brother (older brother)

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “brother” in English is translated in Kwere as sekulu and in Mandarin Chinese as gēgē (哥哥), both “older brother.”

Note that Kwere also uses lumbu — “older sibling” in some cases. (Source for Kwere: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Gen 44:20)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding Joseph.

complete verse (Genesis 44:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 44:20:

  • Newari: “We gave answer like this — ‘Our father is an old man. And after he had become an old man, our youngest brother was born. His older brother has already died. And he is the only one left from his mother. His father loves him very much.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “and we (excl.) answered you (sing.) that we (excl.) have a father who is now old and there is a youngest sibling/(brother) born in his old-age. We (excl.) also said that his sibling/(brother) (is) now dead and he (is) the only one left of the children of his mother, and he (is) very beloved of our father.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “We answered, ‘Our father is alive, but he is an old man. He has a young son who was born after our father became an old man. That son had an older brother, who is now dead. So the youngest son is the only one of his mother’s sons who is still alive, and his father loves him very much.'” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 44:20

We said to my lord: this must often be rephrased to say, for example, “We answered you who are our lord” or “We replied to you, sir.”

We have a father, an old man: in 42.13 the brothers identified themselves as “the sons of one man in the land of Canaan.” In many languages it is natural to begin this answer with “Yes, we have a father….”

A young brother, the child of his old age: in 42.13 the brothers’ reply is “The youngest is this day with our father and one is no more.” Child of his old age may be rendered, for example, “a child born when he was old” or “he became the father to this child when he was an old man.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .