Genesis 43:27

Easy-to-Read Version

Joseph asked them how they were doing. Then he said, "How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?"

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
He asked them of their welfare, and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he yet alive?"

King James Version
And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?

Lexham English Bible
And he greeted them and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

New Century Version
Joseph asked them how they were doing. He said, "How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still alive?"

New English Translation
He asked them how they were doing. Then he said, "Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?"

Amplified Bible
He asked them about their well-being, and said, "Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

New American Standard Bible
Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, "Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And he asked them of their prosperitie, and sayd, Is your father the olde man, of whome ye tolde me, in good health? is he yet aliue?

Legacy Standard Bible
And he asked them about their well-being and said, "Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

Contemporary English Version
After Joseph had asked how they were, he said, "What about your elderly father? Is he still alive?"

Complete Jewish Bible
He asked them how they were and inquired, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

Darby Translation
And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well—the old man of whom ye spoke? Is he yet alive?

English Standard Version
And he inquired about their welfare and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

George Lamsa Translation
And he asked them of their welfare, and said to them, Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke to me? Is he still alive?

Good News Translation
He asked about their health and then said, "You told me about your old father—how is he? Is he still alive and well?"

Christian Standard Bible®
He asked if they were well, and he said, “How is your elderly father that you told me about? Is he still alive?”

Literal Translation
And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is there peace to your father, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But he welcomed them curteously, and sayde: Is youre father, (that olde man which ye tolde me of) in good health? Is he yet alyue?

American Standard Version
And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?

Bible in Basic English
And he said, How are you? is your father well, the old man of whom you were talking to me? is he still living?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he asked them of their welfare, and sayd: Is your father, that old man whiche ye tolde me of, in good health? and is he yet aliue?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he asked them of their welfare, and said: 'Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spoke? Is he yet alive?'

King James Version (1611)
And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet aliue?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he asked them, How are ye? and he said to them, Is your father, the old man of whom ye spoke, well? Does he yet live?

English Revised Version
And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?

Berean Standard Bible
He asked if they were well, and then he asked, "How is your elderly father that you told me about? Is he still alive?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he grette hem ayen mekeli; and he axide hem, and seide, Whether youre fadir, the elde man, is saaf, of whom ye seiden to me? lyueth he yit?

Young's Literal Translation
and he asketh of them of peace, and saith, `Is your father well? the aged man of whom ye have spoken, is he yet alive?'

Update Bible Version
And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he yet alive?

Webster's Bible Translation
And he asked them of [their] welfare, and said, [Is] your father well, the old man of whom ye spoke? [Is] he yet alive?

World English Bible
He asked them of their welfare, and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he yet alive?"

New King James Version
Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

New Living Translation
After greeting them, he asked, "How is your father, the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?"

New Life Bible
Then Joseph asked them about their well-being. He said, "Is your father well, the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?"

New Revised Standard
He inquired about their welfare, and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then asked he after their welfare, and said - Is it well with your aged father, of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?

Douay-Rheims Bible
But he courteously saluting them again, asked them, saying: Is the old man your father in health, of whom you told me? Is he yet living?

Revised Standard Version
And he inquired about their welfare, and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

THE MESSAGE
Joseph welcomed them and said, "And your old father whom you mentioned to me, how is he? Is he still alive?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, "Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

Contextual Overview

²⁶ When Joseph came home, the brothers gave him the gifts they had brought with them. Then they bowed down to the ground in front of him. ²⁷ Joseph asked them how they were doing. Then he said, "How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?" ²⁸ The brothers answered, "Yes, sir, our father is still alive." And they again bowed before Joseph. ²⁹ Then Joseph saw his brother Benjamin. (Benjamin and Joseph had the same mother.) Joseph said, "Is this your youngest brother that you told me about?" Then Joseph said to Benjamin, "God bless you, my son!" ³⁰ Joseph felt a strong desire to show his brother Benjamin that he loved him. He was about to cry and didn't want his brothers to see him, so he ran into his private room and cried there. ³¹ Then Joseph washed his face and came out. He regained control of himself and said, "Now it is time to eat." ³² The servants seated Joseph at a table by himself. His brothers were at another table by themselves, and the Egyptians were at a table by themselves. The Egyptians believed that it was wrong for them to eat with Hebrews. ³³ Joseph's brothers were seated at a table facing him. The brothers were looking at each other because, to their surprise, they had been seated in order, from the oldest to the youngest. ³⁴ Servants were taking food from Joseph's table and bringing it to them. But the servants gave Benjamin five times more than the others. The brothers continued to eat and drink with Joseph until they were drunk.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

welfare: Heb. peace, Genesis 37:14, Genesis 41:16, Exodus 18:7, Judges 18:15, 1 Samuel 17:22, 1 Samuel 25:5, 1 Chronicles 18:10

Is your father well: Heb. Is there peace to your father, the old. Genesis 42:11, Genesis 42:13

Reciprocal: Genesis 29:6 - Is he well 2 Samuel 8:10 - salute him

Cross-References

Genesis 37:14
His father said, "Go and see if your brothers are safe. Come back and tell me if my sheep are all fine." So Joseph's father sent him from the Valley of Hebron to Shechem.

Genesis 41:16
Joseph answered, "I cannot! But God can explain the dream for you, Pharaoh."

Genesis 42:11
We are all brothers—we all have the same father. We are honest men. We have come only to buy food."

Genesis 42:13
And the brothers said, "No, sir, we come as servants from Canaan. We are all brothers, sons of the same father. There were twelve brothers in our family. Our youngest brother is still at home with our father, and the other brother died a long time ago."

Genesis 43:7
The brothers answered, "He asked lots of questions. He wanted to know all about us and about our family. He asked us, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother at home?' We only answered his questions. We didn't know he would ask us to bring our brother to him!"

Exodus 18:7
So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. Moses bowed down before him and kissed him. The two men asked about each other's health. Then they went into Moses' tent to talk more.

Judges 18:15
So they stopped at Micah's house, where the young Levite lived. They asked the young man how he was.

1 Samuel 17:22
David left the food with the man who kept supplies. Then he ran to the place where the Israelite soldiers were and asked about his brothers.

1 Samuel 25:5
David sent ten young men to talk to Nabal. He told them, "Go to Carmel. Find Nabal and tell him ‘Hello' for me."

1 Chronicles 18:10
So Tou sent his son Hadoram to King David to ask for peace and to bless him. He did this because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him. Hadadezer had been at war with Tou before. Hadoram gave David all kinds of things made of gold, silver, and bronze.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he asked them of [their] welfare,.... Or "peace" b, their prosperity, especially of the health of their bodies, whether they were well and in good health after so long a journey:

and said, [is] your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? when they were with him before, and told him they were all the sons of one man, who dwelt in Canaan:

[is] he yet alive? which he was very desirous of knowing; for, being advanced in years, he might fear he was removed by death in the time between their going and returning.

b לשלום "ad pacem", Montanus, "de pace", Vatablus, Drusius, Piscator, Schmidt.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Joseph and His Eleven Brethren

11. דבשׁ d^ebash, “honey,” from the bee, or sirup from the juice of the grape. בטנים bôṭ^en, “pistachio nuts.” שׁקד shâqêd, “almond tree;” related: “awake.” The tree is also called לוּז lûz. Some refer the former to the fruit, the latter to the tree.

The eleven brothers are now to bow down before Joseph.

Genesis 43:1-10

The famine was severe. The pressure began to be felt more and more. The twelve households had at length consumed all the corn they had purchased, and the famine still pressed heavily upon them. Jacob directs them to return. “And Judah said.” Reuben had offended, and could not come forward. Simon and Levi had also grieved their father by the treacherous slaughter of the Shekemites. Judah therefore, speaks. “Is your father yet alive?” “Have ye a brother?” These questions do not come out in the previous narrative, on account of its brevity. But how pointed they are, and how true to Joseph’s yearnings! They explain how it was that these particulars came out in the replies of the brothers to Joseph. For the charge of being spies did not call for them in exculpation. Judah now uses all the arguments the case would admit of, to persuade his father to allow Benjamin to go with them. He closes with the emphatic sentence, If I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me have sinned against thee all my days; that is, let me bear the blame, and of course the penalty of having sinned against thee in so tender a point. Both Judah and his father knew that this was a matter that touched the interest of the former very deeply. Reuben was bearing the blame of a grievous sin, and had no hope of the birthright. Simon and Levi were also bearing blame, and, besides, had not the natural right, which belonged only to Reuben. Judah came next, and a failure in securing the safe return of Benjamin might set him also aside. He undertakes to run this risk.

Genesis 43:11-15

Jacob at length reluctantly sends Benjamin with them. He employs all means, as is usual with him, of securing a favorable result. “The best of the land” - the sung or celebrated products of the land. “A little honey.” Palestine abounded with bee honey. A sirup obtained by boiling down the juice of the grape was also called by the same name, and formed an article of commerce. “Nuts.” These are supposed to be pistachio nuts, from the pistacia vera, a tree resembling the terebinth, a native of Anatolia, Syria, and Palestine. “Almonds.” The almond tree buds or flowers earlier in the spring than other trees. It is a native of Palestine, Syria, and Persia. For the other products see Genesis 37:25. “Other silver;” not double silver, but a second sum for the new purchase. “God Almighty” - the Great Spirit, who can dispose the hearts of men as he pleases. Jacob looks up to heaven for a blessing, while he uses the means. “If I am bereaved, I am bereaved.” This is the expression of acquiescence in whatever may be the will of Providence. “Double silver,” - what was returned and what was to pay for a second supply of corn.

Genesis 43:16-18

The invitation into Joseph’s house fills the brothers with alarm. “Saw with them Benjamin.” This was an unspeakable relief to Joseph, who was afraid that his full brother, also the favorite of his father, might have incurred the envy and persecution of the brothers. “Brought the men to Joseph’s house.” This he eventually did, but not until after the conference between him and them took place. The men were afraid of a plot to rob them of their liberty and property.

Genesis 43:19-25

They are encouraged by the steward of Joseph’s house to lay aside their fears, and prepare their present. “Spake to him at the door of the house.” This was, of course, before they entered. “When we came to the inn.” The relater is prone to lump matters in the narration, for the sake of brevity. They began to “open their bags” at the first lodging-place, and finished the process at the last when they got home. Other silver. This explains the phrase “second silver” in Genesis 43:12. “Peace be to you.” Be at rest. All is well. Your God. The steward of Joseph expresses himself as one who fears and trusts God, the God of the Hebrews, who had displayed his omniscience and omnipotence in Egypt. “He brought out unto them Simon.” While they still linger at the entrance, the considerate steward bethought himself of bringing out Simon to them, which reassured their hearts, and induced them to enter willingly. He now succeeds therefore, in bringing them in, and then bestows upon them the usual attentions of Eastern hospitality. They now “make ready their present.”

Genesis 43:26-34

They are now entertained by Joseph. They brought the present, and made a lowly obeisance before him. “They bent the head.” See Genesis 24:26. “God be gracious unto thee, my son.” His kind treatment of Benjamin, on whose presence he had so much insisted, was calculated to reassure the brothers. The latter was born in his thirteenth year, and therefore, he was entitled to assume the paternal style in regard to him. Joseph still appeals with a natural and unconstrained reverence to his own God. “And Joseph hastened away.” The little touch of tenderness he had involuntarily thrown into his address to Benjamin, is too much for his feelings, which yearn toward his brother, and he is obliged to retreat to his chamber to conceal his tears and compose his countenance. “They set for him by himself.” As the governor, or as connected by affinity with the priestly caste, Joseph does not eat with the other Egyptians. The Egyptians cannot eat with the Hebrews. “That is an abomination to the Mizrites.” For the Hebrews partook of the flesh of kine, both male and female.

But Herodotus informs us (ii. 41), that “male kine, if clean, are used by the Egyptians, but the females they are not allowed to sacrifice, since they are sacred to Isis.” And he adds that “a native of Egypt will not kiss a Greek, use his knife, his spit, or his cauldron, or taste the flesh cut with a Greek knife.” They considered all foreigners unclean, and therefore, refused to eat with them (see Rawlinson’s Herodotus on p. q.). They sat in his presence; arranged according to the order of their birth, to their great amazement. Egypt was to them a land of wonders, and Egypt’s sultan a man of wonder. “Benjamin’s mess.” The honored guest was distinguished by a larger or daintier portion of the fare (1 Samuel 9:23-24; Homer, ii. 7,321). A double portion was assigned to the Spartan kings. The fivefold division was prominent in Egyptian affairs Genesis 41:34; Genesis 45:22; Genesis 47:2, Genesis 47:24, Genesis 47:26. “And were merry.” They drank freely, so as to be exhilarated, because their cares were dissipated by the kindness they were receiving, the presence of Simon, and the attention paid to Benjamin.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 43:27. And he asked them of their welfare — This verse may be thus translated: "And he asked them concerning their prosperity; and he said, is your father prosperous, the old man who ye told me was alive? And they said, Thy servant our father prospers; he is yet alive."