Genesis 42
42
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt for Food
1When Jacob realized that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2Then he said, “Look, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us there that we may live and not die.” 3And the ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4But Jacob did not send Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, for he feared harm would come to him.#Literally “he thought, lest harm encounter him” 5Then the sons of Israel went to buy grain amid those other people who went as well, for there was famine in the land of Canaan. 6Now Joseph was the governor over the land. He was the one who sold food to all the people of the land. And the brothers of Joseph came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger to them. And he spoke with them harshly and said to them, “From where have you come?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” 8And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed concerning them, and he said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!” 10And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11We all are sons of one man. We are honest men. We, your servants, are not spies.” 12Then he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 13Then they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, but behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.” 14But Joseph said to them, “It is what I said to you—you are spies. 15By this you shall be tested. By the life of Pharaoh you will not go out from here unless your youngest brother comes here. 16Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, but you will be kept in prison so that your words might be tested to see if there is truth with you. And if not, by the life of Pharaoh surely you are spies.” 17Then he gathered them into the prison for three days. 18On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live; I fear God. 19If you are honest, let one of your brothers be kept in prison where you are now being kept,#Literally “in the house of your custody” but the rest of you go, carry grain for the famine for your households. 20You must bring your youngest brother to me, and then your words will be confirmed and you will not die.” And they did so. 21Then each said to his brother, “Surely we are guilty on account of our brother when we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded for mercy to us and we would not listen. Therefore this trouble has come to us.” 22Then Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not say to you, do not sin against the boy? But you did not listen, and now, behold, his blood has been sought.” 23Now they did not know that Joseph understood, for the interpreter was between them. 24And he turned away from them and wept. Then he returned to them and spoke to them, and took Simeon from them and tied him up in front of them. 25Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to return their money to each sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them. 26Then they loaded their grain upon their donkeys and went away from there. 27And one of them later opened his sack to give fodder to his donkey at the lodging place and saw his money—behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. 28And he said to his brothers, “My money was returned and moreover, behold, it is in my sack!” Then their hearts failed them#Literally “their heart went out” and each of them trembled and said, “What is this God has done to us?”
29And when they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan they told him everything that had happened to them, saying, 30“The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us as if we were spying out the land. 31But we said to him, ‘We are honest; we are not spies. 32We are twelve brothers, the sons of our father. One is no more and the youngest is with our father now in the land of Canaan.’ 33Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest. Leave one brother with me, and take food for the famine in your households and go. 34And bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies but you are honest. And I will give your brother back to you, and you will trade in the land.’ ” 35And it happened that when they emptied their sacks, behold, each one’s pouch of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw the pouches of their money, they were greatly distressed. 36And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me—Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and Benjamin you would take! All of this is against me! 37Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hand and I myself will return him to you.” 38But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone remains. If harm meets him on the journey that you would take, you would bring down my gray head in sorrow to Sheol.”
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Genesis 42
42
Joseph’s Brothers Sent to Egypt
1Now when Jacob (Israel) learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another [in bewilderment and not taking action]?” 2He said, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy [some] grain for us, so that we may live and not die [of starvation].” 3So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s [younger] brother, with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that some harm or injury may come to him.” 5So the sons of Israel came [to Egypt] to buy grain along with the others who were coming, for famine was in the land of Canaan also.
6Now Joseph was the ruler over the land, and he was the one who sold [grain] to all the people of the land; and Joseph’s [half] brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. 7When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but [hiding his identity] he treated them as strangers and #Joseph was conversing with his brothers through an interpreter (v 23).spoke harshly to them. He said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
8Joseph recognized his brothers, but #Perhaps as many as twenty years had passed since his brothers last saw Joseph. They never would have suspected that the powerful Egyptian ruler standing before them was their brother.they did not recognize him. 9Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies; you have come [with a malicious purpose] to observe the #Lit nakedness.undefended parts of our land.” 10But they said to him, “No, my lord, for your servants have [only] come to buy food. 11We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men, your servants are not spies.” 12Yet he said to them, “No, you have come to see the undefended parts of our land.” 13But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers [in all], the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; please listen: the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive.” 14Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies. 15In this way you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here! 16Send one of you [back home], and let him bring your brother [here], while [the rest of] you remain confined, so that your words may be tested, [to see] whether there is any truth in you [and your story]; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, certainly you are spies.” 17Then Joseph put them all in prison for three days.
18Now Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and [you may] live, for I fear God: 19if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your [place here in] prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine in your households, 20but bring your youngest brother to me, so your words will be verified and you will not die.” And they did so. 21And they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty regarding our brother [Joseph], because we saw the distress and anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us [to let him go], yet we would not listen [to his cry]; so this distress and anguish has come on us.” 22Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now the accounting for his blood is required [of us for we are guilty of his death].” 23They did not know that Joseph understood [their conversation], because he spoke to them through an interpreter. 24He turned away from his brothers and [left the room and] wept; then he returned and talked with them, and took Simeon from them and bound him in front of them [to be kept as a hostage in Egypt]. 25Then Joseph gave orders [privately] that their bags be filled with grain, and that every man’s money [used to pay for the grain] be put back in his sack, and that provisions be given to them for the journey. And so this was done for them.
26They loaded their donkeys with grain and left from there. 27And at the lodging place, as one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey, he saw his money in the opening of his sack. 28And he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned! Here it is in my sack!” And their hearts sank, and they were afraid and turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
The Return to Canaan
29When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them, saying, 30“The man who is the lord of the land spoke harshly to us, and took us for spies of the land. 31But we told him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 32We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’ 33And the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this [test] I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers here with me and take grain for your starving households and go. 34Bring your youngest brother to me; then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. Then I will return your [imprisoned] brother [back] to you, and you may trade and do business in the land.’ ”
35Now when they emptied their sacks, every man’s bundle of money [paid to buy grain] was in his sack. When they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. 36Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me [by causing the loss] of my children. Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin [from me]. All these things are [working] against me.” 37Then Reuben spoke to his father, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring Benjamin back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you.” 38But Jacob said, “My son shall not go down [to Egypt] with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left [of Rachel’s children]. If any harm or accident should happen to him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol (the place of the dead) in sorrow.”
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