Discovery BoxGenesis 50:15-17 
Context50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay 1 us in full 2 for all the harm 3 we did to him?” 50:16 So they sent word 4 to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave these instructions before he died: 50:17 ‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father.” When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept. 5
1 tn The imperfect tense could be a simple future; it could also have a desiderative nuance.
2 tn The infinitive absolute makes the statement emphatic, “repay in full.”
3 tn Or “evil.”
4 tn The verb means “command,” but they would hardly be commanding him. It probably means they sent their father’s instructions to Joseph.
5 tn Heb “and Joseph wept when they spoke to him.”
