🌱WEB · Genesis 50:17
What does Genesis 50:17 mean?
"‘You shall tell Joseph, “Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him."
— Genesis 50:17 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Joseph returned into Egypt—he, and his brothers, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.”
They sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded before he died, saying,
‘You shall tell Joseph, “Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
His brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for am I in the place of God?
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is today, to save many people alive.
Explanation
Genesis 50:17 comes at a pivotal moment near the close of the Joseph narrative. After their father Jacob has died and been buried, Joseph's brothers grow afraid that Joseph, now that the family patriarch is gone, might finally take revenge for the great wrong they did to him years earlier—selling him into slavery in Egypt. In plain language, the verse records the brothers sending Joseph a message (possibly through messengers, or by finally saying it themselves) asking him to forgive their "disobedience" and "sin," admitting plainly that they had done evil to him. They appeal not only to their common humanity but to their shared faith, calling themselves "servants of the God of your father," hoping this shared covenant identity will move Joseph toward mercy. The verse ends with Joseph's response: he weeps.
The book of Genesis is traditionally attributed to Moses, compiled for the Israelites as they prepared to enter the Promised Land, tracing their origins from creation through the patriarchs. This particular episode falls within the Joseph cycle (Genesis 37–50), which explains how the twelve tribes of Israel ended up in Egypt—a background necessary for understanding the later Exodus story. By this point in the narrative, Joseph has already revealed his identity to his brothers (Genesis 45) and assured them of his forgiveness, attributing their treachery to God
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