Genesis 43:20

20 saying, We pray , Sir; we came down at first 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 And the men, when they perceived that they were brought into the house of Joseph, said, We are brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first; even in order to inform against us, and lay it to our charge; to take us for servants, and our asses.

19 And having approached the man who was over the house of Joseph, they spoke to him in the porch of the house,

20 saying, We pray , Sir; we came down at first to buy food.

21 And it came to pass, when we came to unlade, and opened our sacks, also this money of each in his sack; we have now brought back our money by weight in our hands.

22 And we have brought other money with us to buy food; we know not who put the money into our sacks.