Genesis 50:18

18 And his brethren came to him, and worshipped low to the earth (and bowed low to the ground before him), and said, We be thy servants.

Genesis 50:18 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 50:18

And his brethren also went
The messengers being returned to them, and acquainting them with what Joseph had said, they took courage and went from Goshen to Joseph's house or palace, be it where it may:

and fell down before his face;
in an humble suppliant manner:

and they said, behold, we be thy servants;
they were content to be so, would he but forgive their sin, and not resent their ill behaviour to him; thus they further fulfilled his dream of the eleven stars making obeisance to him, ( Genesis 37:9 ) .

Genesis 50:18 In-Context

16 And (so) they sent (a message) to him, and said, Thy father commanded to us, before that he died,
17 that we should say to thee these things by his words; I beseech thee, that thou forget the wickedness of thy brethren, and the sin, and [the] malice that they haunted against thee; also we pray thee, that thou forgive this wickedness (which we did) to thy father, the servant of God. When these things were heard, Joseph wept. (that we should say these words of his to thee; My son, I beseech thee, that thou forget the wickedness of thy brothers, and the sin, and the malice that they did against thee; and we also pray thee, that thou forgive our wickedness, for we, like thee, be servants of the God of thy father. And when Joseph heard this message, he wept.)
18 And his brethren came to him, and worshipped low to the earth (and bowed low to the ground before him), and said, We be thy servants.
19 To which he answered, Do not ye dread; whether we may against-stand God's will? (To whom he answered, Do not ye fear; for can we stand against God's will?)
20 Ye thought evil of me, and God turned it into good, that he should enhance me, as ye see in this present time, and that he should make safe many peoples; (Ye thought to do evil to me, but God turned it into good, and he used what you did to me to advance me, as ye see at this present time, and by doing so he hath saved many people;)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.