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When Pharaoh calls for you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’
Genesis 46:33 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB It will happen, when Pharaoh summons you, and will say, ‘What is your occupation?’
  • KJV And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?
  • BSB When Pharaoh summons you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’
  • NKJV So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’
  • NLT Then he said, “When Pharaoh calls for you and asks you about your occupation,

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 anticipates that Pharaoh will ask his brothers their occupation. He coaches them for the coming audience.

Overview

Joseph prepares his brothers for their meeting with Pharaoh so they will answer wisely. His instruction reflects both shrewdness and care for his family's welfare. This attention to detail again reveals God's servant using his position thoughtfully to secure a place for the covenant people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • Gen 46:32These men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.’
  • Jonah 1:8Then they asked him, “Tell us, please, for whose cause this evil is on us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?”
  • Gen 47:2–4From among his brothers he took five men, and presented them to Pharaoh.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 46:33YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 46:33 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.