1 And Jacob having seen that there was a sale [of corn] in Egypt, said to his sons, Why are ye indolent? 2 Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt; go down thither, and buy for us a little food, that we may live, and not die. 3 And the ten brethren of Joseph went down to buy corn out of Egypt. 4 But [Jacob] sent not Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, with his brethren; for he said, Lest, haply, disease befall him. 5 And the sons of Israel came to buy with those that came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. 6 And Joseph was ruler of the land; he sold to all the people of the land. And the brethren of Joseph, having come, did reverence to him, [bowing] with the face to the ground. 7 And when Joseph saw his brethren, he knew them, and estranged himself from them, and spoke hard words to them; and said to them, Whence are ye come? And they said, Out of the land of Canaan, to buy food. 8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. 9 And Joseph remembered his dream, which he saw; and he said to them, Ye are spies; to observe the marks of the land are ye come. 10 But they said, Nay, Sir, we thy servants are come to buy food; 11 we are all sons of one man; we are peaceable, thy servants are not spies. 12 And he said to them, Nay, but ye are come to observe the marks of the land. 13 And they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is with our father today, but the other one is not. 14 And Joseph said to them, This is it that I spoke to you, saying, ye are spies; 15 herein shall ye be manifested; by the health of Pharaoh, ye shall not depart hence, unless your younger brother come hither. 16 Send one of you, and take your brother; and go ye to prison, till your words be clear, whether ye speak the truth or not; but, if not, by the health of Pharaoh, verily ye are spies. 17 And he put them in prison three days. 18 And he said to them on the third day, This do, and ye shall live, for I fear God. 19 If ye be peaceable, let one of your brethren be detained in prison; but go ye, and carry back the corn ye have purchased. 20 And bring your younger brother to me, and your words shall be believed; but, if not, ye shall die. And they did so. 21 And each said to his brother, Yes, indeed, for we are in fault concerning our brother, when we disregarded the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we hearkened not to him; and therefore has this affliction come upon us. 22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Hurt not the boy, and ye heard me not? and, behold, his blood is required. 23 But they knew not that Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them. 24 And Joseph turned away from them, and wept; and again he came to them, and spoke to them; and he took Simeon from them, and bound him before their eyes. 25 And Joseph gave orders to fill their vessels with corn, and to return their money to each into his sack, and to give them provision for the way; and it was so done to them. 26 And having put the corn on the asses, they departed thence. 27 And one having opened his sack to give his asses fodder, at the place where they rested, saw also his bundle of money, for it was on the mouth of his sack. 28 And he said to his brethren, My money has been restored to me, and behold this is in my sack. And their heart was wonder struck, and they were troubled, saying one to another, What is this that God has done to us? 29 And they came to their father, Jacob, into the land of Canaan, and reported to him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 The man, the lord of the land, spoke harsh words to us, and put us in prison as spies of the land. 31 And we said to him, We are men of peace, we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is with his father today in the land of Canaan. 33 And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, Herein shall I know that ye are peaceable; leave one brother here with me, and having taken the corn ye have purchased for your family, depart. 34 And bring to me your younger brother; then I shall know that ye are not spies, but that ye are men of peace: and I will restore you your brother, and ye shall trade in the land. 35 And it came to pass as they were emptying their sacks, there was each man’s bundle of money in his sack; and they and their father saw their bundles of money, and they were afraid. 36 And their father Jacob said to them, Ye have bereaved me. Joseph is not, Simeon is not, and will ye take Benjamin? all these things have come upon me. 37 And Reuben spoke to his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee; give him into my hand, and I will bring him back to thee. 38 But he said, My son shall not go down with you, because his brother is dead, and he only has been left; and [suppose] it shall come to pass that he is afflicted by the way by which ye go, then ye shall bring down my old age with sorrow to Hades.
Genesis · Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Genesis 42 Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Same Septuagint text as Brenton, with modernised spelling.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Joseph
Betrayed and enslaved, he rose to rule Egypt and saved his family from famine.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 37; 39–50
Cross references (34)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Acts 7:12; Joshua 7:10; Exodus 20:18; Genesis 42:2; Exodus 5:19
- 2 Genesis 43:8; Matthew 4:4; Psalm 118:17; Genesis 43:2; Genesis 45:9
- 3 Genesis 42:13; Genesis 42:5
- 4 Genesis 42:38; Genesis 43:29; Genesis 3:22; Genesis 11:4; Genesis 35:16–19
- 5 Genesis 41:57; Genesis 12:10; Acts 7:11; Genesis 26:1; Acts 11:28
- 6 Genesis 41:55–56; Genesis 45:26; Acts 7:10; Genesis 19:1; Genesis 44:14
- 7 Genesis 42:30; Genesis 42:19–20; Genesis 42:14–17; Genesis 42:9–12; Matthew 15:23–26
- 8 Genesis 37:2; John 20:14; John 21:4; Luke 24:16
- 9 Genesis 37:5–9; Exodus 32:35; Genesis 42:34; Judges 1:24; Numbers 13:16–20
- 10 Genesis 37:8; Genesis 27:37; 1 Kings 18:7; Genesis 27:29; Genesis 44:9
- 11 2 Corinthians 6:4; Genesis 42:19; Genesis 42:33–34; John 7:18
- 13 Genesis 37:30; Genesis 44:20; Genesis 42:32; Genesis 43:7; Matthew 2:16
- 14 Matthew 15:21–28; Genesis 42:9–11; Job 13:24; Job 19:11
- 15 1 Samuel 17:55; Genesis 42:16; Genesis 42:30; Matthew 23:16–22; 1 Samuel 1:26
- 16 Genesis 42:11
- 17 Genesis 40:4; Hebrews 12:10; Genesis 40:7; Genesis 41:10; Isaiah 24:22
- 18 Leviticus 25:43; Nehemiah 5:15; Genesis 20:11; Luke 18:2; Luke 18:4
- 19 Genesis 42:26; Genesis 40:3; Isaiah 42:7; Isaiah 42:22; Genesis 42:1–2
- 20 Genesis 42:34; Genesis 43:5; Genesis 44:23; Genesis 42:15; John 2:5
- 21 Hosea 5:15; Genesis 37:23–28; Job 36:8–9; Mark 9:43–45; 1 Kings 17:18
- 22 Psalm 9:12; 1 Kings 2:32; 2 Chronicles 24:22; Genesis 37:21–22; Genesis 9:5–6
- 23 2 Corinthians 5:20; John 16:13–14
- 24 Genesis 43:30; Genesis 43:14; Isaiah 63:9; Genesis 45:14–15; Luke 19:41
- 25 1 Peter 3:9; Romans 12:17–21; Genesis 45:21; Isaiah 55:1; Matthew 5:44
- 27 Exodus 4:24; Genesis 43:21–22; Luke 10:34; Genesis 44:11; Luke 2:7
- 28 Lamentations 3:37; Isaiah 45:7; Song of Songs 5:6; Lamentations 2:17; 1 Kings 10:5
- 30 Genesis 42:7
- 31 Genesis 42:11
- 33 Genesis 42:19–20; Genesis 42:15
- 34 Genesis 34:10; Genesis 34:21; 1 Kings 10:15; Ezekiel 17:4
- 35 Genesis 43:21; Genesis 43:15; Genesis 42:27–28; Genesis 43:12
- 36 Genesis 43:14; Romans 8:31; 1 Samuel 27:1; Matthew 14:31; Romans 8:28
- 37 Genesis 46:9; Micah 6:7; Genesis 43:9; Genesis 44:32–34
- 38 Genesis 37:35; Genesis 42:4; Genesis 37:33; Genesis 42:13; Genesis 35:16–18
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… brethren who detained her for ten days; Jeroboam also, who received the ten sceptres (tribes), and the ten courts of the tabernacle, and the columns of ten cubits [high], and the ten sons of Jacob who were at first sent into Egypt to buy corn, and the ten apostles to whom the Lord appeared after His resurrection,--Thomas being absent,--represented, according …