Genesis 42
42
1And Jacob hearing that food was sold in Egypt, said to his sons: Why are ye careless?
2I have heard that wheat is sold in Egypt. Go ye down, and buy us necessaries, that we may live, and not be consumed with want.
3So the ten brethren of Joseph went down, to buy corn in Egypt:
4Whilst Benjamin was kept at home by Jacob, who said to his brethren: Lest perhaps he take any harm in the journey.
5And they entered into the land of Egypt with others that went to buy. For the famine was in the land of Chanaan.
6And Joseph was governor in the land of Egypt, and corn was sold by his direction to the people. And when his brethren had bowed down to him,
7And he knew them, he spoke as it were to strangers somewhat roughly, asking them: Whence came you? They answered: From the land of Chanaan, to buy necessaries of life.
8And though he knew his brethren, he was not known by them.
9And remembering the dreams, which formerly he had dreamed, he said to them: You are spies. You are come to view the weaker parts of the land.
10But they said: It is not so, my lord; but thy servants are come to buy food.
11We are all the sons of one man: we are come as peaceable men; neither do thy servants go about any evil.
12And he answered them: It is otherwise: you are come to consider the unfenced parts of this land.
13But they said: We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Chanaan. The youngest is with our father, the other is not living.
14He saith: This is it that I said: You are spies.
15I shall now presently try what you are. By the health of Pharao, you shall not depart hence, until your youngest brother come.
16Send one of you to fetch him: and you shall be in prison, till what you have said be proved, whether it be true or false: or else by the health of Pharao you are spies.
17So he put them in prison three days.
18And the third day he brought them out of prison, and said: Do as I have said, and you shall live; for I fear God.
19If you be peaceable men, let one of your brethren be bound in prison: and go ye your ways and carry the corn that you have bought, unto your houses.
20And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may find your words to be true, and you may not die. And they did as he had said.
21And they talked one to another: We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear. Therefore is this affliction come upon us.
22And Ruben, one of them, said: Did not I say to you: Do not sin against the boy; and you would not hear me? Behold, his blood is required.
23And they knew not that Joseph understood; because he spoke to them by an interpreter.
24And he turned himself away a little while, and wept: and returning he spoke to them.
25And taking Simeon, and binding him in their presence, he commanded his servants to fill their sacks with wheat, and to put every man's money again in their sacks, and to give them besides provisions for the way. And they did so.
26But they having loaded their asses with the corn, went their way.
27And one of them opening his sack, to give his beast provender in the inn, saw the money in the sack's mouth;
28And said to his brethren: My money is given me again; behold it is in the sack. And they were astonished, and troubled, and said to one another: What is this that God hath done unto us?
29And they came to Jacob their father in the land of Chanaan; and they told him all things that had befallen them, saying:
30The lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us to be spies of the country.
31And we answered him: We are peaceable men, and we mean no plot.
32We are twelve brethren born of one father. One is not living; the youngest is with our father in the land of Chanaan.
33And he said to us: Hereby shall I know that you are peaceable men; Leave one of your brethren with me, and take ye necessary provision for your houses, and go your ways.
34And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may know you are not spies: and you may receive this man again, that is kept in prison: and afterwards may have leave to buy what you will.
35When they had told this, they poured out their corn, and every man found his money tied in the mouth of his sack. And all being astonished together,
36Their father Jacob said: You have made me to be without children: Joseph is not living, Simeon is kept in bonds, and Benjamin you will take away. All these evils are fallen upon me.
37And Ruben answered him: Kill my two sons, if I bring him not again to thee. Deliver him unto my hand, and I will restore him to thee.
38But he said: My son shall not go down with you. His brother is dead, and he is left alone: if any mischief befall him in the land to which you go, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to hell.
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Genesis 42: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Genesis 42
42
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
1When Jacob learned there was food in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you standing around here staring at each other? 2I hear there is grain in Egypt; go there and buy some for us so we don’t all starve to death.” 3So Joseph’s ten half brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt, 4but Jacob did not send Joseph’s full brother Benjamin with them, because he feared something might happen to him. 5So Israel’s sons were among those who went to Egypt to buy grain, for the famine in the land of Canaan was severe. # 42:5 Joseph’s ten brothers left for Egypt on a journey of eight to ten days to buy food for their very large families (see Gen. 46:26).
6Now Joseph was the governor of the land of Egypt, which meant he supervised the sale of grain to all the people. One day, Joseph’s ten brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces on the ground. # 42:6 Joseph was seventeen when he had his dreams. At the age of thirty, he was exalted over Egypt. About nine years later his brothers come to buy grain from him. After he had waited twenty-two years for the fulfillment of his prophetic dreams, here were his brothers bowing down before him. What a feeling that must have been! When his ten brothers came before him, he knew who they were, even though they didn’t recognize him. His dream was being fulfilled right before his eyes—almost. As they were bowing down before him, he counted them; there were only ten, not eleven. Where was the eleventh? Joseph needed a plan. 7As soon as Joseph saw them, he realized that they were his brothers! But he pretended he didn’t know them and spoke to them harshly: “Where do you come from?”
“From the land of Canaan,” they answered, “and we’re here to buy food.”
8Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they had no clue that it was Joseph speaking to them. 9Then at once, Joseph remembered the dreams he had about them bowing down before him! # 42:9 At that moment, Joseph had the choice of revealing his identity to his brothers or remaining in disguise. He chose the latter, for the wisdom of God was in him. He wanted to test them to see if they were repentant of their betrayal. From a human standpoint, Joseph would have been happy for an instant reconciliation with them, but Joseph was a man broken by God and was now prepared to deliver others. Joseph spoke and acted in such a way that their hearts would be revealed and exposed. Did Joseph wonder if they had done to Benjamin what they had done to him? It was not a spirit of revenge driving Joseph, but a true love for his brothers and for the ways of God. The tests Joseph took them through were designed by God to see what they had done and if they had come to repentance. See 2 Peter 3:9. Pausing, he said to them, “You are spies! You’ve come to see where our land is weak!” # 42:9 Or “to see the nakedness of the land.”
10His brothers replied, “No, master; we’ve come to buy food. 11We, your servants, are honest men; we’d never think of spying! We’re blood brothers, sons of one father.”
12Joseph interrupted, “No! You are spies who have come here to find our weakness!”
13“We are your servants,” they insisted. “We were twelve brothers, our youngest brother remained behind with our father, and one brother—well, he is no more.”
14Joseph said to them, “It’s just as I said; you are spies! 15And here is how I’ll test you: unless your younger brother comes and presents himself here before me, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you shall not depart from here! 16One of you must go and bring me your brother, while the rest of you will remain here in confinement. This way I will test your words to see if the story you have told me is true. If not, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17He placed them all in prison together for three days. # 42:17 Joseph put his brothers in confinement for three days, perhaps to let them know how he had suffered in prison for those many years—not to punish, but to prepare them. They could only conclude that God had confined them because of what they had done to Joseph.
Joseph Tests His Brothers
18On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do as I say and you will live. I am a man who respects God. 19If you are as honest as you say you are, then I will keep just one of your brothers here in confinement while the rest of you carry grain home for your starving families. 20You must return with your youngest brother so that I may verify your story, and that you may not die.” So they agreed to do so.
21With Joseph standing there, they began to speak among themselves, saying, “Look what’s happened to us! We’re being punished for what we did to Joseph long ago. We heard his cries of anguish and saw the agony of his soul when he begged us for mercy, but we turned a deaf ear. That’s why all this trouble has come upon us!”
22Then Reuben spoke up, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! So now we’re paying the price for his murder!” # 42:22 Or “Now comes the reckoning for his blood!” 23They had no clue that Joseph understood every word, for he had been speaking to them through an interpreter.
24Deeply affected by what he heard, Joseph began to weep and hurriedly left their presence. After he had composed himself, he returned to them, and pointing to Simeon, said, “This one will remain here.” # 42:24 Joseph wanted to be sure they would return to Egypt. Simeon’s name means “he who hears.” By keeping Simeon, Joseph was showing them that they had “lost their hearing.” Also, Joseph was testing them to see if they would abandon Simeon as they had him. While in prison, Simeon would have lots of time on his hands to listen—and discern. Simeon was known for his cruelty (see Gen. 34:25; 49:5–7), and he might have been the one that led the way in their persecution of Joseph. Then he had him tied and bound while they all watched. 25Joseph then gave orders to have their bags filled with grain, to hide each man’s money back inside his sack, # 42:25 As the nine brothers left for Canaan, Joseph gave them sacks of grain for their journey. At his orders, his brothers’ money was replaced in their sacks of grain. Joseph paid for the grain himself, for he loved his brothers. His secret love paid their debt (see Isa. 55:1). They deserved no grain, they deserved no money, but mercy prevailed. The money in the sacks was also a part of Joseph’s wise plan to test his brothers. and to give them provisions for their journey home. After this was done for them, 26they loaded their donkeys with the bags of grain and departed.
Joseph’s Brothers Return to Canaan
27Later, they camped for the night, and as one of them # 42:27 The Midrash identifies him as Levi. See Targum Jonathan. opened his sack of grain to feed his donkey, he discovered that his money was there right on top of the grain! 28He shouted to his brothers, “My money! Look, someone put my money back in my sack!” Troubled and trembling, they said to each other, “What in the world has God done to us?”
29When they came to their father Jacob in Canaan, they told him the story of all that happened to them, saying, 30“The governor of Egypt spoke harshly to us and accused us of being spies. 31We told him, ‘We are not spies but honest men. 32We’re twelve brothers, sons of our father. Our youngest remained with our father in the land of Canaan, and one is no more.’ 33Then the man, the governor of Egypt, demanded, ‘By this test, I will discern if you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers with me, take the grain you need for your families, and be on your way. 34Return to me with your youngest brother, then I’ll know you are not spies, but men of integrity. Then I’ll release your brother back to you, and you’ll be free to trade in the land.’ ”
35As they each emptied their sacks of grain, each man found his money inside his sack! When they and their father saw their money returned to them, they were frightened. 36Their father Jacob said to his sons, “You have taken away my children! First, Joseph is gone, and now, Simeon! And now, you want to take Benjamin from me! Everything is against me!” # 42:36 And how many times have we said that everything is against us when, in fact, everything and every event is being woven together for our good because we love God (see Rom. 8:28)? See also Ps. 34:19; Isa. 41:10, 13.
37Then Reuben said, “Father, you may put my two sons # 42:37 Reuben had four sons, so the Hebrew implies “two of my sons.” to death if I fail to bring Benjamin back to you! Trust me—I will bring him back!”
38But Jacob replied, “I can’t let my son Benjamin go with you. For his brother is dead, and of Rachel’s sons, he alone is left. # 42:38 Jacob could not see how insensitive his remarks were. Reuben was a son, Judah was a son, Levi was a son, and so were all the others. Jacob spoke as if the other sons did not matter; Jacob continued to show favoritism. If he were to meet with disaster on your journey, I would die of grief! You will send my white hair and broken heart sorrowing down to the grave!” # 42:38 Or, in Hebrew, “Sheol.”
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