Genesis 42

1 And Jacob having seen that there was a sale 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 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 Chanaan.

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, 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 Chanaan, 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 Chanaan; and, behold, the youngest is with our father to-day, 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 Pharao, 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 Pharao, 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 Ruben 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 Symeon 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 Chanaan, 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 to-day in the land of Chanaan.

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, Symeon is not, and will ye take Benjamin? all these things have come upon me.

37 And Ruben 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 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 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Gr. the purchase of your gift of corn.
• [b]. Gr. heard them.

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.