Genesis 50:16 (WEB)

Passage

They sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded before he died, saying,

Nearby Context

Genesis 50:14 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.

Genesis 50:15 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.”

Genesis 50:16 They sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded before he died, saying,

Genesis 50:17 ‘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 50:18 His brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sent", "message", "joseph", "saying", "father", "commanded", "before", and "died". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sent" and "message", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "When Joseph s brothers saw that their..." into verse 17's "You shall tell Joseph Now please forgive...", so "sent" and "message" 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 "sent" and "message" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.