The Book of
Genesis 42
38 verses≈ 7 min5 peopleBSB
Images are artistic interpretations.
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In this chapter
Where we are
- 1–11BeginningsCreation, fall, flood, Babel
- 12–24AbrahamThe call and the promise
- 25–36Isaac and JacobThe promise passed on
- 37–50JosephGod meant it for goodChapter 42
Joseph’s Brothers Sent to Egypt
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”
“Look,” he added, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
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So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm might befall him.”
So the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since the famine had also spread to the land of Canaan.
Stylised map · locations approximate
On the map
Down to Egypt
From Jacob’s tents in the hills near Hebron, ten brothers go south past Beersheba and across the desert road to Egypt, the one land with grain, “since the famine had also spread to the land of Canaan.”
Joseph's brothers
“Not so, my lord,” they replied. “Your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”
Joseph
“No,” he told them. “You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
Joseph's brothers
But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
Joseph
Then Joseph declared, “Just as I said, you are spies! And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be confined so that the truth of your words may be tested. If they are untrue, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”
So Joseph imprisoned them for three days,
Question
Quick question
Ten men bow low before the governor of Egypt. They have no idea who he is. He knows exactly who they are.
What does Joseph remember when his brothers bow before him?
Joseph
and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live: If you are honest, leave one of your brothers in custody while the rest of you go and take back grain to relieve the hunger of your households. Then bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be verified, that you may not die.”
And to this they consented.
Joseph's brothers
Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”
Reuben
And Reuben responded, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. Now we must account for his blood!”
Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.
Genesis 42:21
They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them. And he turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.
Reflect
We would not listen
More than twenty years after they sold Joseph, the brothers still remember his face: “We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen.” Hidden sin doesn’t fade just because time passes. Is there a wrong in your past you have never brought into the light? Write it down honestly, and bring it to God, who forgives.
Joseph’s Brothers Return to Canaan
Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return each man’s silver to his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out, and they loaded the grain on their donkeys and departed.
At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of the sack. “My silver has been returned!” he said to his brothers. “It is here in my sack.” Their hearts sank, and trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”
0:34
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
Joseph's brothers
When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they described to him all that had happened to them: “The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.
But we told him, ‘We are honest men, not spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’
Then the man who is lord of the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go. But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.’”
As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! And when they and their father saw the bags of silver, they were dismayed.
Jacob
Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”
Reuben
Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I fail to bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him.”
Jacob
But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
Pray
When everything seems against you
Jacob looks at the bags of silver and the empty place where Simeon should be and says, “Everything is going against me!” He can’t see what the reader can: his lost son is alive, and God is working all of it toward his family’s rescue. Bring God the things that look like loss to you today. Ask Him for trust when you can’t see His hand, and for patience to wait for what He is doing.
You’ve experienced
Genesis 42
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A verse to carry with you
Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.
Genesis 42:21
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