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

Joseph Meets His Brothers

1Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, so Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?”

2Then he said, “Look! I’ve heard that there’s grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some grain for us there so that we’ll live and not die.”

3So Joseph’s brothers went down, ten of them, to buy grain from Egypt.

4But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob did not send, for he said, “An accident might happen to him.”

5The sons of Israel went to buy grain among the others who were coming, because the famine was in the land of Canaan.

6Now Joseph was the ruler over the land. He was the provider of grain for all the people of the earth.

7Then Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he made himself unrecognizable to them. Then he spoke harshly and said to them, “Where have you come from?” “From the land of Canaan,” they said, “to buy grain as food.”

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

9Then Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them. He said to them, “You’re spies! You’ve come to see the undefended places in the land.”

10“No, my lord!” they said to him. “Your servants came to buy grain as food.

11All of us—we are sons of one man. We’re honest. Your servants have never been spies.”

12“Not so,” he said to them. “Rather, you’ve come to see the undefended places in the land.”

13But they said, “We your servants are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan. Look, the youngest is with our father today and the other one is no more.”

14Joseph said to them, “It’s just like I told you when I said, ‘You’re spies.’

15By this you’ll be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you’ll not leave from here until your youngest brother comes here!

16Send one from among yourselves to get your brother, while you remain confined, in order to test your words, to see whether the truth is with you. If not, by the life of Pharaoh, you’re definitely spies!”

17So he put them together in custody for three days.

18Then Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and you will live. I fear God.

19If you’re honest, let one of your brothers remain as a prisoner in the guardhouse where you’ve been, while you, go and bring grain for the hunger in your homes.

20And your youngest brother, bring to me so that your words can be verified—and you won’t die.” So they did.

21Then each man said to his brother, “We’re truly guilty for our brother. We saw the distress of his soul when he begged us for mercy, but we didn’t listen. That’s why this distress has come to us.”

22Reuben answered them and said, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy’? But you didn’t listen. Now, see how his blood is now being accounted for.”

23They did not know that Joseph was listening, since there was an interpreter between them.

24He turned away from them and wept. When he turned back to them and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and tied him up before their eyes.

25Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. So it was done for them.

26Then they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left from there.

27As one of them opened his sack to give fodder to his donkey at the lodge, he saw his money—behold, it was in the opening of his bag.

28So he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned! Look, it’s in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, each one turned to his brother and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

29When they came to their father Jacob, in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying,

30“The man, the lord of the land, spoke with us harshly, and took us as spies of the land.

31But we said to him, ‘We’re honest. We’ve never been spies.

32We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’

33Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I’ll know if you’re honest: leave one of your brothers with me. As for the hunger of your homes: take and go!

34Then bring your youngest brother to me, so that I may know you are not spies, but you are honest. I’ll give you back your brother and you can move about freely in the land.’”

35Now as they were emptying their sacks, behold, there was each man’s bundle of money in his sack. When they saw their money bundles, they and their father, they were afraid.

36Then their father Jacob said to them, “You’ve made me childless! Joseph is no more. Now Simeon is gone, and next you’ll take Benjamin! Everything is against me!”

37Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You can put my two sons to death if I don’t bring him back to you. Put him in my hand and I—I will return him to you.”

38But he said, “My son will not go down with you—for his brother is dead and he alone remains. And if harm should happen to him along the way you’re going, you’ll bring my grey hair down to Sheol in grief.”

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Genesis 42