Genesis 50:18 (YLT)

Passage

And his brethren also go and fall before him, and say, `Lo, we <FI>are<Fi> to thee for servants.'

Nearby Context

Genesis 50:16 And they give a charge for Joseph, saying, `Thy father commanded before his death, saying,

Genesis 50:17 Thus ye do say to Joseph, I pray thee, bear, I pray thee, with the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for they have done thee evil; and now, bear, we pray thee, with the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father;' and Joseph weepeth in their speaking unto him.

Genesis 50:18 And his brethren also go and fall before him, and say, `Lo, we <FI>are<Fi> to thee for servants.'

Genesis 50:19 And Joseph saith unto them, `Fear not, for <FI>am<Fi> I in the place of God?

Genesis 50:20 As for you, ye devised against me evil--God devised it for good, in order to do as <FI>at<Fi> this day, to keep alive a numerous people;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "brethren", "fall", "before", "thee", and "servants". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "brethren" and "fall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Thus ye do say to Joseph I..." into verse 19's "And Joseph saith unto them Fear not...", so "brethren" and "fall" 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 "fall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.