Genesis 43:28

Gen 43:28 And they answered, Thy servant our father [is] in good health, he [is] yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.

Ver. 28. {See Trapp on "Gen 43:26"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 43:28. When they brought him the present, they bowed themselves before him, and again, when they gave him an account of their father’s health, they made obeisance, and called him, Thy servant, our father — Thus were Joseph’s dreams fulfilled more and more; and even the father, by the sons, bowed before him. Probably Jacob had directed them, if they had occasion to speak of him to the man, the lord of the land, to call him his servant.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(28) They bowed down.—This was the literal fulfilment of the first dream concerning the eleven sheaves making obeisance. As their business in Egypt was to buy corn, there was a fitness also in their being represented as sheaves.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin,.... He had seen him before when his brethren first presented themselves to him, but then took no particular and special notice of him, only gave him a side look as it were, but now he looked wistly at him:

his mother's son; the son of Rachel his mother, and who was his only brother by his mother's side, the rest, though his brethren, yet only by his father's side, not his mother's sons:

and said, is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? he knew he was the same, but was willing to have it from their mouths, to lead on to what he had further to say:

and he said; after they had answered his question, and told him it was he:

God be gracious unto thee, my son; speaking as a superior, a governor, in which capacity he was a father to his inferiors; and as a man, a relation, a brother, though not as yet discovered; he spoke in the most tender and affectionate manner, and, as a religious good man, he wishes the best thing he could for his brother, the grace and goodness of God; and which may be understood in the largest and most expressive sense, as including all good things, temporal, spiritual, and eternal.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Living. The Samaritan and Septuagint add, "Joseph replied, Blessed be he of God: and bowing themselves," &c. Thus all Joseph’s brethren adore him, chap. xxxvii. 7. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Thy servant; by which expression delivered in Jacob’s name, and by his order, Jacob himself made obeisance to him, as was foretold, Gen 37:9.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Your servant our father

They refer to their father as "Your servant" to show respect. AT: "Our father who serves you"

They prostrated themselves and bowed down

These words basically mean the same thing. They laid down in front of the man to show him respect. AT: "They bowed down in front of him" (See: Symbolic Action)

he lifted up his eyes

This means "he looked up." (See: Idiom)

his mother's son, and he said

This can be translated with a new sentence. AT: "his mother's son. Joseph said"

Is this your youngest brother ... me?

Possible meanings are 1) Joseph is truly asking a question to confirm that this man is Benjamin, or 2) it is a rhetorical question. AT: "So this is your youngest brother ... me." (See: Rhetorical Question)

my son

This is a friendly way one man speaks to another man of lower rank. AT: "young man"

translationWords

servant

prostrate

bow

Benjamin

grace

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ויקדו וישתחו AND THEY BOWED THE HEAD AND PROSTRATED THEMSELVES — in recognition of his enquiry regarding their welfare. The root קדד denotes bowing the head: the verb שחה in the Hiphil denotes prostration upon the ground (Megillah 22b).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ויקדו וישתחוו, when they prostrated themselves this was with the intention of making an obeisance to their father after whom Joseph had inquired (although outwardly, this was not noticeable).

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

They bowed (vayikdu) … and prostrated. They lowered their heads (kadkod) to the ground after having already prostrated themselves.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.