Genesis 42:2

2 I've just heard that there's grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we can survive and not starve to death."

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 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why are you staring blankly at each other?

2 I've just heard that there's grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we can survive and not starve to death."

3 So Joseph's ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.

4 However, Jacob didn't send Joseph's brother Benjamin along with his brothers because he thought something bad might happen to him.

5 Israel's sons came to buy grain with others who also came since the famine had spread to the land of Canaan.