Genesis 42:5

Genesis 42:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
• New International Version (NIV)So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

Context of Genesis 42:5

3So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4But 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. 6Now Joseph was the ruler of the land; he was the one who sold grain to all its people. So when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. 7And when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where have you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We are here to buy food.”

Genesis 42:5 word by word

וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לִשְׁבֹּ֖ר בְּת֣וֹךְ הַבָּאִ֑ים כִּֽי־הָיָ֥ה הָרָעָ֖ב בְּאֶ֥רֶץ כְּנָֽעַן׃Read the interlinear

• So the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• were amongתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• those whoבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to buy grainשָׁבַרshâbar · to buy grainH7666
• sinceכִּיkîy · forH3588
• the famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
• had also spreadהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• to the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Canaanכְּנַ֫עַןkena‛an · CanaanH3667

Cross-references for Genesis 42:5

• Genesis 12:10Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
• Genesis 26:1Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.
• Genesis 41:57And every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.
• Acts 7:11Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
• Acts 11:28One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.)

Commentaries on Genesis 42:5

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-38Verses 1-38 - Joseph and Ten of His Brethren 1. שׁבר sheber “fragment, crumb, hence, grain.” בר bar “pure,” “winnowed,” hence, “corn” (grain). 6. שׁליט shallı̂yṭ “ruler, governor, hence,” Sultan. Not elsewhere found in the Pentateuch. 25. כלי kelı̂y “vessel,” here any portable article in which grain may be conveyed. שׂק śaq “sack,” the very word which remains in our language to this day. אמתחת 'amtachath “bag.” Twenty years, the period of Joseph‘s long…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-38Joseph did several unusual things to his brothers when they came looking for grain. The last time Joseph had been with them, they were filled with jealousy, hatred, and anger; they attempted to destroy their brother, and they deceived their father. Joseph put them through various tests, similar to the trying situations they had put him through, to see if they had changed.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. the famine was in the land of Canaan--The tropical rains, which annually falling swell the Nile, are those of Palestine also; and their failure would produce the same disastrous effects in Canaan as in Egypt. Numerous caravans of its people, therefore, poured over the sandy desert of Suez, with their beasts of burden, for the purchase of corn; and among others, "the sons of Israel" were compelled to undertake a journey from which painful associations…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 42:5

• Commerce

In the dictionaries

• Canaan
• Israel
• Canaan; Canaanites
• Canaan, Canaanite
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Bereave
• Espy
• Famine
• Fear

Commentaries on Genesis 42

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings