Bible Strands
Genesis 37:16
“I am looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joseph addresses a field worker who found him wandering while searching for his brothers. This exchange occurs immediately after the man’s initial question in Genesis 37:15 and immediately before Joseph receives directions to Dothan in Genesis 37:17.
The words — מְבַקֵּשׁ (me.va.Kesh) carries the literal sense "[am] seeking," and אֵיפֹה ('ei.Foh) means "where?" These terms anchor the verse in a direct, active inquiry about the flock's location rather than a general statement of intent.
The thread — The motif of divine pursuit appears in Luke 19:10, which records that the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. The phrasing also parallels Song of Solomon 1:7, where the speaker asks where the beloved pastures the sheep.
Why it lands — The text explicitly records Joseph’s physical search for his brothers and his request for their grazing location. It asks a reader to note how this specific historical movement precedes the broader biblical pattern of seeking the lost.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
Cross-references
- Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?