Genesis 50:18 (DBY)

Passage

And his brethren also went and fell down before his face, and said, Behold, we are thy bondmen.

Nearby Context

Genesis 50:16 And they sent a messenger to Joseph, saying, Thy father commanded before he died, saying,

Genesis 50:17 Thus shall ye speak to Joseph: Oh forgive, I pray thee, the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin! for they did evil to thee. And now, we pray thee, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

Genesis 50:18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face, and said, Behold, we are thy bondmen.

Genesis 50:19 And Joseph said to them, Fear not: am I then in the place of God?

Genesis 50:20 Ye indeed meant evil against me: God meant it for good, in order that he might do as [it is] this day, to save a great people alive.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "brethren", "went", "fell", "down", "before", "face", "said", and "behold". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "brethren" and "went", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Thus shall ye speak to Joseph Oh..." into verse 19's "And Joseph said to them Fear not...", so "brethren" and "went" belong inside that flow. In Genesis context, the local focus is creation, human rebellion, covenant promise, and God's providence.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "brethren" and "went" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.