Genesis 42

Genesis 42:1

It all begins with God An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Genesis www.easyenglish.info Marie Wetherill and Keith Simons This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 42 Joseph and his brothers v1 Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt. Then he said to his sons, ‘Do not just stand there while you look at each other!’ v2 Jacob said, ‘Look! I have heard that there is corn in Egypt. Go down there and buy corn for us. Then we can stay alive. Then we will not die.’

v3 So 10 of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy corn in Egypt. v4 Jacob did not send Benjamin (Joseph’s brother) with the other brothers. Jacob was afraid that Benjamin might suffer something bad. v5 So Israel’s sons came to buy corn together with other people. There was *famine in the country called Canaan.

v6 At that time, Joseph was governing over the country called Egypt. He sold corn to all the people in that country. Joseph’s brothers came and they *bowed in front of him. They *bowed with their faces to the ground. v7 Joseph saw his brothers and he knew them. However, he behaved as if they were strangers. Joseph spoke severely to his brothers. ‘Where do you come from?’ he asked.

The brothers replied, ‘We have come from the country called Canaan to buy food.’

v8 So Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not know him. v9 Joseph remembered the dreams that he had had about his brothers. He said to them, ‘You are *spies. You have come to discover whether this country, Egypt is weak.’

v10 The brothers replied, ‘No, my *lord, your servants have come to buy food. v11 We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. We, your servants, are not *spies.’

v12 Joseph said to them, ‘No, you have come to discover where this country, Egypt, is weak.’

v13 They said, ‘We, your servants, are 12 brothers. We are the sons of one man in the country called Canaan. Look! Our youngest brother is today with our father. One brother is dead.’

v14 But Joseph said to them, ‘It is as I said to you. You are *spies. v15 I will test you. You will not leave here unless your youngest brother comes here. That is true quite as certainly as *Pharaoh is alive. v16 Send one man from among you to fetch your brother. All the other brothers will stay here in prison. In that way, I will prove your story. I will see whether you are telling the truth. If you are lying, then you are *spies. I tell that to you quite as certainly as *Pharaoh is alive.’ v17 Joseph put all the brothers together in prison for three days.

v18 On the third day, Joseph said this to his brothers: ‘I respect God very greatly. So do as I say. Then you will live. v19 If you are honest men, then let one of your brothers stay here. He will stay in prison. You other men should go home and you should take corn. So then the people in your *households will not die because of the *famine. v20 Then bring your youngest brother to me. So then I will know that you are speaking the truth. Then you will not die.’ They did as Joseph ordered.

v21 Then they said to each other, ‘Truly we are guilty. We saw that our brother Joseph had become very unhappy. He desperately asked us to help him. But we would not listen. So now we are suffering.’

v22 Reuben answered them, ‘I told you not to do bad things to the boy, Joseph. But you did not want to listen. Now God is punishing us because we killed him.’ v23 The brothers did not know that Joseph understood them. There was an interpreter between them and Joseph.

v24 Then Joseph turned away from them and he cried. Then he came back to them and he spoke to them. He took Simeon away from them. They watched Joseph put Simeon in chains.

v25 Joseph gave orders to fill the brothers’ sacks with corn. He gave orders to put each man’s money in his sack. And he ordered people to give food to them for their journey home. So people did all that for the brothers. v26 The brothers then loaded their *donkeys with the corn and they left for home.

v27 The brothers stopped at a place where people could lodge on the way. One brother opened his sack in order to feed his *donkey. Then he saw his money at the top of the sack. v28 He said to his brothers, ‘Someone has given my money back. Here it is in the top of my sack.’

Then the brothers were very afraid and they trembled because of fear. They said, ‘God has punished us!’

v29 They came back to Jacob, their father, in the country called Canaan. They told him everything that had happened. They said this. v30 ‘The man, the *lord of that country, spoke severely to us. He thought that we were exploring the country as *spies. v31 We told him, “We are honest men. We are not *spies. v32 We are 12 brothers, sons of one father. One brother is dead. The youngest brother is today with our father in the country called Canaan.”

v33 Then the man, the *lord of that country, said this to us. “I shall test you. In that way, I will discover whether you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers. Leave him here with me. Take the corn for the people who live in your homes. Then they will not die because of the *famine. Go home. v34 Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not *spies. I shall know that you are honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you and you can trade in this country.” ’

v35 The brothers emptied their sacks. Then they discovered that each man’s money was in his sack. The brothers and their father were all afraid when they found the money. v36 Jacob, their father, said this to them: ‘You have taken my children from me. Joseph is not here. Simeon is not here. Now you want to take Benjamin away too.’

v37 Then Reuben said this to his father. ‘If I do not bring Benjamin back to you, then kill my two sons. Put Benjamin into my care. I will bring him back to you.’

v38 But Jacob replied, ‘My son shall not go down with you. His brother is dead. He is the only one that remains. Something might hurt him on the journey that you are making to Egypt. That would kill me because it would make me so very sad. I am an old man with grey hair.’

Like everybody else, Joseph’s brothers had to go to Egypt to buy food. They did not know that Joseph was a ruler in Egypt. They had sold him as a slave. And now, they did not even know that Joseph was alive.

When Joseph saw his brothers, his emotions felt very strong. He loved his brothers. He did not want them to suffer while the harvests were poor. He wanted to share with them the good things that he had received in Egypt. But Joseph realised that this might not be a good idea.

Joseph knew that, in the past, his brothers’ behaviour had been terrible. They had been selfish. They had been cruel. They had killed other men because of their anger. In fact, Joseph’s brothers had even wanted to kill Joseph himself.

Joseph was a very responsible man. He would not allow his brothers to cause such trouble in Egypt. So, he made a plan that would test his brothers. He needed to be sure that their attitudes had now changed. If they were humble, he would forgive them. If they respected him, he would give them honour and wealth. But if their attitudes were still wrong, Joseph could not help them. Notes on the verses Verse 1 Joseph’s brothers had grown older and they were married. But Jacob was still the master. The brothers were unhappy. They had no crops to harvest. They probably did not trust each other. Maybe they thought about whether there might be secret stores of food. People behave like that when there is *famine.

Verse 2 In chapter 12, Abraham went to Egypt for food. He went there because of a bad *famine.

Verses 3-4 Jacob believed that Joseph was dead. So, perhaps Jacob thought that Benjamin should have the *birthright. Benjamin was in fact Jacob’s youngest son. But Jacob acted as if Benjamin was more important than his other sons.

Verse 5 *Famines happened sometimes in Egypt and Canaan. But they did not usually happen in both those countries at the same time.

Verse 6 This was like Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37:7.

Verse 7 Joseph wanted to know whether his brothers still hated him. Or perhaps they were sorry about what they had done to him earlier. He did not want to punish them.

Verse 8 Joseph dressed as an *Egyptian (Genesis 41:42). He had shaved (Genesis 41:14). He spoke the *Egyptian language (Genesis 42:23). He even had an *Egyptian name (Genesis 41:45).

Verse 9 Joseph remembered his dreams in Genesis 37:7-9. So, Joseph knew that this event was God’s plan. And Joseph knew that God was guiding him.

Verses 10-12 There were many wars at this time. Rulers would send men in secret. Then, the men would return with information. Rulers would use this information when they made their plans to attack.

Joseph’s brothers had not really come to Egypt for this reason. In fact, Joseph was using this as an excuse, so that he could ask them questions. He wanted to test their attitudes.

Verse 13 The brothers clearly remembered what they had done to Joseph. Jacob probably talked about Joseph often. In *Hebrew, the brothers said that Joseph was ‘no more’. It might mean that he was dead. Or, that they did not know where he was.

Verse 15 Joseph made a serious statement. And he said that it was true ‘as certainly as *Pharaoh is alive’. So Joseph seemed very *Egyptian to his brothers.

Verses 16-17 Perhaps this was the same prison where Joseph himself had spent several years. Joseph was strict, but he was not cruel. He freed them after just three days.

Verses 19-20 Joseph wanted to send the grain to Canaan quickly. He did not want his brothers’ families to suffer. His brothers had not yet passed Joseph’s test. But Joseph knew that they would have to return. The harvests in Canaan would be poor for several more years.

Verse 21 Joseph’s brothers had put him into a pit (very big hole) and then they had sold him. Joseph had cried out to his brothers for help. The writer did not tell us about that earlier.

Verse 22 Until now, Joseph did not know that Reuben tried to save him. Now Reuben thought that God was punishing the brothers. But Joseph did not want to punish the brothers. Joseph wanted to forgive them. He felt sorry for them. He knew that they were feeling guilty. But he was not sure that their attitudes had really changed.

Verse 24 The writer does not say why Joseph chose Simeon. Joseph had just learned that Reuben, the oldest son, had tried to save Joseph (verses 22 and 23). So Joseph did not take Reuben. Simeon was the second son in order of age. Perhaps he was a leader. Simeon and Levi were very cruel when they attacked the men in Shechem (chapter 34). Simeon was Leah’s second son. Joseph kept Simeon there in Egypt. In that way, he made sure that Benjamin, Rachel’s second son, would come to Egypt.

Verse 25 The writer does not say why Joseph gave the money back. Possibly Joseph was testing the brothers. In that way, he would discover what they would do. They might keep the money. Or they might come back so that Joseph would free Simeon.

But perhaps Joseph was just being kind. He knew that the *famine would last for several more years. The brothers would need money in order to buy food. Joseph cared about his family.

Verses 27-28 The reaction of the brothers shows us that they were very worried. They did not think that God returned their money in order to show kindness. Instead, they felt even more guilty. They thought that God was punishing them. They were afraid that the *Egyptians would consider them thieves.

Verses 29-33 The brothers described the events in Egypt to Jacob, even before they opened their sacks. These events seemed terrible. Simeon was now a prisoner. The brothers never even imagined that the *Egyptian ruler might be Joseph.

Verse 34 ‘You can trade in this country.’ That means that they would be free. They could travel about in Egypt as free men.

Verse 35 The brothers probably opened only one sack on the way home (verse 28). They were afraid that it was a clever plan by Joseph. They thought that Joseph wanted an excuse. So then he could call them thieves because of the money.

Verse 36 The news really upset Jacob. Jacob probably spoke about Joseph first because Joseph had the *birthright. Then he spoke about Simeon. Jacob had not been pleased about Simeon’s cruelty. But Simeon was still Jacob’s son, so Jacob cared about him. Then Jacob spoke about Benjamin. Benjamin had become Jacob’s favourite son. Jacob had not allowed Benjamin to go to Egypt in order to protect him.

Verse 37 The brothers argued with Jacob. But Jacob certainly did not want to kill anyone, and Reuben knew this. However, Reuben still tried to argue with Jacob.

Verse 38 Jacob would not agree with his ten sons. He spoke about Joseph and Benjamin as if they were his only sons. Jacob believed that Joseph was dead. So, Jacob did not want to risk Benjamin’s life. If anything bad happened to Benjamin, Jacob would be sorry for the rest of his life.

© 2006, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

May 2006

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