Genesis 42

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you keep looking at one another?"

1Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?

NoteThe King James word "corn" means grain of any kind, here wheat, not maize or sweetcorn, which were unknown outside the Americas in 1611.

2He said, "Listen, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die."

2And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.

NoteTravelers always spoke of going "down" to Egypt and "up" from it: Canaan is hill country, Egypt a low river valley and delta. Egypt's crops depended on the Nile's annual flood rather than on rainfall, so it could still have grain in store when drought had emptied the countries around it.

3So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.

3And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.

4But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with the others, because he said, "Something bad might happen to him."

4But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.

NoteBenjamin is Joseph's only full brother; both were sons of Jacob's favorite wife Rachel, who died giving birth to Benjamin. The other ten had different mothers. "Mischief" in the King James means serious harm or disaster, not the mild sense the word carries now.

5So the sons of Israel came to buy grain along with the others who came, because the famine was in the land of Canaan too.

5And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

Note"Israel" is the second name given to Jacob himself, so "the sons of Israel" here means simply Jacob's own sons, not yet a nation.

6Joseph was the ruler over the land, and he was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. So Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

6And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.

NoteJoseph had been made second in command of Egypt and put in charge of the grain stored up during the seven good years (chapter 41). Bowing with the face to the ground was the ordinary way of approaching a high Egyptian official, a gesture of respect before power, not an act of worship.

7When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he acted like a stranger to them and spoke harshly to them. He said to them, "Where do you come from?" They said, "From the land of Canaan, to buy food."

7And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.

Note"Made himself strange" means he deliberately behaved as though he did not know them: he was disguising who he was, not merely being cold.

8Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

8And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.

9Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, "You are spies. You have come to see where the land is unguarded."

9And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

NoteThe dreams are those of chapter 37, in which his brothers' sheaves of grain, and then the sun, moon and stars, bowed down to him, the dreams that made them hate him. "To see the nakedness of the land" is a Hebrew expression for scouting out a country's undefended points. Egypt's north-eastern frontier was the road by which invaders came, so a group of Canaanite men arriving together was exactly what border officials watched for.

10They said to him, "No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food.

10And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.

11We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants are not spies."

11We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.

Note"True men" in the King James means honest, truthful men, men whose account of themselves can be believed.

12He said to them, "No. You have come to see where the land is unguarded."

12And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

13They said, "Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father right now, and one is no longer here."

13And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.

Note"One is not" renders a Hebrew phrase used of a person who is dead or gone for good. The brothers give no explanation of what happened to Joseph, and the wording deliberately leaves it vague.

14Joseph said to them, "It is just as I told you: you are spies.

14And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:

15This is how you will be tested. As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

15Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.

Note"By the life of Pharaoh" is an oath formula: the speaker binds his words to the ruler's life, roughly "as certainly as Pharaoh is alive." Egyptians swore this way, and it fits the Egyptian identity Joseph is keeping up.

16Send one of you to go and get your brother, while the rest of you are kept in prison, so that your words can be tested to see whether you are telling the truth. If not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies."

16Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.

17And he put them all together in custody for three days.

17And he put them all together into ward three days.

18On the third day Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God.

18And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:

Note"I fear God" means he holds God in awe. In the ancient world this was a statement about character: a God-fearing man was one who could be trusted to deal justly even with foreigners, who had no family or patron in the country to protect them.

19If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay locked up in the prison where you are held. The rest of you, go and carry grain home for your starving families.

19If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:

20But bring your youngest brother to me. Then your words will be proven true, and you will not die." And they did so.

20But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

21They said to one another, "We are truly guilty about our brother. We saw how deeply troubled he was when he begged us, and we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come on us."

21And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

NoteThey are talking about what they did in chapter 37, where they threw Joseph into a dry pit and sold him to passing traders. That account never mentioned him pleading with them; this is the first time the story reports it.

22Reuben answered them, "Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. So now his blood is being demanded of us."

22And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.

NoteReuben was the eldest brother, and had argued against killing Joseph (37:21–22). "His blood is required" is legal language: when a person was killed unlawfully, the life of whoever was responsible was owed in payment. Reuben means they are now being called to account for Joseph's death.

23They did not know that Joseph understood them, because he was speaking to them through an interpreter.

23And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

NoteJoseph is dealing with them in Egyptian through a court interpreter, so the brothers speak freely to one another in their own language in front of him, not knowing he understands every word.

24He turned away from them and wept. Then he turned back to them and talked with them, and he took Simeon from among them and had him tied up in front of their eyes.

24And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.

NoteSimeon was the second-oldest of the brothers. With Reuben the eldest having tried to protect Joseph, Simeon was the next in line and the next most responsible.

25Then Joseph gave orders to fill their sacks with grain, to put each man's money back in his sack, and to give them food for the journey. This was done for them.

25Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.

NoteCoined money did not yet exist. Payment was made in weighed pieces of silver carried in a pouch, so putting back "every man's money" means returning the silver they had weighed out for the grain.

26They loaded their donkeys with the grain and left.

26And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.

27At the place where they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to give his donkey some feed, and he saw his money. It was there in the mouth of his sack.

27And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack’s mouth.

Note"Inn" in the King James does not mean a building with rooms for hire; it is a recognized stopping place on the road where travelers camped for the night. "Provender" is feed for the animals.

28He said to his brothers, "My money has been put back. Look, it is right here in my sack." Their hearts sank, and they were afraid, saying to one another, "What is this that God has done to us?"

28And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?

29They came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him everything that had happened to them. They said,

29And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,

30"The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as spies who had come to scout out the country.

30The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

31We said to him, 'We are honest men. We are not spies.

31And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:

32We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no longer here, and the youngest is with our father right now in the land of Canaan.'

32We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

33And the man, the lord of the country, said to us, 'This is how I will know that you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for your starving households, and go.

33And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:

34Then bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies but honest men. I will give your brother back to you, and you may trade in the land.'"

34And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.

Note"Traffick" in the King James means to trade. Foreign merchants needed permission to do business in Egypt, so the promise of trading rights is a real concession, offered alongside the return of their brother.

35As they emptied their sacks, there was each man's bag of money in his own sack. When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were afraid.

35And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

NoteEach man's silver had been tied up in its own pouch. Finding it returned was frightening, not welcome: it made them look like men who had walked off with both the grain and the payment, a charge that in Egypt could cost them their freedom.

36Their father Jacob said to them, "You have taken my children from me. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me."

36And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.

37Reuben said to his father, "You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will bring him back to you."

37And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.

NoteReuben offers his own two sons as security: if he fails, Jacob may put them to death. Staking lives on a promise was a recognized, if extreme, form of guarantee, but the pledge would cost Jacob his own grandsons, and he does not take it up.

38But Jacob said, "My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If something bad happens to him on the road you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow."

38And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

Note"Gray hairs" stands for old age. "The grave" here translates Sheol, the Hebrew name for the shadowy place below to which all the dead go, good and bad alike; it is not a picture of punishment. Jacob means the grief would put him in his grave.