Genesis 43:20

20 They said, "Listen, master. We came down here one other time to buy food.

Genesis 43:20 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 43:20

And said, O sir
Or, "on me, my lord" ^F1, one said in the name of the rest, perhaps Judah, on me let the blame lie, if guilty of rudeness in making our address to thee; or as the Vulgate Latin version, "we pray, sir, that thou wouldest hear us"; and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra say the phrase is expressive of beseeching, entreating, and supplicating: we came indeed down at the first time to buy food;
not to spy the land but to buy corn, and not to get it by fraud or tricking but by paying for it the price that was required.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 (ynda yb) "in me Domine mi", Montanus.

Genesis 43:20 In-Context

18 But they became anxious when they were brought into Joseph's home, thinking, "It's the money; he thinks we ran off with the money on our first trip down here. And now he's got us where he wants us - he's going to turn us into slaves and confiscate our donkeys."

19 So they went up to Joseph's house steward and talked to him in the doorway.

20 They said, "Listen, master. We came down here one other time to buy food.

21 On our way home, the first night out we opened our bags and found our money at the mouth of the bag - the exact amount we'd paid. We've brought it all back

22 and have plenty more to buy more food with. We have no idea who put the money in our bags."