Bible Commentaries
Genesis 42

Introduction

Overview

Genesis 42:1, Jacob sends his ten sons to buy corn in Egypt; Genesis 42:16, They are imprisoned by Joseph for spies; Genesis 42:18, They are set at liberty, on condition to bring Benjamin; Genesis 42:21, They have remorse for Joseph; Genesis 42:24, Simeon is kept for a pledge; Genesis 42:25, They return with corn, and their money; Genesis 42:29, Their relation to Jacob; Genesis 42:36, Jacob refuses to send Benjamin.

Verse 1

when Jacob: Genesis 41:54, Genesis 41:57, Acts 7:12

saw: i.e. heard, from the report of others, that there was plenty in Egypt. The operations of one sense are frequently put for those of another in Hebrew - see the parallel passages. Genesis 42:2, Exodus 5:19, Exodus 20:18, 1 Kings 19:3, Hosea 5:13, Galatians 2:7

Why do ye: Joshua 7:10, 2 Kings 8:3, 2 Kings 8:4, Ezra 10:4, Jeremiah 8:14

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:19 - carry corn Genesis 43:2 - General 2 Samuel 21:1 - a famine John 13:22 - looked

Verse 2

get you: Genesis 43:2, Genesis 43:4, Genesis 45:9

that we: Genesis 43:8, Psalms 118:17, Isaiah 38:1, Matthew 4:4

Reciprocal: Genesis 41:54 - and the dearth Genesis 42:1 - saw Genesis 42:19 - carry corn Nehemiah 5:2 - we take up corn

Verse 3

Genesis 42:5, Genesis 42:13

Reciprocal: Genesis 43:20 - we came indeed down

Verse 4

Benjamin: Genesis 35:16-19

Lest: Genesis 42:38, Genesis 3:22, Genesis 11:4, Genesis 33:1, Genesis 33:2, Genesis 43:14, Genesis 43:29, Genesis 44:20-22, Genesis 44:27-34

Reciprocal: Genesis 35:18 - Benjamin

Verse 5

for: Genesis 12:10, Genesis 26:1, Genesis 41:57, Acts 7:11, Acts 11:28

Reciprocal: Genesis 41:54 - and the dearth Genesis 42:3 - General Genesis 43:1 - General Psalms 105:16 - Moreover

Verse 6

governor: Shallit, an intendant, protector, ruler, from shalat, to be over or a protector, to rule. Hence the Arabic salita, to obtain and exercise dominion, rule; and sultân, ruler, lord, prince, and king. Genesis 41:40, Genesis 41:41, Genesis 45:8, Genesis 45:26, Psalms 105:16-21, Acts 7:10

he it was: Genesis 41:55, Genesis 41:56

bowed: Genesis 18:2, Genesis 19:1, Genesis 37:7, Genesis 37:9, Genesis 44:14, Revelation 3:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 30:24 - And she Genesis 32:13 - a present Genesis 33:3 - bowed Genesis 41:43 - ruler Genesis 41:54 - and the dearth Genesis 43:26 - bowed Genesis 48:12 - he bowed himself Genesis 49:8 - thy father's Genesis 50:18 - fell Proverbs 14:19 - General Proverbs 19:6 - will Haggai 2:17 - with blasting

Verse 7

roughly unto them: Heb. hard things with them, Genesis 42:9-12, Genesis 42:14-17, Genesis 42:19, Genesis 42:20, Matthew 15:23-26

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:15 - By the life Genesis 42:30 - roughly to us Genesis 44:19 - General 1 Samuel 20:10 - answer thee 1 Kings 12:13 - answered 2 Chronicles 10:13 - answered Job 19:3 - make yourselves strange to me Proverbs 18:23 - rich Luke 24:28 - he made

Verse 8

but they knew: Luke 24:16, John 20:14, John 21:4

Verse 9

remembered: Genesis 37:5-9

Ye are spies: Persons who, under the pretence of wishing to buy corn, desire only to find out whether the land be so defenceless that the tribes to which you belong may attack it successfully, drive out the inhabitants, and settle themselves in it; or, having plundered it, retire into their deserts. This is a frequent custom among the Arabs to the present day. Genesis 42:9, Genesis 42:16, Genesis 42:30, Genesis 42:31, Genesis 42:34, Numbers 13:2, Numbers 13:16-20, Joshua 2:1, Joshua 6:23, Judges 1:24, 1 Samuel 26:4, Luke 20:20, Hebrews 11:31

nakedness: Exodus 32:35

Reciprocal: Genesis 37:7 - your sheaves Genesis 42:7 - roughly unto them Genesis 42:12 - nakedness Genesis 42:14 - General Joshua 2:3 - to search Judges 18:2 - Zorah 2 Samuel 3:25 - and to know 2 Samuel 10:3 - not 1 Chronicles 19:3 - to search

Verse 10

Genesis 27:29, Genesis 27:37, Genesis 37:8, Genesis 44:9, 1 Samuel 26:17, 1 Kings 18:7

Reciprocal: Genesis 23:6 - my lord Genesis 43:20 - we came indeed down

Verse 11

We are: etc. We do not belong to different tribes; and it is not likely that one family would make a hostile attempt upon a whole kingdom; nor, if any serious design had been intended, that one man would have sent his sons on so hazardous an expedition.

true men: Genesis 42:19, Genesis 42:33, Genesis 42:34, John 7:18, 2 Corinthians 6:4

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:13 - Thy servants Genesis 42:31 - true Genesis 43:27 - Is your father well Genesis 43:29 - of whom

Verse 12

nakedness: Genesis 42:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:15 - By the life 2 Samuel 3:25 - and to know

Verse 13

Thy servants: Genesis 42:11, Genesis 42:32, Genesis 29:32-35, Genesis 30:6-24, Genesis 35:16-26, Genesis 43:7, Genesis 46:8-27, Exodus 1:2-5, Numbers 1:1-54, Numbers 10:1-36, Numbers 26:1-65, 34:1-29; 1 Chronicles 2:1 - 1 Chronicles 8:40

one is not: Genesis 42:36, Genesis 42:38, Genesis 37:30, Genesis 44:20, Genesis 44:28, Genesis 45:26, Jeremiah 31:15, Lamentations 5:7, Matthew 2:16, Matthew 2:18

Reciprocal: Genesis 43:27 - Is your father well Genesis 43:29 - of whom

Verse 14

Genesis 42:9-11, Job 13:24, Job 19:11, Matthew 15:21-28

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:7 - roughly unto them

Verse 15

By the life: Genesis 42:7, Genesis 42:12, Genesis 42:16, Genesis 42:30, Deuteronomy 6:13, 1 Samuel 1:26, 1 Samuel 17:55, 1 Samuel 20:3, Jeremiah 5:2, Jeremiah 5:7, Matthew 5:33-37, Matthew 23:16-22, James 5:12

except: Genesis 42:20, Genesis 42:34, Genesis 43:3, Genesis 44:20-34

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:33 - General Genesis 44:21 - Bring Genesis 44:23 - General

Verse 16

kept in prison: Heb. bound, Genesis 42:19

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:9 - Ye are spies Genesis 42:15 - By the life Genesis 44:2 - General 2 Samuel 3:25 - and to know 2 Samuel 10:3 - not

Verse 17

put: Heb. gathered, Isaiah 24:22, Acts 5:18

ward: Genesis 40:4, Genesis 40:7, Genesis 41:10, Leviticus 24:12, Psalms 119:65, Acts 4:3, Hebrews 12:10

Reciprocal: Genesis 50:15 - Joseph Acts 12:10 - the first

Verse 18

I fear God: Genesis 20:11, Leviticus 25:43, Nehemiah 5:9, Nehemiah 5:15, Luke 18:2, Luke 18:4

Reciprocal: Genesis 22:12 - now Genesis 39:9 - sin Genesis 44:17 - God forbid Exodus 1:17 - feared God Exodus 18:21 - such as Leviticus 19:14 - fear Leviticus 25:17 - fear 1 Kings 18:3 - feared the Lord 2 Chronicles 19:7 - let the Nehemiah 7:2 - feared God Psalms 19:9 - The fear Psalms 119:161 - my heart Proverbs 14:16 - feareth Malachi 3:5 - fear Colossians 3:22 - fearing 1 Peter 2:17 - Fear

Verse 19

house: Genesis 40:3, Isaiah 42:7, Isaiah 42:22, Jeremiah 37:15

carry corn: Genesis 42:1, Genesis 42:2, Genesis 42:26, Genesis 41:56, Genesis 43:1, Genesis 43:2, Genesis 45:23

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:7 - roughly unto them Genesis 42:11 - true men Genesis 42:16 - kept in prison Genesis 42:33 - General

Verse 20

bring: Genesis 42:15, Genesis 42:34, Genesis 43:5, Genesis 43:19, Genesis 44:23

And they: Genesis 42:26, Genesis 6:22, John 2:5

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:7 - roughly unto them Genesis 42:33 - General Genesis 44:21 - Bring

Verse 21

they said: Genesis 41:9, Numbers 32:23, 2 Samuel 12:13, 1 Kings 17:18, Job 33:27, Job 33:28, Job 34:31, Job 34:32, Job 36:8, Job 36:9, Hosea 5:15, Matthew 27:3, Matthew 27:4, Mark 9:44, Mark 9:46, Mark 9:48, Luke 16:28, Acts 19:18

we saw: Genesis 37:23-28, Judges 1:7, Proverbs 21:13, Proverbs 24:11, Proverbs 24:12, Proverbs 28:17, Jeremiah 2:17, Jeremiah 2:19, Jeremiah 4:18, Jeremiah 34:17, Matthew 7:2, 1 John 1:9, James 2:13

this distress: Proverbs 1:27, Proverbs 1:28

Reciprocal: Genesis 27:42 - comfort himself Genesis 37:27 - he is our Genesis 43:18 - the men Genesis 44:8 - the money Genesis 44:16 - God hath Genesis 45:24 - See that Genesis 49:23 - General Genesis 50:17 - wept Joshua 7:20 - Indeed 2 Chronicles 21:13 - hast slain Job 7:11 - the anguish Psalms 109:16 - persecuted Proverbs 14:10 - his Amos 6:6 - but Matthew 5:23 - rememberest Luke 23:51 - had not John 8:9 - being Acts 28:4 - a murderer Romans 2:15 - accusing

Verse 22

Spake I: Genesis 37:21, Genesis 37:22, Genesis 37:29, Genesis 37:30, Luke 23:41, Romans 2:15

his blood: Genesis 4:10, Genesis 9:5, Genesis 9:6, 1 Kings 2:32, 2 Chronicles 24:22, Psalms 9:12, Ezekiel 3:18, Luke 11:50, Luke 11:51, Acts 28:4, Revelation 13:10, Revelation 16:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 27:42 - comfort himself Genesis 29:32 - his name Genesis 44:16 - God hath Genesis 45:24 - See that 1 Samuel 19:4 - sin against 1 Kings 17:18 - art thou come 2 Chronicles 21:13 - hast slain Psalms 10:13 - Thou Psalms 51:14 - Deliver Jeremiah 26:15 - ye shall Ezekiel 33:6 - his blood Amos 6:6 - but Matthew 5:23 - rememberest Matthew 27:4 - I have sinned Luke 23:51 - had not John 8:9 - being Acts 27:21 - ye should 1 Corinthians 8:12 - when

Verse 23

he spake unto them by an interpreter: Heb. an interpreter was between them, The mailitz does not seem to have been an interpreter in our sense of the term; as we have many evidences in this book that the Egyptians, Hebrews, Canaanites, and Syrians, could understand each other in a general way; and it appears from several passages in this very chapter - particularly Genesis 42:24, that Joseph and his brethren understood each others' language, as his brethren and Joseph's steward also did - Genesis 43:19, etc; compare Genesis 39:1, and Genesis 49:1. It seems to denote an officer who is called in Abyssinia, according to Mr. Bruce, Kal Hatze, "the voice or word of the king," who always stands at the side of a lattice window of a balcony, within which the king sits; who is never seen, but who speaks through a hole in the side of it, covered in the inside with a curtain, to this officer, by whom he speaks to the persons present. John 16:13, John 16:14, 2 Corinthians 5:20

Reciprocal: Genesis 11:7 - may Genesis 45:12 - your eyes Psalms 114:1 - a people Haggai 2:17 - with blasting 1 Corinthians 14:2 - he that

Verse 24

wept: Genesis 43:30, Isaiah 63:9, Luke 19:41, Romans 12:15, 1 Corinthians 12:26, Hebrews 4:15

Simeon: Genesis 34:25, Genesis 49:5-7, Jude 1:22, Jude 1:23

Reciprocal: Genesis 29:33 - called Genesis 42:23 - he spake unto them by an interpreter Genesis 43:23 - Simeon Numbers 1:22 - General John 11:6 - he abode

Verse 25

commanded: Genesis 44:1, Genesis 44:2, Isaiah 55:1

to give them: Genesis 45:21, Matthew 6:33

and thus: Matthew 5:44, Romans 12:17-21, 1 Peter 3:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 43:12 - mouth Genesis 45:17 - lade your

Verse 26

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:19 - carry corn Genesis 42:20 - And they Genesis 45:17 - lade your Job 39:11 - leave

Verse 27

the inn: Genesis 43:21, Genesis 44:11, Exodus 4:24, Luke 2:7, Luke 10:34

inn: Malon, from loon, to stay, abide, lodge, denotes any place to stay and lodge in, particularly a place where travellers usually stop to lodge, which is generally near a well, where they fill their girbehs, or leathern bottles, with fresh water, and having unladen and clogged their camels, asses, etc., permit them to crop any little verdure there may be in the place, keeping watch over them by turns. Our word inn here gives us a false idea, there were no such places of entertainment in the desert which Joseph's brethren had to pass; nor are there any at the present day. The only accommodation such a place affords is either a well, or a khan, or caravanserai, which is generally no more than four bare walls, perfectly exposed, the place being open at the top, and furnishing a wretched lodging, and even these, it is probable, were not in use at this early period.

Reciprocal: Genesis 29:32 - his name Genesis 42:35 - every man's Genesis 43:20 - we came indeed down Genesis 44:8 - the money Haggai 2:17 - with blasting

Verse 28

their heart: Genesis 42:36, Genesis 27:33, Leviticus 26:36, Deuteronomy 28:65, 1 Kings 10:5, Psalms 61:2, Song of Solomon 5:6, Luke 21:26

failed them: Heb. went forth, This refers to the spasmodic affection which is felt in the breast at any sudden alarm or fright.

What is: Isaiah 45:7, Lamentations 2:17, Lamentations 3:37, Amos 3:6

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:35 - every man's Genesis 43:18 - the men Psalms 40:12 - heart

Verse 29

Reciprocal: Genesis 44:24 - we told him

Verse 30

roughly to us: Heb. with us hard things, Genesis 42:7-20

Reciprocal: Genesis 41:43 - ruler Genesis 42:9 - Ye are spies Genesis 42:15 - By the life 1 Samuel 20:10 - answer thee 1 Kings 12:13 - answered 2 Chronicles 10:13 - answered Proverbs 18:23 - rich

Verse 31

true: Genesis 42:11

Reciprocal: Genesis 37:35 - For I Genesis 42:9 - Ye are spies Joshua 2:3 - to search

Verse 32

twelve brethren: Genesis 42:13

Reciprocal: Genesis 37:30 - General Psalms 68:27 - little

Verse 33

Genesis 42:15, Genesis 42:19, Genesis 42:20

Reciprocal: Genesis 41:43 - ruler Genesis 42:11 - true men Genesis 43:3 - man

Verse 34

traffic: Genesis 34:10, Genesis 34:21, 1 Kings 10:15, Ezekiel 17:4

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:9 - Ye are spies Genesis 42:11 - true men Genesis 42:15 - except Genesis 42:20 - bring Genesis 43:3 - man

Verse 35

every man's: Genesis 42:27, Genesis 42:28, Genesis 43:21

Reciprocal: Genesis 37:30 - General Genesis 43:12 - mouth Genesis 43:18 - the men Genesis 43:20 - we came indeed down Genesis 44:8 - the money

Verse 36

Me have ye: Genesis 37:20-35, Genesis 43:14

all these things are against me: Alay hayoo cullanah, literally, "upon me are all these things:" rendered by the Vulgate, in me hec omnia mala reciderunt, "all these evils fall back upon me;" they lie upon me as heavy loads, hastening my death: they are more than I can bear. Genesis 45:28, Genesis 47:12, 1 Samuel 27:1, Job 7:7, Psalms 34:19, Ecclesiastes 7:8, Isaiah 27:9, Isaiah 38:10, Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 41:13, Isaiah 41:14, Matthew 14:31, Romans 8:28, Romans 8:31, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 2 Corinthians 4:17, James 5:7-11

Reciprocal: Genesis 5:24 - he was not Genesis 42:13 - one is not Genesis 42:28 - their heart Genesis 43:23 - Simeon Genesis 44:12 - and the cup Genesis 44:20 - and his brother Genesis 44:28 - Surely Genesis 44:29 - And if Genesis 45:26 - And Jacob's Genesis 48:11 - I had not Judges 11:35 - rent his clothes Job 1:19 - they are dead Psalms 39:13 - be no Proverbs 23:5 - that which Jeremiah 31:15 - because Jeremiah 45:3 - added Lamentations 5:7 - and are Matthew 2:18 - would

Verse 37

Slay my: Genesis 43:9, Genesis 44:32-34, Genesis 46:9, Micah 6:7

Reciprocal: Genesis 19:8 - let

Verse 38

his brother: Genesis 42:13, Genesis 30:22-24, Genesis 35:16-18, Genesis 37:33, Genesis 37:35, Genesis 44:20, Genesis 44:27-34

if mischief: Genesis 42:4, Genesis 44:29

bring: Genesis 37:35, Genesis 44:29, Genesis 44:31, 1 Kings 2:6, Psalms 71:18, Psalms 90:10, Ecclesiastes 1:14, Ecclesiastes 2:26, Isaiah 38:10, Isaiah 46:4

Reciprocal: Genesis 35:18 - Benjamin Genesis 43:5 - will not Genesis 43:8 - lad with me Genesis 43:13 - General Genesis 44:22 - his father would die Genesis 44:28 - Surely Genesis 45:26 - And Jacob's 1 Samuel 15:26 - I will not 1 Kings 2:9 - his Job 41:32 - hoary Ecclesiastes 12:5 - the almond John 13:8 - Thou shalt