Genesis 42:2

2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.

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 Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?

2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.

3 And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy grain from Egypt.

4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest Peradventure harm befall him.

5 And the sons of Israel came to buy among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.