When he arrived there, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. “What are you looking for?” he asked.
Parallel translations
- WEB A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
- KJV And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
- BSB a man found him wandering in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?”
- NKJV Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”
- NASB A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A man finds Joseph wandering in a field and asks what he is seeking. This encounter helps Joseph locate his brothers.
Overview
Lost in the fields near Shechem, Joseph is found by an unnamed man who asks what he seeks. This small providence keeps Joseph on the path toward his brothers and the events God has ordained. The detail shows how the LORD guides circumstances, even through ordinary strangers, to accomplish His purposes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- John 4:27At this, his disciples came. They marveled that he was speaking with a woman; yet no one said, “What are you looking for?” or, “Why do you speak with her?”
- Judg 4:22Behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek.” He came to her; and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent peg was in his temples.
- Gen 21:14Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder; and gave her the child, and sent her away. She departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
- John 1:38Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “where are you staying?”
- John 18:7Again therefore he asked them, “Who are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
- John 20:15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
- John 18:4Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were happening to him, went out, and said to them, “Who are you looking for?”
- 2 Kgs 6:19Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” He led them to Samaria.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 37:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.