Genesis 43:23

Summary

The steward of Joseph's house responds to the brothers' fear about the silver found in their sacks, telling them to have peace and not be afraid, attributing the silver's return to the God of their fathers. He then brings Simeon out to them.

Key words

• shaLom ("peace", H7965) — masculine singular noun used here as a greeting/reassurance formula with the preposition la ("to")+ suffix "you," literally "peace to you."
• tiRa'u ("you fear", H3372) — qal jussive, second person masculine plural, preceded by the negation 'al ("may not", H0408); this jussive negation forms a prohibition, "do not fear," softer in force than a flat imperative negation.
• 'eloHei ("God of", H0430) — masculine plural noun in construct state, appearing twice (once for "your God," once for "the God of your father"), grammatically plural but functioning as a singular referent in construct chains.
• naTan ("he gave", H5414) — qal perfect, third person masculine singular, marking a completed action: the giving of the matmon ("treasure/hidden thing", H4301) is presented as already accomplished.
• yoTze' ("he brought out", H3318) — hiphil (causative) narrative form, third person masculine singular: the causative stem indicates the steward caused Simeon to come out, rather than Simeon coming out on his own.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative va-yoMer ("and he said", H0559), continuing the wayyiqtol chain typical of Hebrew narrative sequence. The steward's speech begins with the short phrase shaLom laChem ("peace to you"), a noun with a prepositional phrase functioning as a reassurance rather than a full verbal clause. This is immediately followed by the prohibition 'al-tiRa'u ("do not fear"), using the negation 'al with a jussive form — grammatically distinct from a categorical command, conveying an immediate, situational reassurance rather than a general rule.

The explanation for the silver's presence is built on a double construct chain: 'eloHeiChem ("your God") ve-'eloHei 'aviChem ("and the God of your father"), both functioning as the subject of the perfect verb naTan ("he gave"). The perfect aspect marks the giving as a completed, settled fact from the steward's perspective — the treasure is already given, not merely explained. The object matmon ("treasure", H4301) sits be-'amteChoteiChem ("in your sacks", H0572), a feminine plural noun in construct with the pronominal suffix "your."

The final clause shifts to a new perfect verb, ba' ("it came", H0935), stating that "your silver came to me" — a completed action reported from the steward's own vantage point. The narrative resumes with va-yoTze' ("and he brought out", H3318), a hiphil causative form indicating that the steward caused Simeon's appearance, marked by the direct object particle 'et (H0853) before the proper name Shim'on ("Simeon", H8095).

Differences between versions

The LXX introduces ὁ ἄνθρωπος ("the man") as an explicit subject for the speech, where the Hebrew simply continues with va-yoMer ("and he said") without a named subject in this verse (the subject is understood from prior context). The LXX and Vulgate both render matmon ("treasure", H4301) with plural forms (θησαυρούς, thesauros — "treasures"), while the Hebrew noun is grammatically singular. The Vulgate adds an explanatory clause, "the money which you gave me," not present as such in the Hebrew, which more simply states kaspeChem ba' 'eLai ("your silver came to me").