Bible Strands
Genesis 43:27
He asked if they were well, and then he asked, “How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Joseph addresses his brothers after they present their gifts and bow before him in his Egyptian court. He inquires about their welfare and specifically asks whether their aged father, whom they previously mentioned, remains alive.
The words — The verse centers on שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “welfare” or “health”) and the verb שָׁאַל (sha'al, “he asked”), which frame Joseph’s initial greeting. These terms establish a formal inquiry that precedes any emotional disclosure.
The thread — The question recalls Jacob’s earlier command to Joseph to check on his brothers and flocks (Genesis 37:14) and aligns with the brothers’ subsequent confession of their twelve-brother lineage (Genesis 42:13). It also parallels Joseph’s prior refusal to rely on human insight alone (Genesis 41:16).
Why it lands — The text records a factual check on familial survival before any reconciliation unfolds. It requires the reader to note how Joseph’s administrative posture masks his personal stake without yet resolving the underlying family tension.
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 asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
Cross-references
- Genesis 42:13 But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
- Genesis 37:14 Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem,
- Genesis 41:16 “I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”
- Genesis 42:11 We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”
- Exodus 18:7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and went into the tent.
- Judges 18:15 So they turned aside there and went to the home of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and greeted him.
- 1 Samuel 17:22 Then David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing.
- 1 Samuel 25:5 So David sent ten young men and instructed them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel. Greet him in my name
- 1 Chronicles 18:10 he sent his son Hadoram to greet King David and bless him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze,
- Genesis 43:7 They replied, “The man questioned us in detail about ourselves and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”