Genesis 42:13 But they answered, "Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more."

◄ Genesis 42:13 ►

New International Version
But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”

New Living Translation
“Sir,” they said, “there are actually twelve of us. We, your servants, are all brothers, sons of a man living in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is back there with our father right now, and one of our brothers is no longer with us.”

English Standard Version
And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.”

Berean Standard Bible
But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”

King James Bible
And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.

New King James Version
And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”

New American Standard Bible
But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive.”

NASB 1995
But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive.”

NASB 1977
But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”

Legacy Standard Bible
So they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”

Amplified Bible
But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers [in all], the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; please listen: the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive.”

Christian Standard Bible
But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no longer living.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But they replied, “We, your servants, were 12 brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no longer living.”

American Standard Version
And they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.

Contemporary English Version
But they explained, "Sir, we come from a family of twelve brothers. The youngest is still with our father in Canaan, and one of our brothers is dead."

English Revised Version
And they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They answered him, "We were 12 brothers, sons of one man in Canaan. The youngest brother stayed with our father, and the other one is no longer with us."

Good News Translation
They said, "We were twelve brothers in all, sir, sons of the same man in the land of Canaan. One brother is dead, and the youngest is now with our father."

International Standard Version
"But your majesty," they pleaded, "your servants include twelve brothers, the sons of a common father back in the land of Canaan. Please! Our youngest brother remains with our father, and the other one is no longer alive."

Majority Standard Bible
But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”

NET Bible
They replied, "Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers. We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time, and one is no longer alive."

New Heart English Bible
But they said, "We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and look, the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more."

Webster's Bible Translation
And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.

World English Bible
They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is today with our father, and one is no more.”

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
and they say, “Your servants [are] twelve brothers; we [are] sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the young one [is] with our father today, and one is not.”

Young's Literal Translation
and they say, 'Thy servants are twelve brethren; we are sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and lo, the young one is with our father to-day, and the one is not.'

Smith's Literal Translation
And they will say, Thy servants twelve brethren; we the sons of one man in the land of Canaan: and behold, the little one with our father this day, and one, not.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
But they said: We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Chanaan: the youngest is with our father, the other is not living.

Catholic Public Domain Version
But they said: “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father; the other is not living.”

New American Bible
“We your servants,” they said, “are twelve brothers, sons of a certain man in Canaan; but the youngest one is at present with our father, and the other one is no more.”

New Revised Standard Version
They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of a certain man in the land of Canaan; the youngest, however, is now with our father, and one is no more.”

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
And they said to him, Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is dead.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they said to him, “We are twelve brothers; your Servants are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is not.”

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And they said: 'We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, in the land of Chanaan; and, behold, the youngest is with our father to-day, but the other one is not.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Joseph's Brothers Sent to Egypt
…12“No,” he told them. “You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.” 13But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.” 14Then Joseph declared, “Just as I said, you are spies!…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Genesis 37:5-11
Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. / He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: / We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.” ...

Genesis 37:19-20
“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another. / “Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!”

Genesis 37:26-28
Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? / Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed. / So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

Genesis 44:19-20
My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ / And we answered, ‘We have an elderly father and a younger brother, the child of his old age. The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’

Genesis 45:3-4
Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But they were unable to answer him, because they were terrified in his presence. / Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” And they did so. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt!

Genesis 45:7-8
God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. / Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God, who has made me a father to Pharaoh—lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 50:20
As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.

Exodus 1:1-5
These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: / Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; / Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; ...

Exodus 1:8-10
Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt. / “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us. / Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”

Acts 7:9-10
Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him / and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.

Acts 7:13-14
On their second visit, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and his family became known to Pharaoh. / Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.

Acts 7:18-19
Then another king, who knew nothing of Joseph, arose over Egypt. / He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.

Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

Hebrews 11:21
By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Hebrews 11:22
By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.

Treasury of Scripture

And they said, Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.

Thy servants.

Genesis 42:11,32
We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies…

Genesis 29:32-35
And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me…

Genesis 30:6-24
And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan…

one is not.

Genesis 42:36,38
And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me…

Genesis 37:30
And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

Genesis 44:20,28
And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him…

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Genesis 42

1. Jacob sends his ten sons to buy grain in Egypt.
16. They are imprisoned by Joseph as spies.
18. They are set at liberty, on condition to bring Benjamin.
21. They have remorse for Joseph.
24. Simeon is kept for a pledge.
25. They return with grain, and their money.
29. Their relation to Jacob.
36. Jacob refuses to send Benjamin.

Berean Study Bible

But they replied
This phrase indicates a response, suggesting a dialogue that is part of a larger narrative. The Hebrew root for "replied" is עָנָה (anah), which means to answer or respond. This response is part of a tense interaction between Joseph and his brothers, who are unaware of his identity. The brothers' reply is defensive, reflecting their anxiety and the gravity of their situation in a foreign land.

Your servants
The term "servants" here is a humble self-designation, showing deference and respect. In Hebrew, the word is עֲבָדִים (avadim), which can mean servants or slaves. This reflects the brothers' attempt to present themselves as non-threatening and submissive to the Egyptian authority, which they do not realize is their brother Joseph.

are twelve brothers
This statement is a declaration of their family identity. The number twelve is significant in biblical terms, often representing completeness or the people of God, as seen in the twelve tribes of Israel. The brothers are emphasizing their unity and shared heritage, which is central to their identity and the unfolding narrative of the Israelites.

the sons of one man
This phrase underscores their common paternity, highlighting the patriarchal structure of their family. The "one man" is Jacob, also known as Israel, a key figure in biblical history. This reference to a single father emphasizes the unity and shared destiny of the brothers, despite their past actions and current predicament.

in the land of Canaan
Canaan is the promised land, a region of great significance in biblical history. It is the land promised to Abraham and his descendants by God. Mentioning Canaan situates the brothers within the larger narrative of God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and it reminds the reader of the divine promises associated with this land.

The youngest is now with our father
This refers to Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob, who remained with their father. The Hebrew word for "youngest" is קָטָן (katan), meaning small or least. Benjamin's presence with Jacob is a protective measure, as Jacob fears losing him after the presumed loss of Joseph. This highlights Jacob's favoritism and the ongoing family dynamics.

and one is no more
This phrase refers to Joseph, whom the brothers believe to be dead. The Hebrew expression אֵינֶנּוּ (einenu) can mean "is not" or "is no more," indicating absence or presumed death. This statement is laden with irony, as the brothers are speaking to Joseph himself. It reflects their guilt and the unresolved nature of their past actions, setting the stage for eventual reconciliation and redemption.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 13. - And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest - literally, the little one (cf. Genesis 9:24) - is this day with our father, and one - literally, the one, i.e. the other one, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος (LXX.) - is not - i.e. is dead (cf. Genesis 5:24; Genesis 37:30) - in which statement have been seen a sufficient proof that Joseph's brethren had not yet truly repented of their cruelty towards him (Keil); an evidence that time had assuaged all their bitter feelings, both of exasperation against Joseph and of remorse for their unbrotherly conduct (Murphy); a suppression of the truth (Words. worth), if not a direct falsehood (Lawson), since they wished it to be understood that their younger brother was dead, while of that they had no evidence beyond their own cunningly-invented lie (Genesis 37:20) and their own probable surmisings. But in point of fact the inference was natural and reasonable that Joseph was no more, since twenty years had elapsed without any tidings of his welfare, and there was no absolute necessity requiring them to explain to the Egyptian governor all the particulars of their early life. Yet the circumstance that their assertion regarding himself was incorrect may have tended to awaken his suspicions concerning Benjamin.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

But they answered,
וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ (way·yō·mə·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“Your servants
עֲבָדֶ֨יךָ (‘ă·ḇā·ḏe·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5650: Slave, servant

are twelve
שְׁנֵ֣ים (šə·nêm)
Number - md
Strong's 8147: Two (a cardinal number)

brothers,
אַחִ֧ים ׀ (’a·ḥîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 251: A brother, )

the sons
בְּנֵ֥י (bə·nê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of one
אֶחָ֖ד (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

man
אִישׁ־ (’îš-)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

in the land
בְּאֶ֣רֶץ (bə·’e·reṣ)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 776: Earth, land

of Canaan.
כְּנָ֑עַן (kə·nā·‘an)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3667: Canaan -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their land West of the Jordan

The youngest
הַקָּטֹ֤ן (haq·qā·ṭōn)
Article | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 6996: Small, young, unimportant

is now
הַיּ֔וֹם (hay·yō·wm)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

with
אֶת־ (’eṯ-)
Preposition
Strong's 854: Nearness, near, with, by, at, among

our father,
אָבִ֙ינוּ֙ (’ā·ḇî·nū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common plural
Strong's 1: Father

and one
וְהָאֶחָ֖ד (wə·hā·’e·ḥāḏ)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

is no more.”
אֵינֶֽנּוּ׃ (’ê·nen·nū)
Adverb | third person masculine singular
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

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OT Law: Genesis 42:13 They said We your servants are twelve (Gen. Ge Gn)