Genesis 42
42
Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt
1 When Jacob heard#tn Heb “saw.” there was grain in Egypt, he#tn Heb “Jacob.” Here the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons. said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?”#sn Why are you looking at each other? The point of Jacob’s question is that his sons should be going to get grain rather than sitting around doing nothing. Jacob, as the patriarch, still makes the decisions for the whole clan. 2 He then said, “Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us#tn Heb “and buy for us from there.” The word “grain,” the direct object of “buy,” has been supplied for clarity, and the words “from there” have been omitted in the translation for stylistic reasons. so that we may live#tn Following the imperatives, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav expresses purpose of result. and not die.”#tn The imperfect tense continues the nuance of the verb before it.
3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers,#tn Heb “But Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, Jacob did not send with his brothers.” The disjunctive clause highlights the contrast between Benjamin and the other ten. for he said,#tn The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) could also be translated “thought” (i.e., “he said to himself”) here, giving Jacob’s reasoning rather than spoken words. “What if some accident#tn The Hebrew noun אָסוֹן (’ason) is a rare word meaning “accident, harm.” Apart from its use in these passages it occurs in Exodus 21:22-23 of an accident to a pregnant woman. The term is a rather general one, but Jacob was no doubt thinking of his loss of Joseph. happens#tn Heb “encounters.” to him?” 5 So Israel’s sons came to buy grain among the other travelers,#tn Heb “in the midst of the coming ones.” for the famine was severe in the land of Canaan.
6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country.#tn The disjunctive clause either introduces a new episode in the unfolding drama or provides the reader with supplemental information necessary to understanding the story. Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down#sn Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. Here is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams (see Gen 37). But it is not the complete fulfillment, since all his brothers and his parents must come. The point of the dream, of course, was not simply to get the family to bow to Joseph, but that Joseph would be placed in a position of rule and authority to save the family and the world (41:57). before him with#tn The word “faces” is an adverbial accusative, so the preposition has been supplied in the translation. their faces to the ground. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger#sn But pretended to be a stranger. Joseph intends to test his brothers to see if they have changed and have the integrity to be patriarchs of the tribes of Israel. He will do this by putting them in the same situations that they and he were in before. The first test will be to awaken their conscience. to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked, “Where do you come from?” They answered,#tn Heb “said.” “From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food.”#tn The verb is denominative, meaning “to buy grain”; the word “food” could simply be the direct object, but may also be an adverbial accusative.
8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9 Then Joseph remembered#sn You are spies. Joseph wanted to see how his brothers would react if they were accused of spying. the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see if our land is vulnerable!”#tn Heb “to see the nakedness of the land you have come.”
10 But they exclaimed,#tn Heb “and they said to him.” In context this is best understood as an exclamation. “No, my lord! Your servants have come to buy grain for food! 11 We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men! Your servants are not spies.”
12 “No,” he insisted, “but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”#tn Heb “and he said, ‘No, for the nakedness of the land you have come to see.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for clarity. 13 They replied, “Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers.#tn Heb “twelve [were] your servants, brothers [are] we.” We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time,#tn Heb “today.” and one is no longer alive.”#tn Heb “and the one is not.”
14 But Joseph told them, “It is just as I said to you:#tn Heb “to you, saying.” You are spies! 15 You will be tested in this way: As surely as Pharaoh lives,#tn Heb “[By] the life of Pharaoh.”sn As surely as Pharaoh lives. Joseph uses an oath formula to let the brothers know the certainty of what he said. There is some discussion in the commentaries on swearing by the life of Pharaoh, but since the formulation here reflects the Hebrew practice, it would be hard to connect the ideas exactly to Egyptian practices. Joseph did this to make the point in a way that his Hebrew brothers would understand. See M. R. Lehmann, “Biblical Oaths,” ZAW 81 (1969): 74-92. you will not depart from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 One of you must go and get#tn Heb “send from you one and let him take.” After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose. your brother, while#tn The disjunctive clause is here circumstantial-temporal. the rest of you remain in prison.#tn Heb “bound.” In this way your words may be tested to see if#tn The words “to see” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. you are telling the truth.#tn Heb “the truth [is] with you.” If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 He imprisoned#sn The same Hebrew word is used for Joseph’s imprisonment in 40:3, 4, 7. There is some mirroring going on in the narrative. The Hebrew word used here (אָסַף, ’asaf, “to gather”) is not normally used in a context like this (for placing someone in prison), but it forms a wordplay on the name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yosoef) and keeps the comparison working. them all for three days. 18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do as I say#tn Heb “Do this.” and you will live,#tn After the preceding imperative, the imperative with vav (ו) can, as here, indicate logical sequence. for I fear God.#sn For I fear God. Joseph brings God into the picture to awaken his brothers’ consciences. The godly person cares about the welfare of people, whether they live or die. So he will send grain back, but keep one of them in Egypt. This action contrasts with their crime of selling their brother into slavery. 19 If you are honest men, leave one of your brothers confined here in prison#tn Heb “bound in the house of your prison.” while the rest of you go#tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-temporal. and take grain back for your hungry families.#tn Heb “[for] the hunger of your households.” 20 But you must bring#tn The imperfect here has an injunctive force. your youngest brother to me. Then#tn After the injunctive imperfect, this imperfect with vav indicates purpose or result. your words will be verified#tn The Niphal form of the verb has the sense of “to be faithful; to be sure; to be reliable.” Joseph will test his brothers to see if their words are true. and you will not die.” They did as he said.#tn Heb “and they did so.”
21 They said to one other,#tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” “Surely we’re being punished#tn Or “we are guilty”; the Hebrew word can also refer to the effect of being guilty, i.e., “we are being punished for guilt.” because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was#tn Heb “the distress of his soul.” when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress#sn The repetition of the Hebrew noun translated distress draws attention to the fact that they regard their present distress as appropriate punishment for their refusal to ignore their brother when he was in distress. has come on us!” 22 Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!”#tn Heb “and also his blood, look, it is required.” God requires compensation, as it were, from those who shed innocent blood (see Gen 9:6). In other words, God exacts punishment for the crime of murder. 23 (Now#tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information that is important to the story. they did not know that Joseph could understand them,#tn “was listening.” The brothers were not aware that Joseph could understand them as they spoke the preceding words in their native language. for he was speaking through an interpreter.)#tn Heb “for [there was] an interpreter between them.” On the meaning of the word here translated “interpreter” see HALOT 590 s.v. מֵלִיץ and M. A. Canney, “The Hebrew melis (Prov IX 12; Gen XLII 2-3),” AJSL 40 (1923/24): 135-37. 24 He turned away from them and wept. When he turned around and spoke to them again,#tn Heb “and he turned to them and spoke to them.” he had Simeon taken#tn Heb “took Simeon.” This was probably done at Joseph’s command, however; the grand vizier of Egypt would not have personally seized a prisoner. from them and tied up#tn Heb “and he bound him.” See the note on the preceding verb “taken.” before their eyes.
25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill#tn Heb “and they filled.” The clause appears to be elliptical; one expects “Joseph gave orders to fill…and they filled.” See GKC 386 §120.f. their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. His orders were carried out.#tn Heb “and he did for them so.” Joseph would appear to be the subject of the singular verb. If the text is retained, the statement seems to be a summary of the preceding, more detailed statement. However, some read the verb as plural, “and they did for them so.” In this case the statement indicates that Joseph’s subordinates carried out his orders. Another alternative is to read the singular verb as passive (with unspecified subject), “and this was done for them so” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). 26 So they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.#tn Heb “and they went from there.”
27 When one of them#tn Heb “and the one.” The article indicates that the individual is vivid in the mind of the narrator, yet it is not important to identify him by name. opened his sack to get feed for his donkey at their resting place,#tn Heb “at the lodging place.” he saw his money in the mouth of his sack.#tn Heb “and look, it [was] in the mouth of his sack.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to look through the eyes of the character and thereby draws attention to the money. 28 He said to his brothers, “My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed;#tn Heb “and their heart went out.” Since this expression is used only here, the exact meaning is unclear. The following statement suggests that it may refer to a sudden loss of emotional strength, so “They were dismayed” adequately conveys the meaning (cf. NRSV); NIV has “Their hearts sank.” they turned trembling one to another#tn Heb “and they trembled, a man to his neighbor.” and said, “What in the world has God done to us?”#tn Heb “What is this God has done to us?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question.
29 They returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all the things that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us#tn Heb “made us.” as if we were#tn The words “if we were” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. spying on the land. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies! 32 We are from a family of twelve brothers; we are the sons of one father.#tn Heb “twelve [were] we, brothers, sons of our father [are] we.” One is no longer alive,#tn Heb “the one is not.” and the youngest is with our father at this time#tn Heb “today.” in the land of Canaan.’
33 “Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain#tn The word “grain” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. for your hungry households and go. 34 But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know#tn After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav indicates purpose/result. that you are honest men and not spies.#tn Heb “that you are not spies, that you are honest men.” Then I will give your brother back to you and you may move about freely in the land.’”#sn Joseph’s brothers soften the news considerably, making it sound like Simeon was a guest of Joseph (Leave one of your brothers with me) instead of being bound in prison. They do not mention the threat of death and do not at this time speak of the money in the one sack.
35 When they were emptying their sacks, there was each man’s bag of money in his sack! When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were afraid. 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You are making me childless! Joseph is gone.#tn Heb “is not.” Simeon is gone.#tn Heb “is not.” And now you want to take#tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is desiderative here. Benjamin! Everything is against me.”
37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may#tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is permissive here. put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care#tn Heb “my hand.” and I will bring him back to you.” 38 But Jacob#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left.#sn The expression he alone is left meant that (so far as Jacob knew) Benjamin was the only surviving child of his mother Rachel. If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair#sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble. in sorrow to the grave.”#tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.
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Genesis 42: NET
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Genesis 42
42
Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt country
1Joseph’s father Jacob, he lived in Canaan country with his other sons. At that time, there was no rain and no food plants growing in Canaan country. Then somebody said to Jacob, “There is lots of food in Egypt country.”
So Jacob talked to his sons, and he said to them, “Don’t just stand around doing nothing. 2Somebody told me that there is lots of food in Egypt country. Go there and buy food for all of us. If you don’t go and buy food for us, we will die.”#Acts 7:12
3So 10 of Jacob’s sons left Canaan country, and they went to Egypt country to buy food there. Those 10 men were Joseph’s half-brothers. They had the same father as Joseph, but different mothers. 4You know, Joseph had one other brother too. His name was Benjamin. Joseph and Benjamin had the same father and mother. Their father Jacob really loved Benjamin. So Jacob didn’t want Benjamin to go to Egypt with his brothers. He thought, “Benjamin might get hurt, or he might die.” So Benjamin stayed at home with his father.
5In Egypt country, Jacob’s sons went to buy food, and there were lots of other people from Canaan country there too. You see, there was no rain and no food plants growing anywhere in Canaan, so the Canaan people had to go to Egypt to buy food.
Joseph pretended that he didn’t know his brothers
6At that time, Joseph was in charge of Egypt country, and he was the one that sold food to everybody. So Joseph’s brothers came to him, and they got down on their knees and put their faces near the ground, to show him respect.#Genesis 37:7 7-8But they didn’t know that he was their brother Joseph. They thought that he was one of the Egypt people.
Joseph looked at those men, and he saw that they were his brothers. But Joseph pretended that he didn’t know them. He talked to them in the Egypt language, and somebody else talked to Joseph’s brothers in their own language and told them the things Joseph said. And Joseph talked in a rough way to them. He said, “Where do you mob come from?”
His brothers said, “We come from Canaan country. We want to buy food here in Egypt.”
9Then Joseph remembered those dreams that he had a long time before. Those dreams showed that one day, Joseph’s brothers will all bend down in front of him, to show him respect.#Genesis 37:5-10
Joseph kept on pretending that he didn’t know them. He said to his brothers, “I reckon you mob are lying to me. I reckon you are my enemies. You came here to find out about our country, so that your people can attack us.”
10But they said to him, “No, sir, that’s not true. We respect you. We came here to buy food. 11You know, we are all brothers, with the same father. We are good men, and we don’t tell lies. We are not your enemies.”
12Joseph said, “I don’t believe you. I reckon you came here to find out about our country, so that your people can attack us.”
13They said, “No, sir. Those things that we told you, they are true. We are from a family of 12 brothers. We all have the same father, and he lives in Canaan country. Our youngest brother stayed at home with our father, and our other brother isn’t with us any more.”
14But Joseph said, “Stop talking, you mob. I know for sure that you are my enemies. 15So I’m going to test you mob, to see if you are lying. You said, ‘Our youngest brother is with our father in Canaan country.’ All right, I want your youngest brother to come here, so that I can see him. I’m telling you strongly, if your brother doesn’t come here, I will not let you leave this place. Pharaoh, the big boss of this country, he is the one that gives me the power to promise that.”
16Then Joseph said to his brothers, “This is how I am going to test you mob. One of you has to go back to your home country and get your youngest brother, then bring him back here. The rest of you mob have to stay here, and I will put you in jail. If your youngest brother comes here, then I will know that you told me the true story, and I will let you go free. But if he doesn’t come, then I will know that you are my enemies. I will be really sure, just like I’m really sure that Pharaoh is alive.”
17Then Joseph put his brothers in jail, and they stayed there for 3 days.
18At the end of those 3 days, Joseph talked to his brothers again. He said to them, “You know, I respect God and I want to do the right thing. So if you do what I say, I will not kill you.”
19Then Joseph said to them, “You told me that you are good men, and you don’t tell lies. So listen, this is what you have to do. Pick one man from your mob, and I will keep that man here in jail. The rest of you mob, you can go back to your home country. You can take food with you, and you can give that food to your families, because they are really hungry. 20Then get your youngest brother, and bring him here to me. Then I will know that you told me the true story, and I will not kill you.”
So Joseph’s brothers agreed to do what he said. But they still didn’t know that he was their brother Joseph. They still thought he was an Egypt man.
21Then Joseph’s brothers talked to each other in their own language. They said, “You know, a long time ago, we made bad trouble for our brother Joseph. We chucked him into a big hole in the ground, and then we sold him to some men from the Midian tribe. At that time, we saw that he was really frightened, and he asked us strongly to be good to him, but we didn’t listen. That’s the reason why we’ve got this bad trouble now. God is punishing us for those things that we did to Joseph.”
22Then Joseph’s oldest brother Reuben, he said to the others, “You know, I told you mob not to hurt Joseph, but you didn’t listen to me. And look, now God is doing payback to us.”#Genesis 37:21-22
23Joseph listened to his brothers, and he understood what they said, because he knew their language. But Joseph’s brothers didn’t know that he understood them. You see, Joseph always talked to his brothers in the Egypt language, then somebody else talked to them in their own language and told them what Joseph said. So they thought he only talked the Egypt language.
24When Joseph heard his brothers say those things, he wanted to cry. So he went to a place where they couldn’t see him, and he cried.
After a while, Joseph stopped crying. Then he went back to his brothers, and he talked to them in the Egypt language again. And Joseph picked his brother Simeon to stay in Egypt country. He told his men to tie up Simeon, and they tied him up in front of his brothers.
Joseph’s brothers went back to Canaan country
25Then Joseph got ready to send his brothers back to Canaan country. He said to his workers, “Fill up these men’s bags with food, so that they can take it home to their families. And give them some food to eat on the way home too.” And those workers did what Joseph said.
Joseph’s brothers already paid for that food, but Joseph talked secretly to his workers, and he said, “Get the money that those men paid us, and hide it in their food bags.” So those workers did what Joseph said. Then they gave those food bags to Joseph’s brothers, with the money inside. But Joseph’s brothers didn’t know that their money was in those bags.
26Then Joseph’s brothers put their food bags on their donkeys, and they left that place and started to go back towards Canaan country. 27Later that day, they stopped in another place, to camp there that night. One of Joseph’s brothers wanted food for his donkey, so he opened his food bag. Then he saw his money in there on top of the food, and he got a shock. 28He said to his brothers, “Somebody gave my money back. They hid it in my bag. Look, here it is, on top of the food.”
Then Joseph’s brothers got really worried. They thought, “Those Egypt people will think that we stole this money.” They were really frightened, and their bodies started to shake. They said to each other, “This thing that happened to us, it’s really bad. God is punishing us.”
29The next day, they kept going towards Canaan country, and they kept on camping along the way. When they got to Canaan country, they went to their father Jacob, and they told him about the things that happened to them in Egypt country. 30They said, “The man that is in charge of Egypt country, he talked in a rough way to us. He thought we were his enemies, and he said to us, ‘I reckon you came here to find out about our country, so that your people can attack us.’ 31But we said to him, ‘We are good men, and we don’t tell lies. We are not your enemies. 32We are from a family of 12 brothers, and we all have the same father. One brother isn’t with us any more, and our youngest brother is with our father in Canaan country.’ 33Then that man, the one that is in charge in Egypt, he said to us, ‘I’m going to test you mob, to see if those things you said are true. This is what you have to do. You have to pick one of your brothers to stay here with me. The rest of you mob can go back to your home country. You can take food with you, and give it to your families, because they are really hungry. 34After that, you have to get your youngest brother, and you have to bring him here to me. Then I will know that you are not my enemies. Yes, I will know that you are good men, and you didn’t lie to me. Then I will give your other brother back to you, the one that stayed here in Egypt country. And then I will let you buy and sell things in my country.’ ”
35After Joseph’s brothers told their father those things, they all opened their bags, and they started to take out the food. Then all of them saw their money in those bags. And their father Jacob saw that money too. They all got a shock, and they were frightened.
Jacob didn’t let his sons take Benjamin to Egypt country
36Jacob’s sons wanted to take their brother Benjamin back to Egypt country, just like Joseph told them to. That made Jacob sad. So Jacob said to his sons, “I don’t want to lose any more of my kids. My son Joseph isn’t here any more, and my son Simeon isn’t here any more. And now you want to take my son Benjamin away from me too. All those things are really sad for me.”
37Then Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son, he talked to his father Jacob. Reuben said, “Let me take Benjamin to Egypt country. I will look after him, and I promise that I will bring him back to you. If I don’t bring him back to you, then you can kill my 2 sons.”
38But Jacob said, “No. I will not let Benjamin go with you mob to Egypt country. You know that I really loved Benjamin’s mother Rachel. We had 2 sons together, Joseph and Benjamin. Now Joseph is dead, and Benjamin is the only one left. If I let him go with you, he might get hurt, or he might die. You know, I am an old man. If you mob take Benjamin to Egypt country, and something bad happens to him, I will be so sad that I will die.”
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