Genesis 44:20

20 We answered my lord, 'We have a father who is an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one whose brother is dead; so that of his mother's children he alone is left; and his father loves him.'

Genesis 44:20 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 44:20

And we said unto my lord, we have a father
Yet living in the land of Canaan: an old man;
being one hundred and thirty years of age, ( Genesis 47:9 ) ; and a child of his old age;
who was born when he was near an hundred years of age: and a little one;
not in stature, but in age, being the youngest son, and much younger than they: so they represented him, on that account, and because he was tenderly brought up with his father, and not inured to business and hardship, and so unfit to travel: and his brother is dead;
meaning Joseph: so they thought him to be, having not heard of him for twenty two years or more, and they had so often said he was dead, or suggested as much, that they at length believed he was: and he alone is left of his mother;
the only child left of his mother Rachel: and his father loveth him;
being his youngest son, and the only child of his beloved Rachel, and therefore most dear unto him.

Genesis 44:20 In-Context

18 Then Y'hudah approached Yosef and said, "Please, my lord! Let your servant say something to you privately; and don't be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.
19 My lord asked his servants, 'Do you have a father? or a brother?'
20 We answered my lord, 'We have a father who is an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one whose brother is dead; so that of his mother's children he alone is left; and his father loves him.'
21 But you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me, so that I can see him.'
22 We answered my lord, 'The boy can't leave his father; if he were to leave his father, his father would die.'
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.