Verse

Genesis 43:27

ESV And he inquired about their welfare and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"
NIV He asked them how they were, and then he said, "How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?"
NASB Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, 'Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?'
CSB He asked if they were well, and he said, "How is your elderly father that you told me about? Is he still alive?"
NLT After greeting them, he asked, 'How is your father, the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?'
KJV And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
NKJV Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “ Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

What does Genesis 43:27 mean?

Some twenty years earlier, a young Joseph dreamt his brothers and entire family would one day bow before him (Genesis 37:5–10). This was one reason the jealous brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:24–28). Over time, Joseph was lifted to become the second most powerful man in the entire nation (Genesis 41:44). When his brothers arrived to buy grain during a famine, they did not recognize him (Genesis 42:8), and Joseph tested them (Genesis 42:14, 19–20). On their second trip, they bring their youngest brother Benjamin, and Joseph's first dream is fulfilled (Genesis 43:26).

After Joseph's 11 brothers bow, honoring his position, he immediately asks them about their father. Perhaps a touch eagerly, he inquires if the old father they mentioned (Genesis 42:11) is still alive. It's a valid question. Joseph has been gone from home a long time, and Jacob is very old.
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