵ֣ים עָשָׂר֩ עֲבָדֶ֨יךָ אַחִ֧ים׀ אֲנַ֛חְנוּ בְּנֵ֥י אִישׁ־אֶחָ֖ד בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן וְהִנֵּ֨ה הַקָּטֹ֤ן אֶת־אָבִ֙ינוּ֙ הַיּ֔וֹם וְהָאֶחָ֖ד אֵינֶֽנּוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Thy servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- twelveעָשָׂר‛âώâr · tenH6240
- twelveשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
- brethrenאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- of Canaanכְּנַ֫עַןkena‛an · CanaanH3667
- and, behold, the youngestקָטֹןqâţân qâţôn · small: youngH6996
- this dayיוֹםyôm · day: todayH3117
- with our fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
Cross-references for Genesis 42:13
- Genesis 42:11We are all brothers—members of the same family. We are honest men, sir! We are not spies!”
- Genesis 29:32So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.”
- Genesis 30:6Rachel named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.”
- Genesis 35:16Leaving Bethel, Jacob and his clan moved on toward Ephrath. But Rachel went into labor while they were still some distance away. Her labor pains were intense.
- Genesis 43:7“The man kept asking us questions about our family,” they replied. “He asked, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered his questions. How could we know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”
- Genesis 46:8These are the names of the descendants of Israel—the sons of Jacob—who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s oldest son.
- Exodus 1:2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,
- Numbers 1:1A year after Israel’s departure from Egypt, the Lord spoke to Moses in the Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai. On the first day of the second month of that year he said,
- Numbers 10:1Now the Lord said to Moses,
- Numbers 26:1After the plague had ended, the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest,
- Numbers 34:1Then the Lord said to Moses,
- 1 Chronicles 2:1The sons of Israel were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun,
- Genesis 42:36Jacob exclaimed, “You are robbing me of my children! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!”
- Genesis 37:30Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?”
- Genesis 44:20And 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.’
- Genesis 45:26“Joseph is still alive!” they told him. “And he is governor of all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned at the news—he couldn’t believe it.
Commentaries on Genesis 42:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13One is not - An elliptical sentence, One is not alive.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-38Verses 1-38 - Joseph and Ten of His Brethren 1. שׁבר sheber “fragment, crumb, hence, grain.” בר bar “pure,” “winnowed,” hence, “corn” (grain). 6. שׁליט shallı̂yṭ “ruler, governor, hence,” Sultan. Not elsewhere found in the Pentateuch. 25. כלי kelı̂y “vessel,” here any portable article in which grain may be conveyed. שׂק śaq “sack,” the very word which remains in our language to this day. אמתחת 'amtachath “bag.” Twenty years, the period of Joseph‘s long…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-20Verses 7-20 Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. Joseph settled at last, that one of them should be left, and the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-38Joseph 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. 9-149-14. Ye are spies--This is a suspicion entertained regarding strangers in all Eastern countries down to the present day. Joseph, however, who was well aware that his brethren were not spies, has been charged with cruel dissimulation, with a deliberate violation of what he knew to be the truth, in imputing to them such a character. But it must be remembered that he was sustaining the part of a ruler; and, in fact, acting on the very principle sanctioned…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 42:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 42
- 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
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