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.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 44:22:
Newari: “We said to you — ‘He cannot leave his father. If he did like that his father would die.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “We (excl.) said to you (sing.) that (it is) not possible for our (excl.) youngest-one to-leave our (excl.) father, for it might- still -be the cause-of- his -death.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “We said to you, ‘No, we cannot do that, because the boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves his father, his father will die from sorrow.'” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person. In these verses, however, the more venerable anata-sama (あなた様) is used, which combines anata with the with a formal title -sama.
The lad cannot leave his father: these words are not recorded as having been said to Joseph. However, they represent what Jacob said in 42.38, when he refused Reuben’s plea to let Benjamin go with the brothers to Egypt.
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 .
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