Genesis 42-43
New English Translation
Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt
42 When Jacob heard[a] there was grain in Egypt, he[b] said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?”[c] 2 He then said, “Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us[d] so that we may live[e] and not die.”[f]
3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers,[g] for he said,[h] “What if some accident[i] happens[j] to him?” 5 So Israel’s sons came to buy grain among the other travelers,[k] for the famine was severe in the land of Canaan.
6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country.[l] Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down[m] before him with[n] their faces to the ground. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger[o] to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked, “Where do you come from?” They answered,[p] “From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food.”[q]
8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, “You are spies;[r] you have come to see if our land is vulnerable!”[s]
10 But they exclaimed,[t] “No, my lord! Your servants have come to buy grain for food! 11 We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men! Your servants are not spies.”
12 “No,” he insisted, “but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”[u] 13 They replied, “Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers.[v] We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time,[w] and one is no longer alive.”[x]
14 But Joseph told them, “It is just as I said to you:[y] You are spies! 15 You will be tested in this way: As surely as Pharaoh lives,[z] you will not depart from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 One of you must go and get[aa] your brother, while[ab] the rest of you remain in prison.[ac] In this way your words may be tested to see if[ad] you are telling the truth.[ae] If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 He imprisoned[af] them all for three days. 18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do as I say[ag] and you will live,[ah] for I fear God.[ai] 19 If you are honest men, leave one of your brothers confined here in prison[aj] while the rest of you go[ak] and take grain back for your hungry families.[al] 20 But you must bring[am] your youngest brother to me. Then[an] your words will be verified[ao] and you will not die.” They did as he said.[ap]
21 They said to one another,[aq] “Surely we’re being punished[ar] because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was[as] when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress[at] has come on us!” 22 Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!”[au] 23 (Now[av] they did not know that Joseph could understand them,[aw] for he was speaking through an interpreter.)[ax] 24 He turned away from them and wept. When he turned around and spoke to them again,[ay] he had Simeon taken[az] from them and tied up[ba] before their eyes.
25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill[bb] their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. His orders were carried out.[bc] 26 So they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.[bd]
27 When one of them[be] opened his sack to get feed for his donkey at their resting place,[bf] he saw his money in the mouth of his sack.[bg] 28 He said to his brothers, “My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed;[bh] they turned trembling to one another[bi] and said, “What in the world has God done to us?”[bj]
29 They returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all the things that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us[bk] as if we were[bl] spying on the land. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies! 32 We are from a family of twelve brothers; we are the sons of one father.[bm] One is no longer alive,[bn] and the youngest is with our father at this time[bo] in the land of Canaan.’
33 “Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain[bp] for your hungry households and go. 34 But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know[bq] that you are honest men and not spies.[br] Then I will give your brother back to you and you may move about freely in the land.’”[bs]
35 When they were emptying their sacks, there was each man’s bag of money in his sack! When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were afraid. 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You are making me childless! Joseph is gone.[bt] Simeon is gone.[bu] And now you want to take[bv] Benjamin! Everything is against me.”
37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may[bw] put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care[bx] and I will bring him back to you.” 38 But Jacob[by] replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left.[bz] If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair[ca] in sorrow to the grave.”[cb]
The Second Journey to Egypt
43 Now the famine was severe in the land.[cc] 2 When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Return, buy us a little more food.”
3 But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned[cd] us, ‘You will not see my face[ce] unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send[cf] our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy food for you. 5 But if you will not send him, we won’t go down there because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”
6 Israel said, “Why did you bring this trouble[cg] on me by telling[ch] the man you had one more brother?”
7 They replied, “The man questioned us[ci] thoroughly[cj] about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’[ck] So we answered him in this way.[cl] How could we possibly know[cm] that he would say,[cn] ‘Bring your brother down’?”
8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will go immediately.[co] Then we will live[cp] and not die—we and you and our little ones. 9 I myself pledge security[cq] for him; you may hold me liable. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.[cr] 10 But if we had not delayed, we could have traveled there and back[cs] twice by now!”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and take a gift down to the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. 12 Take double the money with you;[ct] you must take back[cu] the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks—perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take your brother too, and go right away[cv] to the man.[cw] 14 May the Sovereign God[cx] grant you mercy before the man so that he may release[cy] your other brother[cz] and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.”[da]
15 So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt[db] and stood before Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, “Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.” 17 The man did just as Joseph said; he[dc] brought the men into Joseph’s house.[dd]
18 But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house. They said, “We are being brought in because of[de] the money that was returned in our sacks last time.[df] He wants to capture us,[dg] make us slaves, and take[dh] our donkeys!” 19 So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 20 They said, “My lord, we did indeed come down[di] the first time[dj] to buy food. 21 But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money—the full amount[dk]—in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it.[dl] 22 We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We do not know who put the money in our sacks!”
23 “Everything is fine,”[dm] the man in charge of Joseph’s household told them. “Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks.[dn] I had your money.”[do] Then he brought Simeon out to them.
24 The servant in charge[dp] brought the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys. 25 They got their gifts ready for Joseph’s arrival[dq] at noon, for they had heard[dr] that they were to have a meal[ds] there.
26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside,[dt] and they bowed down to the ground before him. 27 He asked them how they were doing.[du] Then he said, “Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?” 28 “Your servant our father is well,” they replied. “He is still alive.” They bowed down in humility.[dv]
29 When Joseph looked up[dw] and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, whom you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”[dx] 30 Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome by affection for his brother[dy] and was at the point of tears.[dz] So he went to his room and wept there.
31 Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said,[ea] “Set out the food.” 32 They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers,[eb] and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting[ec] to do so.)[ed] 33 They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest.[ee] The men looked at each other in astonishment.[ef] 34 He gave them portions of the food set before him,[eg] but the portion for Benjamin was five times greater than the portions for any of the others. They drank with Joseph until they all became drunk.[eh]
Footnotes
- Genesis 42:1 tn Heb “saw.”
- Genesis 42:1 tn Heb “Jacob.” Here the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 42:1 sn Why are you looking at each other? The point of Jacob’s question is that his sons should be going to get grain rather than sitting around doing nothing. Jacob, as the patriarch, still makes the decisions for the whole clan.
- Genesis 42:2 tn Heb “and buy for us from there.” The word “grain,” the direct object of “buy,” has been supplied for clarity, and the words “from there” have been omitted in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 42:2 tn Following the imperatives, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav expresses purpose of result.
- Genesis 42:2 tn The imperfect tense continues the nuance of the verb before it.
- Genesis 42:4 tn Heb “But Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, Jacob did not send with his brothers.” The disjunctive clause highlights the contrast between Benjamin and the other ten.
- Genesis 42:4 tn The Hebrew verb אָמַר (ʾamar, “to say”) could also be translated “thought” (i.e., “he said to himself”) here, giving Jacob’s reasoning rather than spoken words.
- Genesis 42:4 tn The Hebrew noun אָסוֹן (ʾason) is a rare word meaning “accident, harm.” Apart from its use in these passages it occurs in Exodus 21:22-23 of an accident to a pregnant woman. The term is a rather general one, but Jacob was no doubt thinking of his loss of Joseph.
- Genesis 42:4 tn Heb “encounters.”
- Genesis 42:5 tn Heb “in the midst of the coming ones.”
- Genesis 42:6 tn The disjunctive clause either introduces a new episode in the unfolding drama or provides the reader with supplemental information necessary to understanding the story.
- Genesis 42:6 sn Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. Here is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams (see Gen 37). But it is not the complete fulfillment, since all his brothers and his parents must come. The point of the dream, of course, was not simply to get the family to bow to Joseph, but that Joseph would be placed in a position of rule and authority to save the family and the world (41:57).
- Genesis 42:6 tn The word “faces” is an adverbial accusative, so the preposition has been supplied in the translation.
- Genesis 42:7 sn But pretended to be a stranger. Joseph intends to test his brothers to see if they have changed and have the integrity to be patriarchs of the tribes of Israel. He will do this by putting them in the same situations that they and he were in before. The first test will be to awaken their conscience.
- Genesis 42:7 tn Heb “said.”
- Genesis 42:7 tn The verb is denominative, meaning “to buy grain”; the word “food” could simply be the direct object, but may also be an adverbial accusative.
- Genesis 42:9 sn You are spies. Joseph wanted to see how his brothers would react if they were accused of spying.
- Genesis 42:9 tn Heb “to see the nakedness of the land you have come.”
- Genesis 42:10 tn Heb “and they said to him.” In context this is best understood as an exclamation.
- Genesis 42:12 tn Heb “and he said, ‘No, for the nakedness of the land you have come to see.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 42:13 tn Heb “twelve [were] your servants, brothers [are] we.”
- Genesis 42:13 tn Heb “today.”
- Genesis 42:13 tn Heb “and the one is not.”
- Genesis 42:14 tn Heb “to you, saying.”
- Genesis 42:15 tn Heb “[By] the life of Pharaoh.”sn As surely as Pharaoh lives. Joseph uses an oath formula to let the brothers know the certainty of what he said. There is some discussion in the commentaries on swearing by the life of Pharaoh, but since the formulation here reflects the Hebrew practice, it would be hard to connect the ideas exactly to Egyptian practices. Joseph did this to make the point in a way that his Hebrew brothers would understand. See M. R. Lehmann, “Biblical Oaths,” ZAW 81 (1969): 74-92.
- Genesis 42:16 tn Heb “send from you one and let him take.” After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose.
- Genesis 42:16 tn The disjunctive clause is here circumstantial-temporal.
- Genesis 42:16 tn Heb “bound.”
- Genesis 42:16 tn The words “to see” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 42:16 tn Heb “the truth [is] with you.”
- Genesis 42:17 sn The same Hebrew word is used for Joseph’s imprisonment in 40:3, 4, 7. There is some mirroring going on in the narrative. The Hebrew word used here (אָסַף, ʾasaf, “to gather”) is not normally used in a context like this (for placing someone in prison), but it forms a wordplay on the name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yosef) and keeps the comparison working.
- Genesis 42:18 tn Heb “Do this.”
- Genesis 42:18 tn After the preceding imperative, the imperative with vav (ו) can, as here, indicate logical sequence.
- Genesis 42:18 sn For I fear God. Joseph brings God into the picture to awaken his brothers’ consciences. The godly person cares about the welfare of people, whether they live or die. So he will send grain back, but keep one of them in Egypt. This action contrasts with their crime of selling their brother into slavery.
- Genesis 42:19 tn Heb “bound in the house of your prison.”
- Genesis 42:19 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-temporal.
- Genesis 42:19 tn Heb “[for] the hunger of your households.”
- Genesis 42:20 tn The imperfect here has an injunctive force.
- Genesis 42:20 tn After the injunctive imperfect, this imperfect with vav indicates purpose or result.
- Genesis 42:20 tn The Niphal form of the verb has the sense of “to be faithful; to be sure; to be reliable.” Joseph will test his brothers to see if their words are true.
- Genesis 42:20 tn Heb “and they did so.”
- Genesis 42:21 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.”
- Genesis 42:21 tn Or “we are guilty”; the Hebrew word can also refer to the effect of being guilty, i.e., “we are being punished for guilt.”
- Genesis 42:21 tn Heb “the distress of his soul.”
- Genesis 42:21 sn The repetition of the Hebrew noun translated distress draws attention to the fact that they regard their present distress as appropriate punishment for their refusal to ignore their brother when he was in distress.
- Genesis 42:22 tn Heb “and also his blood, look, it is required.” God requires compensation, as it were, from those who shed innocent blood (see Gen 9:6). In other words, God exacts punishment for the crime of murder.
- Genesis 42:23 tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information that is important to the story.
- Genesis 42:23 tn “was listening.” The brothers were not aware that Joseph could understand them as they spoke the preceding words in their native language.
- Genesis 42:23 tn Heb “for [there was] an interpreter between them.” On the meaning of the word here translated “interpreter” see HALOT 590 s.v. מֵלִיץ and M. A. Canney, “The Hebrew melis (Prov IX 12; Gen XLII 2-3),” AJSL 40 (1923/24): 135-37.
- Genesis 42:24 tn Heb “and he turned to them and spoke to them.”
- Genesis 42:24 tn Heb “took Simeon.” This was probably done at Joseph’s command, however; the grand vizier of Egypt would not have personally seized a prisoner.
- Genesis 42:24 tn Heb “and he bound him.” See the note on the preceding verb “taken.”
- Genesis 42:25 tn Heb “and they filled.” The clause appears to be elliptical; one expects “Joseph gave orders to fill…and they filled.” See GKC 386 §120.f.
- Genesis 42:25 tn Heb “and he did for them so.” Joseph would appear to be the subject of the singular verb. If the text is retained, the statement seems to be a summary of the preceding, more detailed statement. However, some read the verb as plural, “and they did for them so.” In this case the statement indicates that Joseph’s subordinates carried out his orders. Another alternative is to read the singular verb as passive (with unspecified subject), “and this was done for them so” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).
- Genesis 42:26 tn Heb “and they went from there.”
- Genesis 42:27 tn Heb “and the one.” The article indicates that the individual is vivid in the mind of the narrator, yet it is not important to identify him by name.
- Genesis 42:27 tn Heb “at the lodging place.”
- Genesis 42:27 tn Heb “and look, it [was] in the mouth of his sack.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to look through the eyes of the character and thereby draws attention to the money.
- Genesis 42:28 tn Heb “and their heart went out.” Since this expression is used only here, the exact meaning is unclear. The following statement suggests that it may refer to a sudden loss of emotional strength, so “They were dismayed” adequately conveys the meaning (cf. NRSV); NIV has “Their hearts sank.”
- Genesis 42:28 tn Heb “and they trembled, a man to his neighbor.”
- Genesis 42:28 tn Heb “What is this God has done to us?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question.
- Genesis 42:30 tn Heb “made us.”
- Genesis 42:30 tn The words “if we were” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 42:32 tn Heb “twelve [were] we, brothers, sons of our father [are] we.”
- Genesis 42:32 tn Heb “the one is not.”
- Genesis 42:32 tn Heb “today.”
- Genesis 42:33 tn The word “grain” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 42:34 tn After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav indicates purpose/result.
- Genesis 42:34 tn Heb “that you are not spies, that you are honest men.”
- Genesis 42:34 sn Joseph’s brothers soften the news considerably, making it sound like Simeon was a guest of Joseph (Leave one of your brothers with me) instead of being bound in prison. They do not mention the threat of death and do not at this time speak of the money in the one sack.
- Genesis 42:36 tn Heb “is not.”
- Genesis 42:36 tn Heb “is not.”
- Genesis 42:36 tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is desiderative here.
- Genesis 42:37 tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is permissive here.
- Genesis 42:37 tn Heb “my hand.”
- Genesis 42:38 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 42:38 sn The expression he alone is left meant that (so far as Jacob knew) Benjamin was the only surviving child of his mother Rachel.
- Genesis 42:38 sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole—they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble.
- Genesis 42:38 tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.
- Genesis 43:1 tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that is important to the storyline.
- Genesis 43:3 tn The infinitive absolute with the finite verb stresses the point. The primary meaning of the verb is “to witness; to testify.” It alludes to Joseph’s oath, which was tantamount to a threat or warning.
- Genesis 43:3 tn The idiom “see my face” means “have an audience with me.”
- Genesis 43:4 tn Heb “if there is you sending,” that is, “if you send.”
- Genesis 43:6 tn The verb may even have a moral connotation here, “Why did you do evil to me?”
- Genesis 43:6 tn The infinitive construct here explains how they brought trouble on Jacob.
- Genesis 43:7 tn The word “us” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 43:7 tn The infinitive absolute with the perfect verbal form emphasizes that Joseph questioned them thoroughly.
- Genesis 43:7 sn The report given here concerning Joseph’s interrogation does not exactly match the previous account where they supplied the information to clear themselves (see 42:13). This section may reflect how they remembered the impact of his interrogation, whether he asked the specific questions or not. That may be twisting the truth to protect themselves, not wanting to admit that they volunteered the information. (They admitted as much in 42:31, but now they seem to be qualifying that comment.) On the other hand, when speaking to Joseph later (see 44:19), Judah claims that Joseph asked for the information about their family, making it possible that 42:13 leaves out some of the details of their first encounter.
- Genesis 43:7 tn Heb “and we told to him according to these words.”
- Genesis 43:7 tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the imperfect verbal form, which here is a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of a past time).
- Genesis 43:7 tn Once again the imperfect verbal form is used as a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of past time).
- Genesis 43:8 tn Heb “and we will rise up and we will go.” The first verb is adverbial and gives the expression the sense of “we will go immediately.”
- Genesis 43:8 tn After the preceding cohortatives, the prefixed verbal form (either imperfect or cohortative) with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or result.
- Genesis 43:9 tn The pronoun before the first person verbal form draws attention to the subject and emphasizes Judah’s willingness to be personally responsible for the boy.
- Genesis 43:9 sn I will bear the blame before you all my life. It is not clear how this would work out if Benjamin did not come back. But Judah is offering his life for Benjamin’s if Benjamin does not return.
- Genesis 43:10 tn Heb “we could have returned.”
- Genesis 43:12 tn Heb “in your hand.”
- Genesis 43:12 tn Heb “take back in your hand.” The imperfect verbal form probably has an injunctive or obligatory force here, since Jacob is instructing his sons.
- Genesis 43:13 tn Heb “arise, return,” meaning “get up and go back,” or “go back immediately.”
- Genesis 43:13 sn The man refers to the Egyptian official, whom the reader or hearer of the narrative knows is Joseph. In this context both the sons and Jacob refer to him simply as “the man” (see vv. 3-7).
- Genesis 43:14 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “Sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
- Genesis 43:14 tn Heb “release to you.” After the jussive this perfect verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) probably indicates logical consequence, as well as temporal sequence.
- Genesis 43:14 sn Several Jewish commentators suggest that the expression your other brother refers to Joseph. This would mean that Jacob prophesied unwittingly. However, it is much more likely that Simeon is the referent of the phrase “your other brother” (see Gen 42:24).
- Genesis 43:14 tn Heb “if I am bereaved I am bereaved.” With this fatalistic sounding statement Jacob resolves himself to the possibility of losing both Benjamin and Simeon.
- Genesis 43:15 tn Heb “they arose and went down to Egypt.” The first verb has an adverbial function and emphasizes that they departed right away.
- Genesis 43:17 tn Heb “the man.” This has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 43:17 sn This verse is a summary statement. The next verses delineate intermediate steps (see v. 24) in the process.
- Genesis 43:18 tn Heb “over the matter of.”
- Genesis 43:18 tn Heb “in the beginning,” that is, at the end of their first visit.
- Genesis 43:18 tn Heb “to roll himself upon us and to cause himself to fall upon us.” The infinitives here indicate the purpose (as viewed by the brothers) for their being brought to Joseph’s house.
- Genesis 43:18 tn The word “take” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 43:20 tn The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the finite verbal form.
- Genesis 43:20 tn Heb “in the beginning” (see the note on the phrase “last time” in v. 18).
- Genesis 43:21 tn Heb “his silver in its weight.”
- Genesis 43:21 tn Heb “brought it back in our hand.”
- Genesis 43:23 tn Heb “and he said, ‘peace to you.’” Here the statement has the force of “everything is fine,” or perhaps even “calm down.” The referent of “he” (the man in charge of Joseph’ household) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 43:23 sn Your God and the God of your father…This is the first clear reference in the story to the theme of divine providence—that God works through the human actions to do his will.
- Genesis 43:23 tn Heb “your money came to me.”
- Genesis 43:24 tn Heb “the man.”
- Genesis 43:25 tn The construction uses the infinitive construct after the preposition, followed by the subjective genitive.
- Genesis 43:25 tn The action precedes the action of preparing the gift, and so must be translated as past perfect.
- Genesis 43:25 tn Heb “eat bread.” The imperfect verbal form is used here as a historic future (future from the perspective of the past).
- Genesis 43:26 tn Heb “into the house.”
- Genesis 43:27 tn Heb “concerning peace.”
- Genesis 43:28 tn Heb “and they bowed low and they bowed down.” The use of synonyms here emphasizes the brothers’ humility.
- Genesis 43:29 tn Heb “and he lifted his eyes.” The referent of “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 43:29 sn Joseph’s language here becomes warmer and more personal, culminating in calling Benjamin my son.
- Genesis 43:30 tn Heb “for his affection boiled up concerning his brother.” The same expression is used in 1 Kgs 3:26 for the mother’s feelings for her endangered child.
- Genesis 43:30 tn Heb “and he sought to weep.”
- Genesis 43:31 tn Heb “and he controlled himself and said.”
- Genesis 43:32 tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 43:32 tn Or “disgraceful.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (toʿevah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 46:34 and Exod 8:22.
- Genesis 43:32 tn Heb “and they set for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, for the Egyptians are not able to eat food with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination for the Egyptians.” The imperfect verbal form in the explanatory clause is taken as habitual in force, indicating a practice that was still in effect in the narrator’s time.sn That the Egyptians found eating with foreigners disgusting is well-attested in extra-biblical literature by writers like Herodotus, Diodorus, and Strabo.
- Genesis 43:33 tn Heb “the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth.”
- Genesis 43:33 sn The brothers’ astonishment indicates that Joseph arranged them in this way. They were astonished because there was no way, as far as they were concerned, that Joseph could have known the order of their birth.
- Genesis 43:34 tn Heb “and he lifted up portions from before his face to them.”
- Genesis 43:34 tn Heb “and they drank and were intoxicated with him” (cf. NIV “drank freely with him”; NEB “grew merry”; NRSV “were merry”). The brothers were apparently relaxed and set at ease, despite Joseph’s obvious favoritism toward Benjamin.
Genesis 42-43
King James Version
42 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn 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 corn in Egypt.
4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
5 And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
11 We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
17 And he put them all together into ward three days.
18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
19 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.
25 Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.
26 And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.
27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth.
28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?
29 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,
30 The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
31 And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:
32 We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:
34 And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.
35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
43 And the famine was sore in the land.
2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.
3 And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
4 If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:
5 But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
6 And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?
7 And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
8 And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.
9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:
10 For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.
11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:
12 And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:
13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:
14 And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
15 And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.
17 And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
18 And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.
19 And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,
20 And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
21 And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.
22 And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.
23 And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.
24 And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.
25 And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.
27 And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
28 And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
31 And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
32 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.
34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of their's. And they drank, and were merry with him.
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