Bereshis 42

Bereshis 42

1Now when Ya'akov saw that there was shever (grain) in Mitzrayim, Ya'akov said unto his banim, Why do ye look one upon another?

2And he said, Hinei, I have heard that there is shever (grain) in Mitzrayim; get you down to there, and buy for us from there; that we may live, and not die.

3Achei Yosef asarah (Yosefʼs ten brothers) then went down to buy grain in Mitzrayim.

4But Binyamin, achi Yosef, Ya'akov sent not with his achim; for he said, Lest ason (evil, harm) befall him.

5And the Bnei Yisroel came to make purchase among those that were coming; for the ra'av (famine) was in Eretz Kena'an.

6And Yosef was the Shalit Al HaAretz, and he it was that sold to kol Am HaAretz: and Achei Yosef came, and prostrated themselves before him with their faces to the ground.

7And Yosef saw his achim, and he recognized them, but made himself a stranger unto them, and spoke roughly unto them; and he said unto them, From where come ye? And they said, From Eretz Kena'an to buy ochel.

8And Yosef recognized his achim, but they recognized not him.

9And Yosef remembered the chalomot which he dreamed about them, and said unto them, Ye are meragelim (spies); to see the ervat ha'aretz (nakedness of the land) ye came.

10And they said unto him, Lo, adoni, but to buy okhel are thy avadim come.

11We are all bnei ish echad; we are truthful ones, thy avadim are no meragelim.

12And he said unto them, Lo, but to see the ervat ha'aretz ye came.

13And they said, Thy avadim are Shneym Asar Achim, the bnei ish echad in Eretz Kena'an; and, hinei, the katon is today with Avinu, and one is not.

14And Yosef said unto them, That is it just as I spoke unto you, Ye are meragelim;

15Hereby ye shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth from here, except achichem hakaton (your youngest brother) come here.

16Send one of you, and let him bring back achichem, and ye shall be kept prisoner, that your words may be tested, whether there be any emes in you; or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are meragelim (spies).

17And he put them all together el-mishmar (in custody) shloshet yamim.

18And Yosef said unto them on the Yom HaShlishi,#42:18 See 1C 15:4 This do, and live; for I fear HaElohim:

19If ye be truthful ones, let one of your achim be bound in your bais mishmar; go ye, carry grain for the ra'avon (famine of) bateichem (your house);

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

21And they said one to another, Surely we are ashemim (guilty ones) because of achinu (our brother), in that we saw the tzoros of his nefesh, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this tzoros come upon us.

22And Reuven answered them, saying, Spoke I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the yeled; and ye would not hear? Therefore, hinei, the accounting for his dahm is required [of us].#42:22 See Mt 27:25

23And they had no da'as that Yosef understood them; for he spoke unto them by the melitz (go-between, interpreter).

24And he turned himself away from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and spoke with them, and took from them Shim'on, and bound him before their eyes.

25Then Yosef commanded to fill their kelim with grain, and to restore every manʼs kesef into his sack, and to give them provision for the derech; and thus did he unto them.

26And they loaded their chamorim with the grain, and departed from there.

27And as one of them opened his sack to get feed for his chamor in the malon (inn), he saw his kesef; for, hinei, it was in the mouth of his sack.

28And he said unto his achim, My kesef is restored; and, hinei, it is even in my sack; and their lev failed them, and they shook with fear, saying one to another, What is this that Elohim hath done unto us?

29And they came unto Ya'akov Avihem in Eretz Kena'an, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,

30The ish, who is adonei HaAretz, spoke roughly to us, and took us for meragelim HaAretz.

31And we said unto him, We are truthful ones; we are no meragelim;

32We are Shneym Asar Achim, Bnei Avinu; one is not, and the katon is today with Avinu in Eretz Kena'an.

33And the ish, adonei HaAretz, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are truthful ones; leave one of your achim here with me, and that which is needful for the ra'avon bateichem (famine of your houses), take and be gone;

34And bring achichem hakaton unto me; then shall I know that ye are not meragelim, but that ye are truthful ones: so will I restore you achichem, and ye shall freely trade in the land.

35And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, hinei, every manʼs pouch of kesef was in his sack; and when both they and Avihem saw the pouches of kesef, they were afraid.

36And Ya'akov Avihem said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children; Yosef is not, and Shim'on is not, and ye will take Binyamin away; all these things are against me.

37And Reuven spoke unto Aviv, saying, Slay my two banim, if I bring him not to thee; entrust him into my yad, and I will bring him to thee again.

38And he said, Beni (my son) shall not go down with you; for achiv is dead, and he is left alone; if ason (harm, evil) befall him on the derech in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hair in yagon (sorrow) to Sheol.

Genesis 42

1-2When Jacob learned that there was food in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you sit around here and look at one another? I’ve heard that there is food in Egypt. Go down there and buy some so that we can survive and not starve to death.”

3-5Ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to Egypt to get food. Jacob didn’t send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with them; he was afraid that something bad might happen to him. So Israel’s sons joined everyone else that was going to Egypt to buy food, for Canaan, too, was hit hard by the famine.

6-7Joseph was running the country; he was the one who gave out rations to all the people. When Joseph’s brothers arrived, they treated him with honor, bowing to him. Joseph recognized them immediately, but treated them as strangers and spoke roughly to them.

He said, “Where do you come from?”

“From Canaan,” they said. “We’ve come to buy food.”

8Joseph knew who they were, but they didn’t know who he was.

9Joseph, remembering the dreams he had dreamed of them, said, “You’re spies. You’ve come to look for our weak spots.”

10-11“No, master,” they said. “We’ve only come to buy food. We’re all the sons of the same man; we’re honest men; we’d never think of spying.”

12He said, “No. You’re spies. You’ve come to look for our weak spots.”

13They said, “There were twelve of us brothers—sons of the same father in the country of Canaan. The youngest is with our father, and one is no more.”

14-16But Joseph said, “It’s just as I said, you’re spies. This is how I’ll test you. As Pharaoh lives, you’re not going to leave this place until your younger brother comes here. Send one of you to get your brother while the rest of you stay here in jail. We’ll see if you’re telling the truth or not. As Pharaoh lives, I say you’re spies.”

17Then he threw them into jail for three days.

18-20On the third day, Joseph spoke to them. “Do this and you’ll live. I’m a God-fearing man. If you’re as honest as you say you are, one of your brothers will stay here in jail while the rest of you take the food back to your hungry families. But you have to bring your youngest brother back to me, confirming the truth of your speech—and not one of you will die.” They agreed.

21Then they started talking among themselves. “Now we’re paying for what we did to our brother—we saw how terrified he was when he was begging us for mercy. We wouldn’t listen to him and now we’re the ones in trouble.”

22Reuben broke in. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t hurt the boy’? But no, you wouldn’t listen. And now we’re paying for his murder.”

23-24Joseph had been using an interpreter, so they didn’t know that Joseph was understanding every word. Joseph turned away from them and cried. When he was able to speak again, he took Simeon and had him tied up, making a prisoner of him while they all watched.

25Then Joseph ordered that their sacks be filled with grain, that their money be put back in each sack, and that they be given rations for the road. That was all done for them.

26They loaded their food supplies on their donkeys and set off.

27-28When they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get food for his donkey; there at the mouth of his bag was his money. He called out to his brothers, “My money has been returned; it’s right here in my bag!” They were puzzled—and frightened. “What’s God doing to us?”

29-32When they got back to their father Jacob, back in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened, saying, “The man who runs the country spoke to us roughly and accused us of being spies. We told him, ‘We are honest men and in no way spies. There were twelve of us brothers, sons of one father; one is gone and the youngest is with our father in Canaan.’

33-34“But the master of the country said, ‘Leave one of your brothers with me, take food for your starving families, and go. Bring your youngest brother back to me, proving that you’re honest men and not spies. And then I’ll give your brother back to you and you’ll be free to come and go in this country.’”

35As they were emptying their food sacks, each man came on his purse of money. On seeing their money, they and their father were upset.

36Their father said to them, “You’re taking everything I’ve got! Joseph’s gone, Simeon’s gone, and now you want to take Benjamin. If you have your way, I’ll be left with nothing.”

37Reuben spoke up: “I’ll put my two sons in your hands as hostages. If I don’t bring Benjamin back, you can kill them. Trust me with Benjamin; I’ll bring him back.”

38But Jacob refused. “My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead and he is all I have left. If something bad happens to him on the road, you’ll put my gray, sorrowing head in the grave.”

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Genesis 42