Bible Strands
Genesis 50:17
‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I beg you, please forgive the transgression and sin of your brothers, for they did you wrong.’ So now, Joseph, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The brothers send a messenger to Joseph after Jacob’s death, instructing him to plead for pardon for their past betrayal. Joseph receives the message and weeps upon hearing it.
The words — The plea relies on אָנָּא ('a.Na) meaning “we beg you” and שָׂא (sa') meaning “forgive,” paired with פֶּשַׁע (Pe.sha') for “transgression.” These terms structure the request as a formal appeal for both human and divine pardon.
The thread — The conditional nature of this plea aligns with Matthew 6:14, which ties human forgiveness to divine forgiveness. The pattern of confession preceding reconciliation also mirrors the earlier encounter in Genesis 45:4 where Joseph first identifies himself to his brothers.
Why it lands — The text records the brothers’ explicit admission of guilt and their direct request for pardon before any resolution is granted. It requires the reader to see that forgiveness follows confessed wrong and that the recipient’s response determines the next step.
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
So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
Cross-references
- Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
- Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
- Genesis 45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” And they did so. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt!
- Genesis 45:8 Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God, who has made me a father to Pharaoh—lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
- Genesis 49:25 by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb.
- Psalms 21:11 Though they intend You harm, the schemes they devise will not prevail.
- Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- Luke 17:3 Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
- Genesis 31:42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment.”
- Genesis 42:21 Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”