My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
Parallel translations
- WEB My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’
- BSB My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
- NKJV My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’
- NASB My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’
- NLT “My lord, previously you asked us, your servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
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
Judah recounts how Joseph had asked whether they had a father or brother. He carefully retraces the history to make his case.
Overview
Judah retells the conversation accurately, recalling Joseph's questions about their family. By rehearsing the facts, he builds toward an appeal centered on their father's love for Benjamin. The careful narration reflects Judah's earnestness and his focus on Jacob's wellbeing rather than his own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Gen 43:7And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
- Gen 42:7–10And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
- Gen 43:29And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
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 44:19 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.