What Does Genesis 43:29 Mean?
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your little brother, of whom you spoke to me? And he said, God favor you, my son.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.THE KEY
“Be gracious” is יָחְנְךָ (yaḥnekha), from חנן (ḥānan, to show favor): the blessing asks that Benjamin receive the favor that belongs to God’s own character.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks a wish for God’s favor over someone who is seen, with the intimate address “my son.” Gracious regard comes into view before any achievement is named.
THE ROOT
יָחְנְךָ
yaḥnekha
GROWS FROM
חנן
To show favor, act graciously.
“be gracious” in this verse is yaḥnekha. The Hebrew verb makes this a wish for God to turn favorably toward Benjamin. Related forms describe graciousness as a quality and a plea for favor, connecting the blessing to both who God is and what is asked of God.
ALSO GROWS
ḥannûn: Gracious; one who shows favor.
חַנּוּן
This form names graciousness as a quality, illuminating the character invoked in the blessing.
taḥănûnîm: Supplications; pleas for favor.
תַּחֲנוּנִים
This word names appeals for favor, showing how the same root can express both graciousness given and graciousness sought.
THE PATTERN
Favor is asked for and received as a gift of God’s gracious regard.
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before your face, and I will call out the name of the LORD before you. I will favor whom I favor, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song. Let God bend toward us, and let him bless us, and let his face shine upon us. Selah.For by favor you have been delivered through leaning your full weight, and this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God.THE THREAD
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before your face, and I will call out the name of the LORD before you. I will favor whom I favor, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.Genesis asks that Benjamin receive favor; Exodus uses the same Hebrew root ḥānan, “to show favor,” as God names graciousness as God’s own action. The shared root links the intimate blessing to the character it calls upon.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us