Genesis 42:2

2 I [have] heard that wheat is sold in Egypt; go ye down, and buy ye necessaries to us, that we may live, and be not wasted by neediness. (I have heard that corn, or grain, is being sold in Egypt; go ye down there, and buy ye the necessities for us, so that we can live, and not be destroyed by this famine.)

Genesis 42:2 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 42:2

And he said, behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt,
&c.] This explains what is meant by the phrase he saw, one sense being put for another: get ye down thither;
as fast as you can without delay; Egypt lay lower than Canaan, and therefore they are bid to go down, as when they went from thence to Canaan they are said to go up, ( Genesis 45:25 ) ; and buy for us from thence, that we may live, and not die;
which shows the famine was very pressing, since, unless they could buy corn from Egypt they could not live, but must die.

Genesis 42:2 In-Context

1 Forsooth Jacob heard that foods were sold in Egypt, and he said to his sons, Why be ye negligent?

2 I [have] heard that wheat is sold in Egypt; go ye down, and buy ye necessaries to us, that we may live, and be not wasted by neediness. (I have heard that corn, or grain, is being sold in Egypt; go ye down there, and buy ye the necessities for us, so that we can live, and not be destroyed by this famine.)

3 Therefore ten brethren of Joseph went down to buy wheat in Egypt, (And so ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy corn, or grain, in Egypt,)

4 and Benjamin was withholden of Jacob at home, that said to his brethren, Lest peradventure in the way he suffer any evil. (but Benjamin was kept at home by Jacob, who said to his sons, Lest he suffer any evil on the way.)

5 Soothly they entered into the land of Egypt, with other men that went thither to buy corn; forsooth hunger was in the land of Canaan. (And they entered into the land of Egypt, with others who went there to buy corn, or grain; for the famine was now in the land of Canaan.)