inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Gen 43:10)

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 Israel.

complete verse (Genesis 43:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 43:10:

  • Kankanaey: “If our (excl.) going had not been delayed, we (excl.) could have gone and returned twice.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “If you had not delayed us here unnecessarily, we would have gone there twice and returned.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If we (incl.) had- not now -wasted time, maybe twice already we (excl.) could-have-returned.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “If we had not wasted so much time/waited so long, by now we could have gone there and returned two times!'” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 43:10

Judah urges his father to accept his proposal, because they are wasting time coming to a decision when they should be getting food for their starving families.

If we had not delayed: that is, “if we had not wasted so much time, we could have gone twice to Egypt and home again” or “if we had not taken so long to make up our minds, ….” Some translations refer back to an earlier discussion and say “If you had not prevented us from going before, …” or “If we had not wasted so much time since we asked you earlier, we would have made two trips for food by now.”

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 .