The Meaning of Genesis 46:32 Explained

Genesis 46:32

KJV: And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.

YLT: and the men are feeders of a flock, for they have been men of cattle; and their flock, and their herd, and all that they have, they have brought.'

Darby: and the men are shepherds, for they have been occupied with cattle; and they have brought their sheep, and their cattle, and all that they have.

ASV: and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the men  [are] shepherds,  for their trade hath been to feed cattle;  and they have brought  their flocks,  and their herds,  and all that they have. 

What does Genesis 46:32 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 46:28-34 - Pharaoh Welcome's Joseph's Relatives
What a meeting between father and son! If the old man were sitting in the corner of the lumbering wagon, weary with the long journey, how he must have started up when they said, "Joseph is coming!" What pathos there is in the expression, "wept a good while," as though the long-pent-up streams took a long time to exhaust themselves. Had Joseph been less noble he might have shrunk from introducing his lowly relatives to the mighty Pharaoh! But such thoughts were submerged in the great love which claimed that withered, aged, halting man as his father. Let us never be ashamed of our Savior, who has done more for us than even Jacob for his sons. This confession that the days of his pilgrimage had been few and evil is set to a sad minor chord; and to the superficial gaze Esau had enjoyed a much more prosperous career; but when Jacob stood before Pharaoh the mighty monarch recognized his moral supremacy, and bent beneath his benediction. Surely the less is blessed of the greater. Here was the harvest of his tears! [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 46

1  Jacob is comforted by God at Beersheba
5  Thence he with his company goes into Egypt
8  The number of his family that went into Egypt
28  Joseph meets Jacob
31  He instructs his brothers how to answer Pharaoh

What do the individual words in Genesis 46:32 mean?

And the men shepherding their flocks for men of livestock they have been and their flocks and their herds and all that [is] unto them they have brought
וְהָאֲנָשִׁים֙ רֹ֣עֵי צֹ֔אן כִּֽי־ אַנְשֵׁ֥י מִקְנֶ֖ה הָי֑וּ וְצֹאנָ֧ם וּבְקָרָ֛ם וְכָל־ אֲשֶׁ֥ר לָהֶ֖ם הֵבִֽיאוּ

וְהָאֲנָשִׁים֙  And  the  men 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱנׄושׁ 
Sense: man, mortal man, person, mankind.
רֹ֣עֵי  shepherding 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
צֹ֔אן  their  flocks 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
אַנְשֵׁ֥י  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֱנׄושׁ 
Sense: man, mortal man, person, mankind.
מִקְנֶ֖ה  of  livestock 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִקְנֶה  
Sense: cattle, livestock.
הָי֑וּ  they  have  been 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
וְצֹאנָ֧ם  and  their  flocks 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
וּבְקָרָ֛ם  and  their  herds 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: בָּקָר  
Sense: cattle, herd, oxen, ox.
וְכָל־  and  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  that  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
לָהֶ֖ם  unto  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
הֵבִֽיאוּ  they  have  brought 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.