Bible Strands
Genesis 50:18
His brothers also came to him, bowed down before him, and said, “We are your slaves!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Joseph’s brothers approach him immediately after his tearful response to their earlier plea for forgiveness. They physically prostrate themselves before him and verbally submit by declaring their status as his servants.
The words — The text records וַ/יִּפְּל֖וּ לְ/פָנָ֑י/ו (va/i.yi.pe.Lu le./fa.Na/v), meaning “and they fell before him,” followed by הִנֶּ֥/נּֽוּ לַ/עֲבָדִֽים (hi.Ne./nu la./'a.va.Dim), literally “here we [are] to slaves.” The syntax explicitly ties their claimed servitude to Joseph’s person rather than to an abstract master.
The thread — This act of physical submission echoes the dream imagery in Genesis 37:7 where sheaves bow down, and fulfills the paternal blessing in Genesis 27:29 that nations and brothers would serve him. It also mirrors the earlier grain distribution scene in Genesis 42:6 where they already recognized his earthly authority.
Why it lands — The verse demands a reader confront the stark reality of power reversal and the human instinct to secure safety through total self-abasement. It requires acknowledging that genuine reconciliation often follows the collapse of defensive postures, not before it.
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 his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
Cross-references
- Genesis 37:7 We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.”
- Genesis 27:29 May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.”
- Genesis 42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the land; he was the one who sold grain to all its people. So when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.
- Genesis 44:14 When Judah and his brothers arrived at Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.
- Genesis 45:3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But they were unable to answer him, because they were terrified in his presence.