Genesis 42:15

Genesis 42:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
• New International Version (NIV)And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
• English Standard Version (ESV)By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
• New King James Version (NKJV)In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

Context of Genesis 42:15

13But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no longer living.” 14Then Joseph said to them, “I have spoken: ‘You are spies!’ This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days.

Genesis 42:15 word by word

בְּזֹ֖את תִּבָּחֵ֑נוּ חֵ֤י פַרְעֹה֙ אִם־תֵּצְא֣וּ מִזֶּ֔ה כִּ֧י אִם־בְּב֛וֹא אֲחִיכֶ֥ם הַקָּטֹ֖ן הֵֽנָּה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Herebyזֹאתzô'th · thisH2063
• ye shall be provedבָּחַןbâchan · to testH974
• By the lifeחַיchay · aliveH2416
• of Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
• ye shall not go forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• hence, except your youngestקָטֹןqâţân qâţôn · small: youngH6996
• brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935

Cross-references for Genesis 42:15

• Genesis 42:7When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied.
• Deuteronomy 6:13Fear the Lord your God, worship him, and take your oaths in his name.
• 1 Samuel 1:26“Please, my lord,” she said, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord.
• 1 Samuel 17:55When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?” “Your Majesty, as surely as you live, I don’t know,” Abner replied.
• 1 Samuel 20:3But David said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor with you. He has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or else he will be grieved.’” David also swore, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”
• Jeremiah 5:2When they say, “As the Lord lives,” they are swearing falsely.
• Matthew 5:33“Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.
• Matthew 23:16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the temple, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’
• James 5:12Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “yes” mean “yes,” and your “no” mean “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.
• Genesis 42:20Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this.
• Genesis 43:3But Judah said to him, “The man specifically warned us, ‘You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.’
• Genesis 44:20and we answered my lord, ‘We have an elderly father and a younger brother, the child of his old age. The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’

Commentaries on Genesis 42:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15By the life of Pharaoh - פרעה חי chey Pharaoh, Pharaoh liveth. As if he had said, As surely as the king of Egypt lives, so surely shall ye not go hence unless your brother come hither. Here therefore is no oath; it is just what they themselves make it in their report to their father, Genesis 43:3; : the man did solemnly protest unto us; and our translators should not have put it in the form of an oath, especially as the original not only will bear another…Read the comment
• 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
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-20Verses 7-20 Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. Joseph settled at last, that one of them should be left, and the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-17Joseph put his brothers in prison for three days. He did this to see if they felt guilt for what they had done in the past (42:21–23). The brothers had similarly thrown Joseph into a cistern-prison while they decided what to do with him (37:24).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. By the life of Pharaoh--It is a very common practice in Western Asia to swear by the life of the king. Joseph spoke in the style of an Egyptian and perhaps did not think there was any evil in it. But we are taught to regard all such expressions in the light of an oath (Mt 5:34; Jas 5:12).Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 42:15

• Commerce
• Dissembling

In the dictionaries

• Pharaoh
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• Bereave
• Espy
• Famine
• Fear
• Joseph
• Lade
• Lord
• Nakedness

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