“I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock.”
- KJV And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
- BSB “I am looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?”
- NKJV So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”
- NASB He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.”
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
Joseph explains that he is looking for his brothers and asks where they are grazing the flock. He presses on to find them.
Overview
Joseph tells the man he is seeking his brothers and asks where they are pasturing the flock. His determination to complete his father's errand, despite not finding them at first, carries him forward. Joseph's earnest search for his brothers, who do not seek him, again pictures the seeking love that God shows toward the wayward.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Luke 19:10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
- Song 1:7Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you graze your flock, where you rest them at noon; For why should I be as one who is veiled beside the flocks of your companions?
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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 37:16 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
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