Bereshis 42:2

2 And he said, Hinei, I have heard that there is shever (grain) in Mitzrayim; get you down to there, and buy for us from there; that we may live, and not die.

Bereshis 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.

Bereshis 42:2 In-Context

1 2 Now when Ya’akov saw that there was shever (grain) in Mitzrayim, Ya’akov said unto his banim, Why do ye look one upon another?

2 And he said, Hinei, I have heard that there is shever (grain) in Mitzrayim; get you down to there, and buy for us from there; that we may live, and not die.

3 Achei Yosef asarah (Yosef’s ten brothers) then went down to buy grain in Mitzrayim.

4 But Binyamin, achi Yosef, Ya’akov sent not with his achim; for he said, Lest ason (evil, harm) befall him.

5 And the Bnei Yisroel came to make purchase among those that were coming; for the ra’av (famine) was in Eretz Kena’an.