The big picture
The famine reaches Canaan, the land where Jacob and his family live. Jacob is the father of Joseph and his brothers. Egypt, the kingdom southwest of Canaan, still has grain because Joseph stored food there during the good years. Jacob sends ten sons to buy food but keeps Benjamin, his youngest son and Joseph's brother, at home. Joseph, the son his brothers sold years earlier, is now Egypt's governor and controls grain sales. He recognizes the brothers when they arrive, but they do not recognize him. Their need for food places them under the authority of the brother they once rejected.
In this chapter
- The Brothers Bow Before Joseph Genesis 42:1-17
Jacob hears that grain is available in Egypt and sends ten sons to buy food so the family can survive.
- Old Guilt Returns Under Pressure Genesis 42:18-28
On the third day, Joseph changes the terms.
- Jacob Refuses to Risk Benjamin Genesis 42:29-38
The brothers return to Canaan and tell Jacob what happened.
Central truth
Famine brings Joseph's brothers before him, where their hidden guilt surfaces while he tests whether their account is true.
Scripture beside the summary
Genesis · King James Version · 38Genesis 42:1-17
The Brothers Bow Before Joseph
Jacob hears that grain is available in Egypt and sends ten sons to buy food so the family can survive. He keeps Benjamin home because he fears harm will come to him. The brothers arrive and bow before Joseph, who controls Egypt's grain sales. Joseph knows them, but they do not know him. He speaks harshly and accuses them of spying on Egypt's vulnerable places. They insist they are honest brothers from one family. They mention a youngest brother at home and another brother who is gone. Joseph turns their claim into a test. He demands that Benjamin be brought to Egypt. At first, he says one brother can go while the others remain. Then he places all ten in custody for three days.
In everyday life
A border officer stops several brothers whose travel account is hard to verify. He asks for proof that their family details are true and focuses on the younger brother who stayed home. Until their claims can be checked, the group remains under guard. Joseph's test carries a hidden family history that the border officer does not share.
Notice
Genesis 42:6 The brothers bow before Joseph before knowing who he is. Their action resembles the scenes Joseph's earlier dreams had pictured long before his rise in Egypt.
Genesis 42:1-17
King James Version1Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
2And 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.
3And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
4But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
5And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6And 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.
7And 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.
8And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
9And 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.
10And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
11We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
12And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
13And 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.
14And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
15Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
16Send 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.
17And he put them all together into ward three days.
Genesis 42:18-28
Old Guilt Returns Under Pressure
On the third day, Joseph changes the terms. He keeps one brother, Simeon, in prison and lets the others take grain home. They must return with Benjamin to prove their account. The brothers start talking about Joseph. They do not know he understands them because he has been using an interpreter. They connect their present trouble with the pain they ignored when Joseph begged them years earlier. Reuben says he warned them not to harm the boy. Joseph turns away and cries. He then has Simeon bound. Joseph orders the sacks filled with grain and secretly returns each man's money. Later, one brother opens his sack to feed his donkey and finds the money. The brothers become afraid and wonder what God has done to them.
In everyday life
A truck driver opens a supply bag at a roadside stop and finds the payment he handed over earlier tucked back inside. The meeting was tense, so the returned money feels dangerous rather than generous. He fears it will cause trouble when the deal is reviewed. The brothers' fear is deeper because it is tied to their old guilt over Joseph.
Notice
Genesis 42:23 The brothers speak freely about Joseph because they think Egypt's governor cannot understand them. An interpreter stands between them, but Joseph understands every word they say.
Genesis 42:18-28
King James Version18And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
19If 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:
20But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
21And 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.
22And 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.
23And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
24And 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.
25Then 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.
26And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.
27And 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.
28And 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?
Genesis 42:29-38
Jacob Refuses to Risk Benjamin
The brothers return to Canaan and tell Jacob what happened. Egypt's governor accused them of spying and demanded proof that their account was true. Simeon remains behind, and Benjamin must travel with them if they return. Then the brothers empty their sacks and find every payment inside. Jacob sees the money and becomes afraid too. He counts Joseph as lost, Simeon as lost, and Benjamin as the next son he could lose. Reuben offers his own two sons as a guarantee that he will bring Benjamin back. Jacob refuses the offer. He says Benjamin will not go. Joseph is dead, and another loss would bring Jacob to the grave in sorrow.
In everyday life
A father gets a call saying one son is stranded after a work trip. The others can bring him home only if the youngest brother travels back. He has already buried another son. Fear takes over, and he refuses to risk the child he guards closest. Unlike Jacob's family, this household is not facing famine or detention by a foreign ruler.
Notice
Genesis 42:37 Reuben offers the lives of his own two sons as a guarantee for Benjamin's return. Jacob rejects the extreme offer because it gives him no security or comfort.
Genesis 42:29-38
King James Version29And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,
30The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
31And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:
32We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
33And 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:
34And 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.
35And 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.
36And 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.
37And 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.
38And 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Genesis 42:1 begins with “Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?”
Where the chapter turns
Genesis 42:20 forms a natural hinge: “But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.”
The final note
Genesis 42:38 leaves the reader with “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…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words land, brethren, Joseph, brother, corn, father help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- ward
- Being held in custody or confinement as a prisoner.
- provender
- Food for animals, here feed for a donkey.
- traffick
- To trade or do business in the land.
- bereaved
- Deprived of loved ones through death or loss.
- mischief
- Harm or serious trouble, not a harmless prank.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
