Genesis 44:20

20 "We said to my lord, 'We have an old father and 1a little child of his old age. Now 2his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, 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 Judah approached him, and said, "Oh my lord , may your servant please speak a word in my lord's ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh.
19 "My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father or a brother?'
20 "We said to my lord , 'We have an old father and a little child of his old age. Now his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.'
21 "Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me that I may set my eyes on him.'
22 "But we said to my lord , 'The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.'

Cross References 2

  • 1. Genesis 37:3; Genesis 43:8; Genesis 44:30
  • 2. Genesis 37:33; Genesis 42:13, 38
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