Genesis 44:20

20 We answered, "We have a father who is old and a younger brother, born to him in his old age. The boy's brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother's children still alive; his father loves him very much.'

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 Judah went up to Joseph and said, "Please, sir, allow me to speak with you freely. Don't be angry with me; you are like the king himself.

19 Sir, you asked us, "Do you have a father or another brother?'

20 We answered, "We have a father who is old and a younger brother, born to him in his old age. The boy's brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother's children still alive; his father loves him very much.'

21 Sir, you told us to bring him here, so that you could see him,

22 and we answered that the boy could not leave his father; if he did, his father would die.