the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
Click here to join the effort!
Read the Bible
Revised Standard Version
Genesis 42:33
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- HolmanEncyclopedias:
- InternationalParallel Translations
The man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'Hereby will I know that you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your houses, and go your way.
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:
Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest. Leave one brother with me, and take food for the famine in your households and go.
"Then the master of the land said to us, ‘Here is a way I can know you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain to feed your hungry families, and go.
"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 for your hungry households and go.
"And the man, the lord of the country, said to us, 'By this [test] I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers here with me and take grain for your starving households and go.
"But the man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go.
Then the Lord of the countrey sayde vnto vs, Hereby shal I knowe if ye be true men: Leaue one of your brethren with me, and take foode for the famine of your houses and depart,
Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go.
Then the governor of Egypt told us, "I'll find out if you really are honest. Leave one of your brothers here with me, while you take the grain to your starving families.
But the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘Here is how I will know that you are upright men: leave one of your brothers with me, take grain to relieve the famine in your homes, and go on your way;
And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, Hereby shall I know that ye are honest: leave one of your brethren with me, and take [for] the hunger of your households, and go,
"Then the governor of that country said to us, ‘Here is a way to prove that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me. Take your grain back to your families.
Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way.
And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, By this shall I know that you are pious men; leave one of your brothers here with me, and take wheat for the famished who are in your households, and go your way;
The man answered, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men: One of you will stay with me; the rest will take grain for your starving families and leave.
The man who is the lord of the country said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go.
And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, By this I shall know that you are honest; leave your one brother with me, and take and go for the famine of your houses.
He sayde: Hereby wyl I marke, that ye are vnfayned: Leaue one of youre brethren with me, & take foode necessary for youre houses, & go youre waye,
And the man, the lord of the land, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men: leave one of your brethren with me, and take grain for the famine of your houses, and go your way;
And the ruler of the land said, In this way I may be certain that you are true men; let one of you be kept here with me, while you go and take grain for the needs of your families;
And the Lorde of the countrey sayde agayne vnto vs, Hereby shall I know that ye meane truely: leaue one of your brethren here with me, and take [foode] to put away the famine fro your householdes, and get you away.
And the man, the lord of the land, said unto us: Hereby shall I know that ye are upright men: leave one of your brethren with me, and take corn for the famine of your houses, and go your way.
And the man the lord of the countrey said vnto vs, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men: leaue one of your brethren here with me, and take foode for the famine of your housholds, and be gone.
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.
And the man, the lord of the land, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren with me, and take corn for the famine of your houses, and go your way:
Then the man who is the 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.
And he seide to vs, Thus Y schal preue that ye ben pesible; leeffe ye o brother of you with me, and take ye metis nedeful to youre housis, and go ye, and brynge ye to me youre leeste brother,
`And the man, the lord of the land, saith unto us, By this I know that ye [are] right men -- one of your brethren leave with me, and [for] the famine of your houses take ye and go,
And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, Hereby shall I know that you are true men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take [grain for] the famine of your houses, and go your way;
And the man, the lord of the country, said to us, By this 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 depart:
The man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'Hereby will I know that you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your houses, and go your way.
Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, "By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone.
"Then the man who is governor of the land told us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take grain for your starving families and go on home.
Then the man who is ruler of the land said to us, ‘I will know that you are telling the truth by this test. Leave one of your brothers with me. Take grain for your hungry families and go.
Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way.
Then said the man the lord of the land unto us, Hereby, shall I get to know that honest men, ye are, - One brother of you, leave ye remaining with me, and corn for the famine of your houses, take ye and go your way;
And he said to us: Hereby shall I know that you are peaceable men: Leave one of your brethren with me, and take ye necessary provision for your houses, and go your ways,
"But the master of the country said, ‘Leave one of your brothers with me, take food for your starving families, and go. Bring your youngest brother back to me, proving that you're honest men and not spies. And then I'll give your brother back to you and you'll be free to come and go in this country.'"
"The man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Genesis 42:15, Genesis 42:19, Genesis 42:20
Reciprocal: Genesis 41:43 - ruler Genesis 42:11 - true men Genesis 43:3 - man
Cross-References
By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined in your prison, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households,
and bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they did so.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, hereby shall I know that you [are] true [men],.... This will be a proof and demonstration of it:
leave one of your brethren [here] with me; as an hostage; they do not say "bound in the prison", Genesis 42:19, as Joseph did, because they would not grieve their father, at least would not tell him of it at once, lest it should too much affect him:
and take [food for] the famine of your household, and be gone; that is, corn for the relief of their families, being distressed with a famine.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Joseph and Ten of His Brethren
1. ש××ר sheber, âfragment, crumb, hence, grain.â ×ר bar âpure,â âwinnowed,â hence, âcornâ (grain).
6. ש×××× shallıÌytÌ£, âruler, governor, hence,â Sultan. Not elsewhere found in the Pentateuch.
25. ××× kelıÌy, âvessel,â here any portable article in which grain may be conveyed. ש×ק sÌaq, âsack,â the very word which remains in our language to this day. ××ת×ת 'amtachath âbag.â
Twenty years, the period of Josephâs long and anxious waiting, have come to an end. The dreams of his boyhood are now at length to be fulfilled. The famine has reached the chosen family, and they look at one another perplexed and irresolute, not knowing what to do.
Genesis 42:1-5
The aged Jacob is the only man of counsel. âBehold, I have heard there is grain in Mizraim:â go down and buy. The ten brothers are sent, and Benjamin, the youngest, is retained, not merely because of his youth, for he was now twenty-four years of age, but because he was the son of his fatherâs old age, the only son of Rachel now with him, and the only full brother of the lost Joseph. âLest mischief befall him,â and so no child of Rachel would be left. âAmong those that went.â The dearth was widespread in the land of Kenaan.
Genesis 42:6-17
The ten brothers meet with a rough reception from the lord of the land. âThe governorâ - the sultan. This, we see, is a title of great antiquity in Egypt or Arabia. Joseph presided over the cornmarket of the kingdom. âBowed down to him with their faces to the earth.â Well might Joseph think of those never-to-be-forgotten dreams in which the sheaves and stars bowed down to him. âAnd knew them.â How could he fail to remember the ten full-grown men of his early days, when they came before him with all their peculiarities of feature, attitude, and mother tongue. âAnd he made himself strange unto them.â All that we know of Josephâs character heretofore, and throughout this whole affair, goes to prove that his object in all his seemingly harsh treatment was to get at their hearts, to test their affection toward Benjamin, and to bring them to repent of their unkindness to himself.
âThey knew not him.â Twenty years make a great change in a youth of seventeen. And besides, with his beard and head shaven, his Egyptian attire, his foreign tongue, and his exalted position, who could have recognized the stripling whom, twenty years ago, they had sold as a slave? âSpies are ye.â This was to put a color of justice on their detention. To see the nakedness of the land, not its unfortified frontier, which is a more recent idea, but its present impoverishment from the famine. âSons of one man are we.â It was not likely that ten sons of one man would be sent on the hazardous duty of spies. âAnd behold the youngest is with our father this day.â It is intensely interesting to Joseph to hear that his father and full brother are still living. âAnd one is not.â Time has assuaged all their bitter feelings, both of exasperation against Joseph and of remorse for their unbrotherly conduct. This little sentence, however, cannot be uttered by them, or heard by Joseph, without emotion. âBy the life of Pharaoh.â Joseph speaks in character, and uses an Egyptian asseveration. âSend one of you.â This proposal is enough to strike terror into their hearts. The return of one would be a heavy, perhaps a fatal blow to their father. And how can one brave the perils of the way? They cannot bring themselves to concur in this plan. Sooner will they all go to prison, as accordingly they do. Joseph is not without a strong conviction of incumbent duty in all this. He knows he has been put in the position of lord over his brethren in the foreordination of God, and he feels bound to make this authority a reality for their moral good.
Genesis 42:18-25
After three days, Joseph reverses the numbers, allowing nine to return home, and retaining one. âThis do and live.â Joseph, notwithstanding the arbitrary power which his office enabled him to exercise, proves himself to be free from caprice and unnecessary severity. He affords them a fair opportunity of proving their words true, before putting them to death on suspicion of espionage. âThe God do I fear.â A singular sentence from the lord paramount of Egypt! It implies that the true God was not yet unknown in Egypt. We have heard the confession of this great truth already from the lips of Pharaoh Genesis 41:38-39. But it intimates to the brothers the astonishing and hopeful fact that the grand vizier serves the same great Being whom they and their fathers have known and worshipped; and gives them a plain hint that they will be dealt with according to the just law of heaven.
âCarry grain for your houses.â The governor then is touched with some feeling for their famishing households. The brothers, though honoring their aged father as the patriarch of their race, had now their separate establishments. Twelve households had to be supplied with bread. The journey to Egypt was not to be undertaken more than once a year if possible, as the distance from Hebron was upwards of two hundred miles. Hence, the ten brothers had with them all their available beasts of burden, with the needful retinue of servants. We need not be surprised that these are not especially enumerated, as it is the manner of Scripture to leave the secondary matters to the intelligence and experience of the reader, unless, as in the case of Abrahamâs three hundred and eighteen trained servants, they happen to be of essential moment in the process of events. âYour youngest brother.â Joseph longs to see his full brother alive, whom he left at home a child of four summers. âVerily guilty are we concerning our brother.â
Their affliction is beginning to bear the fruit of repentance. âBecause we saw the distress of his soul when he besought us, and we would not hear.â How vividly is the scene of Josephâs sale here brought before us. It now appears that he besought them to spare him, and they would not hear! âThis distress.â Retribution has come at last. âHis blood is required.â Reuben justly upbraids them with their hardness of heart. Their brotherâs blood is required; for murder was intended, and when he was sold his death was pretended. âThe interpreter was betwixt them.â The dragoman was employed in holding conversation with them. But Joseph heard the spontaneous expressions of remorse, coming unprompted from their lips. The fountain of affection is deeply stirred. He cannot repress the rising tear. He has to retire for a time to recover his composure. He now takes, not Reuben, who was not to blame, but Simon, the next oldest, and binds him before them: a speaking act. He then gives orders to supply them with corn (grain), deposit their money in their sacks without their knowledge, and furnish them with provision for the way. Joseph feels, perhaps, that he cannot take money from his father. He will pay for the corn out of his own funds. But he cannot openly return the money to his brothers without more explanation than he wishes at present to give.
Genesis 42:26-34
The nine brothers return home and record their wonderful adventure. âIn the inn;â the lodge or place where they stopped for the night. This place was not yet perhaps provided with even the shelter of a roof. It was merely the usual place of halting. They would probably occupy six or seven days on the journey. Apparently at the first stage one opened his sack to give provender to his ass. The discovery of the silver in its mouth strikes them with terror. In a strange land and with an uneasy conscience they are easily alarmed. It was not convenient or necessary to open all the bags on the way, and so they make no further discovery.
Genesis 42:35-38
Upon emptying the other sacks all the silver turns up, to their great amazement and consternation. Jacob laments the loss of his son. Reuben offers two of his sons to Jacob as pledges for Benjamin, to be slain if he did not bring him back in safety. The sorrowing parent cannot yet bring himself to consent to Benjaminâs departure on this hazardous journey. âAnd ye shall bring down.â Jacob either speaks here in the querulous tone of afflicted old age, or he had come to know or suspect that his brothers had some hand in the disappearance of Joseph.
