Genesis 43:27

 Genesis 43:27

And he asked them of [their] welfare, and said, [Is] your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? [Is] he yet alive?

a. NASB 1995: Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, “Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”  [New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.]

b. 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?”  [Scripture quotations marked "NKJV" are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.]

c. Amplified Bible: He asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”[AMPLIFIED BIBLE 2015 AMP Amplified Bible Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.]

d. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: He inquired after their welfare, and he said, “Is the aged father of whom you spoke at peace, Is he still alive?”  [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ltd.]

e. ESV: And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”  [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

f. Unless otherwise stated, all Greek and Hebrew definitions are from Blue Letter Bible

1. “And he asked them of [their] welfare, and said, [Is] your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? [Is] he yet alive?”

a. [And he] asked [them] [Strong: 7592 shâʼal, shaw-al'; or שָׁאֵל shâʼêl; a primitive root; to inquire; by implication, to request; by extension, to demand:—ask (counsel, on), beg, borrow, lay to charge, consult, demand, desire, × earnestly, enquire, greet, obtain leave, lend, pray, request, require, salute, × straitly, × surely, wish.]

b. [of their] welfare [Strong: 7965 shâlôwm, shaw-lome'; or שָׁלֹם shâlôm; from H7999; safe, i.e. (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace:—× do, familiar, × fare, favour, friend, × great, (good) health, (× perfect, such as be at) peace(-able, -ably), prosper(-ity, -ous), rest, safe(-ty), salute, welfare, (× all is, be) well, × wholly.]

c. [and] said [Strong: 559 ʼâmar, aw-mar'; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):—answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.]

d. [is your] father [Strong: 1 ʼâb, awb; a primitive word; father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application:—chief, (fore-) father(-less), × patrimony, principal.]

e. well [Strong: 7965 shâlôwm, shaw-lome'; or שָׁלֹם shâlôm; from H7999; safe, i.e. (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace:—× do, familiar, × fare, favour, friend, × great, (good) health, (× perfect, such as be at) peace(-able, -ably), prosper(-ity, -ous), rest, safe(-ty), salute, welfare, (× all is, be) well, × wholly.]

f. [the] old man [Strong: 2205 zâqên, zaw-kane'; from H2204; old:—aged, ancient (man), elder(-est), old (man, men and...women), senator.]

g. [of] whom [Strong: 834 ʼăsher, ash-er'; a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.:—× after, × alike, as (soon as), because, × every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), × if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), × though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(-soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.]

h. [ye] spake [Strong: 559 ʼâmar, aw-mar'; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):—answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.]

i. [is he] yet [Strong: 5750 ʻôwd, ode; or עֹד ʻôd; from H5749; properly, iteration or continuance; used only adverbially (with or without preposition), again, repeatedly, still, more:—again, × all life long, at all, besides, but, else, further(-more), henceforth, (any) longer, (any) more(-over), × once, since, (be) still, when, (good, the) while (having being), (as, because, whether, while) yet (within).]

j. alive [Strong: 2416 chay, khah'-ee; from H2421; alive; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively:— age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life(-time), live(-ly), living (creature, thing), maintenance, merry, multitude, (be) old, quick, raw, running, springing, troop.]

1). Joseph’s ten older brothers had been living with a guilty conscience for over twenty years, they must have thought of Joseph and wondered what had become of him in Egypt.

2). Why did Joseph deal with his brothers the way he did? Some Jewish writers maintain that before Joseph would reveal himself to his brothers he needed to know if they still hated him. If he showed himself here he would never know if they still hated him.