We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”
Parallel translations
- WEB We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men. Your servants are not spies.”
- KJV We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
- BSB We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”
- NASB We are all sons of one man; we are honest men, your servants are not spies.”
- NLT We are all brothers—members of the same family. We are honest men, sir! We are not spies!”
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
They claim to be one man's honest sons, not spies. The appeal to family identity opens the door to the test that follows.
Overview
By stressing that they are all sons of one father, the brothers give Joseph the family details he will use to demand Benjamin. Their assertion of being "honest men" is ironic, for their honesty is exactly what is on trial. Joseph's probing will expose whether they have truly become trustworthy since they sold him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 2 Cor 6:4but in everything commending ourselves, as servants of God, in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,
- Gen 42:19If you are honest men, then let one of your brothers be bound in your prison; but you go, carry grain for the famine of your houses.
- Gen 42:33–34The man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your houses, and go your way.
- John 7:18He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 42:11 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.