Genesis 42:32
New International Version
We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’

New Living Translation
We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One brother is no longer with us, and the youngest is at home with our father in the land of Canaan.’

English Standard Version
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’

Berean Standard Bible
We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’

King James Bible
We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

New King James Version
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’

New American Standard Bible
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’

NASB 1995
‘We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’

NASB 1977
‘We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’

Legacy Standard Bible
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’

Amplified Bible
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’

Christian Standard Bible
We were twelve brothers, sons of the same father. One is no longer living, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’

Holman Christian Standard Bible
We were 12 brothers, sons of the same father. One is no longer living, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.

American Standard Version
we are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

Contemporary English Version
We come from a family of twelve brothers. The youngest is still with our father in Canaan, and the other is dead."

English Revised Version
we be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
We were 12 brothers, sons of the same father. One is no longer with us. The youngest brother stayed with our father in Canaan.'

Good News Translation
We were twelve brothers in all, sons of the same father. One brother is dead, and the youngest is still in Canaan with our father.'

International Standard Version
Our father has twelve sons, but one of us isn't alive anymore, and our youngest brother is with our father today back home in Canaan.'

Majority Standard Bible
We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.?

NET Bible
We are from a family of twelve brothers; we are the sons of one father. One is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father at this time in the land of Canaan.'

New Heart English Bible
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.'

Webster's Bible Translation
We are twelve brethren, sons of our father: one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

World English Bible
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is today with our father in the land of Canaan.’
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
we [are] twelve brothers, sons of our father, one is not, and the young one [is] today with our father in the land of Canaan.

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

Smith's Literal Translation
We are twelve brethren, sons of our father: one is not, and the little one, he with our father in the land of Canaan.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
We are twelve brethren born of one father: one is not living, the youngest is with our father in the land of Chanaan.

Catholic Public Domain Version
We are twelve brothers conceived of one father. One is not living; the youngest is with our father in the land of Canaan.’

New American Bible
We are twelve brothers, sons of the same father; but one is no more, and the youngest one is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’

New Revised Standard Version
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; and one is dead, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father, and one is not, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
We are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
We are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is with his father to-day in the land of Chanaan.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Joseph's Brothers Return to Canaan
31But we told him, ‘We are honest men, not spies. 32We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’ 33Then the man who is lord of the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go.…

Cross References
Genesis 37:9-11
Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” / He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother and brothers and I actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” / And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.

Genesis 43:8-9
And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our children. / I will guarantee his safety. You may hold me personally responsible. If I do not bring him back and set him before you, then may I bear the guilt before you all my life.

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 37:3-4
Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors. / When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

Genesis 45:1-4
Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me!” So none of them were with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. / But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household soon heard of it. / 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. ...

Genesis 37:23-24
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors he was wearing— / and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.

Genesis 44:30-34
So if the boy is not with us when I return to your servant, and if my father, whose life is wrapped up in the boy’s life, / sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. Then your servants will have brought the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow. / Indeed, your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father, saying, ‘If I do not return him to you, I will bear the guilt before you, my father, all my life.’ ...

Genesis 37:28
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 45:14-15
Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept as they embraced. / Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept over them. And afterward his brothers talked with him.

Genesis 37:31-33
Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. / They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.” / His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”

Genesis 50:15-21
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge? Then he will surely repay us for all the evil that we did to him.” / So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Before he died, your father commanded, / ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I beg you, please forgive the transgression and sin of your brothers, for they did you wrong.’ So now, Joseph, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. ...

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.

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.

Matthew 10:21
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.

Luke 15:11-32
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. / The younger son said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. / After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living. ...


Treasury of Scripture

We be twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

twelve brethren.

Genesis 42:13
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.

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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.














We were twelve brothers
This phrase begins with a declaration of identity and familial connection. The number twelve holds significant biblical symbolism, often representing completeness or the people of God, as seen in the twelve tribes of Israel. The Hebrew root for "brothers" (אַחִים, 'achim) emphasizes kinship and shared lineage, underscoring the unity and collective identity of Jacob's sons. Historically, the twelve brothers are the patriarchs of the tribes of Israel, and their account is foundational to the narrative of the Israelite people. This declaration is a reminder of God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the unfolding of His divine plan through their descendants.

sons of one father
This phrase highlights the common paternity of the brothers, emphasizing their shared heritage and the unity of their family under Jacob, also known as Israel. The Hebrew word for "father" (אָב, 'av) is a term of respect and authority, reflecting the patriarchal structure of ancient Near Eastern families. This familial bond is central to the narrative, as it sets the stage for the unfolding drama of reconciliation and redemption. The mention of "one father" also points to the singularity of God's chosen people, unified under one covenant and one divine purpose.

One is no more
This phrase is a poignant acknowledgment of loss and presumed death. The Hebrew word for "no more" (אֵינֶנּוּ, 'enenhu) conveys absence and nonexistence, reflecting the brothers' belief that Joseph, their sibling, is lost to them. This statement is laden with irony, as Joseph, unbeknownst to them, stands before them as the powerful governor of Egypt. Theologically, this phrase speaks to themes of resurrection and restoration, as what is believed to be lost is ultimately found and redeemed by God's providential hand.

and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan
This phrase situates the narrative geographically and relationally. The "youngest" refers to Benjamin, the only other son of Rachel, Jacob's beloved wife. The Hebrew word for "youngest" (קָטָן, qatan) denotes not only age but also vulnerability and preciousness, highlighting Benjamin's special status in Jacob's eyes. The "land of Canaan" is significant as the Promised Land, the inheritance of God's people. This geographical reference roots the account in the broader context of God's covenantal promises and the unfolding history of Israel. The mention of Benjamin being with Jacob underscores the ongoing tension and fear of loss within the family, as Jacob clings to his remaining son from Rachel.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
We
אֲנַ֛חְנוּ (’ă·naḥ·nū)
Pronoun - first person common plural
Strong's 587: We

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

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

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

of one father.
אָבִ֑ינוּ (’ā·ḇî·nū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common plural
Strong's 1: Father

One
הָאֶחָ֣ד (hā·’e·ḥāḏ)
Article | Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

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

and the youngest
וְהַקָּטֹ֥ן (wə·haq·qā·ṭōn)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 6996: Small, young, unimportant

is now
הַיּ֛וֹם (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
אָבִ֖ינוּ (’ā·ḇî·nū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common plural
Strong's 1: Father

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

of Canaan.’
כְּנָֽעַן׃ (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


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OT Law: Genesis 42:32 We are twelve brothers sons of our (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 42:31
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