Genesis 50:20

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 50:20 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Genesis 50:20 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 50

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
20And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me, etc.] That must be said and owned, that their intentions were bad; they thought to have contradicted his dreams, and made them of none effect, to have token away his life, or however to have made him a slave all his days: [but] God meant it unto good; he designed good should come by it, and he brought good out of it: this shows that this action, which was sinful in itself, fell under the decree of God, or was the object of it, and that there was a concourse of providence in it; not that God was the author of sin, which neither his decree about it, nor the concourse of providence with the action as such supposes; he leaving the sinner wholly to his…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- The Burial of Jacob 10. אטד 'āṭâd Atad, “the buck-thorn.” 11. מצרים אבל 'ābêl-mı̂tsrayı̂m, Abel-Mitsraim, “mourning of Mizraim,” or meadow of Mizraim. This chapter records the burial of Jacob and the death of Joseph, and so completes the history of the chosen family, and the third bible for the instruction of man. Genesis 50:1-3 After the natural outburst of sorrow for his deceased parent, Joseph gave orders to embalm the body, according to the custom of Egypt. “His servants, the physicians.” As the grand vizier of Egypt, he has physicians in his retinue. The classes and functions of the physicians in Egypt may be learned from Herodotus (ii. 81-86). There were special physicians for…”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Sources and verification