The Meaning of Genesis 37:13 Explained

Genesis 37:13

KJV: And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.

YLT: and Israel saith unto Joseph, 'Are not thy brethren feeding in Shechem? come, and I send thee unto them;' and he saith to him, 'Here am I;'

Darby: And Israel said to Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock at Shechem? Come, that I may send thee to them. And he said to him, Here am I.

ASV: And Israel said unto Joseph, Are not thy brethren feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Israel  said  unto Joseph,  Do not thy brethren  feed  [the flock] in Shechem?  come,  and I will send thee  unto them. And he said  to him, Here [am I]. 

What does Genesis 37:13 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 37:12-24 - Joseph's Brothers Plot His Death
Throughout Joseph was a very remarkable type of our Lord. There was, first, this mission of the beloved son to inquire after the well-being of his brethren, which reminds us so vividly of the advent of God's Beloved and Only Begotten Son, who brought us the Father's greeting, and came to see and know by personal inquiry how we fared. Dothan was in the northern portion of the land, and the journey must have taken time and strength; but he persisted until he found them, and came where they were. Their plot against their helpless brother was as the plot of Caiaphas and the rest against our Lord. Pilate knew that for envy they had delivered him into his hands. The pit was one of those rock-hewn cisterns that abound in Palestine, and as there was no water in it Joseph's life was not sacrificed; and there he awaited what was a kind of resurrection. The scene at the pit's mouth was recalled by Joseph in Genesis 42:9; and was never forgotten by the others, Genesis 42:21-22. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 37

1  Joseph is loved by Jacob, but hated by his brothers
5  His dreams and the interpretation
12  Jacob sends him to his brothers, who counsel to slay him
21  At Reuben's desire they cast him into a pit;
25  and afterwards sell him to the Ishmaelites;
29  while Ruben grieves at not finding him
31  His coat, covered with blood, is sent to Jacob, who mourns him inordinately
36  Joseph is brought to Egypt and sold to Potiphar

What do the individual words in Genesis 37:13 mean?

And said Israel to Joseph Are not your brothers pasturing in Shechem come and I will send you to them so he said to him Here I am
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶל־ יוֹסֵ֗ף הֲל֤וֹא אַחֶ֙יךָ֙ רֹעִ֣ים ؟ בִּשְׁכֶ֔ם לְכָ֖ה וְאֶשְׁלָחֲךָ֣ אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ הִנֵּֽנִי

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
יוֹסֵ֗ף  Joseph 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄוסֵף  
Sense: the eldest son of Jacob by Rachel.
הֲל֤וֹא  Are  not 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
אַחֶ֙יךָ֙  your  brothers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
רֹעִ֣ים  pasturing 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
؟ בִּשְׁכֶ֔ם  in  Shechem 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שְׁכֶם 
Sense: son of Hamor, the chieftain of the Hivites at Shechem at the time of Jacob’s arrival.
לְכָ֖ה  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וְאֶשְׁלָחֲךָ֣  and  I  will  send  you 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common singular, second person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר  so  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
ל֖וֹ  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
הִנֵּֽנִי  Here  I  am 
Parse: Interjection, first person common singular
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.