Genesis 42

1 And Jacob seeth that there is corn in Egypt, and Jacob saith to his sons, `Why do you look at each other?'

2 he saith also, `Lo, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt, go down thither, and buy for us from thence, and we live and do not die;'

3 and the ten brethren of Joseph go down to buy corn in Egypt,

4 and Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob hath not sent with his brethren, for he said, `Lest mischief meet him.'

5 And the sons of Israel come to buy in the midst of those coming, for the famine hath been in the land of Canaan,

6 and Joseph is the ruler over the land, he who is selling to all the people of the land, and Joseph's brethren come and bow themselves to him -- face to the earth.

7 And Joseph seeth his brethren, and discerneth them, and maketh himself strange unto them, and speaketh with them sharp things, and saith unto them, `From whence have ye come?' and they say, `From the land of Canaan -- to buy food.'

8 And Joseph discerneth his brethren, but they have not discerned him,

9 and Joseph remembereth the dreams which he dreamed of them, and saith unto them, `Ye [are] spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye have come.'

10 And they say unto him, `No, my lord, but thy servants have come to buy food;

11 we [are] all of us sons of one man, we [are] right men; thy servants have not been spies;'

12 and he saith unto them, `No, but the nakedness of the land ye have come to see;'

13 and they say, `Thy servants [are] twelve brethren; we [are] sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and lo, the young one [is] with our father to-day, and the one is not.'

14 And Joseph saith unto them, `This [is] that which I have spoken unto you, saying, Ye [are] spies,

15 by this ye are proved: Pharaoh liveth! if ye go out from this -- except by your young brother coming hither;

16 send one of you, and let him bring your brother, and ye, remain ye bound, and let your words be proved, whether truth be with you: and if not -- Pharaoh liveth! surely ye [are] spies;'

17 and he removeth them unto charge three days.

18 And Joseph saith unto them on the third day, `This do and live; God I fear!

19 if ye [are] right men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your ward, and ye, go, carry in corn [for] the famine of your houses,

20 and your young brother ye bring unto me, and your words are established, and ye die not;' and they do so.

21 And they say one unto another, `Verily we [are] guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul, in his making supplication unto us, and we did not hearken: therefore hath this distress come upon us.'

22 And Reuben answereth them, saying, `Spake I not unto you, saying, Sin not against the lad? and ye hearkened not; and his blood also, lo, it is required.'

23 And they have not known that Joseph understandeth, for the interpreter [is] between them;

24 and he turneth round from them, and weepeth, and turneth back unto them, and speaketh unto them, and taketh from them Simeon, and bindeth him before their eyes.

25 And Joseph commandeth, and they fill their vessels [with] corn, also to put back the money of each unto his sack, and to give to them provision for the way; and one doth to them so.

26 And they lift up their corn upon their asses, and go from thence,

27 and the one openeth his sack to give provender to his ass at a lodging-place, and he seeth his money, and lo, it [is] in the mouth of his bag,

28 and he saith unto his brethren, `My money hath been put back, and also, lo, in my bag:' and their heart goeth out, and they tremble, one to another saying, `What [is] this God hath done to us!'

29 And they come in unto Jacob their father, to the land of Canaan, and they declare to him all the things meeting them, saying,

30 `The man, the lord of the land, hath spoken with us sharp things, and maketh us as spies of the land;

31 and we say unto him, We [are] right men, we have not been spies,

32 we [are] twelve brethren, sons of our father, the one is not, and the young one [is] to-day with our father in the land of Canaan.

33 `And the man, the lord of the land, saith unto us, By this I know that ye [are] right men -- one of your brethren leave with me, and [for] the famine of your houses take ye and go,

34 and bring your young brother unto me, and I know that ye [are] not spies, but ye [are] right men; your brother I give to you, and ye trade with the land.'

35 And it cometh to pass, they are emptying their sacks, and lo, the bundle of each man's silver [is] in his sack, and they see their bundles of silver, they and their father, and are afraid;

36 and Jacob their father saith unto them, `Me ye have bereaved; Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and Benjamin ye take -- against me have been all these.'

37 And Reuben speaketh unto his father, saying, `My two sons thou dost put to death, if I bring him not in unto thee; give him into my hand, and I -- I bring him back unto thee;'

38 and he saith, `My son doth not go down with you, for his brother [is] dead, and he by himself is left; when mischief hath met him in the way in which ye go, then ye have brought down my grey hairs in sorrow to sheol.'

Genesis 42 Commentary

Chapter 42

Jacob sends ten sons to buy corn. (1-6) Joseph's treatment of his brethren. (7-20) Their remorse, Simeon detained. (21-24) The rest return with corn. (25-28) Jacob refuses to send Benjamin to Egypt. (29-38)

Verses 1-6 Jacob saw the corn his neighbours had bought in Egypt, and brought home. It is a spur to exertion to see others supplied. Shall others get food for their souls, and shall we starve while it is to be had? Having discovered where help is to be had, we should apply for it without delay, without shrinking from labour, or grudging expense, especially as regards our never-dying souls. There is provision in Christ; but we must come to him, and seek it from him.

Verses 7-20 Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. Joseph settled at last, that one of them should be left, and the rest go home and fetch Benjamin. It was a very encouraging word he said to them, "I fear God;" as if he had said, You may be assured I will do you no wrong; I dare not, for I know there is one higher than I. With those that fear God, we may expect fair dealing.

Verses 21-24 The office of conscience is to bring to mind things long since said and done. When the guilt of this sin of Joseph's brethren was fresh, they made light of it, and sat down to eat bread; but now, long afterward, their consciences accused them of it. See the good of afflictions; they often prove the happy means of awakening conscience, and bringing sin to our remembrance. Also, the evil of guilt as to our brethren. Conscience now reproached them for it. Whenever we think we have wrong done us, we ought to remember the wrong we have done to others. Reuben alone remembered with comfort, that he had done what he could to prevent the mischief. When we share with others in their sufferings, it will be a comfort if we have the testimony of our consciences for us, that we did not share in their evil deeds, but in our places witnessed against them. Joseph retired to weep. Though his reason directed that he should still carry himself as a stranger, because they were not as yet humbled enough, yet natural affection could not but work.

Verses 25-28 The brethren came for corn, and corn they had: not only so, but every man had his money given back. Thus Christ, like Joseph, gives out supplies without money and without price. The poorest are invited to buy. But guilty consciences are apt to take good providences in a bad sense; to put wrong meanings even upon things that make for them.

Verses 29-38 Here is the report Jacob's sons made to their father. It troubled the good man. Even the bundles of money Joseph returned, in kindness, to his father, frightened him. He laid the fault upon his sons; knowing them, he feared they had provoked the Egyptians, and wrongfully brought home their money. Jacob plainly distrusted his sons, remembering that he never saw Joseph since he had been with them. It is bad with a family, when children behave so ill that their parents know not how to trust them. Jacob gives up Joseph for gone, and Simeon and Benjamin as in danger; and concludes, All these things are against me. It proved otherwise, that all these things were for him, were working together for his good, and the good of his family. We often think that to be against us, which is really for us. We are afflicted in body, estate, name, and in our relations; and think all these things are against us, whereas they are really working for us a weight of glory. Thus does the Lord Jesus conceal himself and his favour, thus he rebukes and chastens those for whom he has purposes of love. By sharp corrections and humbling convictions he will break the stoutness and mar the pride of the heart, and bring to true repentance. Yet before sinners fully know him, or taste that he is gracious, he consults their good, and sustains their souls, to wait for him. May we do thus, never yielding to discouragement, determining to seek no other refuge, and humbling ourselves more and more under his mighty hand. In due time he will answer our petitions, and do for us more than we can expect.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 42

This chapter relates how that Jacob having heard there was corn in Egypt, sent all his sons but Benjamin thither to buy corn, Ge 42:1-5; and coming before Joseph, they bowed to him, and he knowing them, though they knew not him, spoke roughly to them, and charged them with being spies, Ge 42:6-9; they in their defence urged that they were the sons of one man in Canaan, with whom their youngest brother was left, on which Joseph ordered them to send for him, to prove them true men, Ge 42:10-16; and put them all into prison for three days, and then released them, and sent them away to fetch their brother, Ge 42:17-20; this brought to mind their treatment of Joseph, and they confessed their guilt to each other, which Joseph heard, and greatly affected him, they supposing he understood them not, and before he dismissed them bound Simeon before their eyes, whom he retained till they returned, Ge 42:21-24; then he ordered his servants to fill their sacks with corn, and put each man's money in his sack, which one of them on the road found, opening his sack for provender, filled them all with great surprise and fear, Ge 42:25-28; upon their return to Jacob they related all that had befallen them, and particularly that the governor insisted on having Benjamin brought to him, Ge 42:29-34; their sacks being opened, all their money was found in them, which greatly distressed them and Jacob also, who was very unwilling to let Benjamin go, though Reuben offered his two sons as pledges for him, and himself to be a surety, Ge 42:35-38.