EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Genesis 42:1
1Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt. So he said to his sons, ‘There is no food here, so why are you just sitting there?
Genesis 42:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
- New International Version (NIV)When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”
Context of Genesis 42:1
Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt. So he said to his sons, ‘There is no food here, so why are you just sitting there? 2I have heard that there is food in Egypt. Go there and buy some for us. Then we may continue to live and not die.’ 3So ten of Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to buy food.
Read all of Genesis 42Genesis 42:1 word by word
וַיַּ֣רְא יַעֲקֹ֔ב כִּ֥י יֶשׁ־שֶׁ֖בֶר בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יַעֲקֹב֙ לְבָנָ֔יו לָ֖מָּה תִּתְרָאֽוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 42:1
- Genesis 41:54The seven years of famine began, in the same way that Joseph had said would happen. There was a famine in all the other countries too. But in Egypt, the people still had food to eat.
- Acts 7:12Jacob heard news that Pharaoh had stored a lot of wheat in Egypt. So he sent his sons there to buy food from Pharaoh. This was the first time that they went to Egypt.
- Exodus 5:19The Israelite work leaders heard Pharaoh say, ‘You must still make the same number of bricks as you made before.’ Then they knew that they were in trouble.
- Exodus 20:18The people heard the loud thunder and they saw the bright lightning. They heard the noise of the trumpet. They saw the smoke on the mountain. They were so afraid that their bodies were shaking. They would not come near.
- 1 Kings 19:3Elijah became very afraid. He ran away to save his life. He arrived at Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there.
- Hosea 5:13Ephraim's people knew that they were not well. Judah's people knew that they had wounds. Ephraim's leaders expected Assyria to help them. They asked Assyria's great king for help. But he is not able to make you well. He cannot make your wounds better.
- Galatians 2:7Instead they saw that God had given a special job to me. God wanted me to tell the good news about Christ to the Gentiles. In the same way, he had told Peter to tell the good news to the Jews.
- Joshua 7:10The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! Why are you lying there on the ground?
- 2 Kings 8:3After seven years, she came back from there. She went to the king to ask for her house and her land.
- Ezra 10:4Get up now! You must do something about this. We will help you, so you must be brave!’
- Jeremiah 8:14The people say: ‘We should not sit here and do nothing. We must all go together into our strong cities. If we have to die, we will die there! The Lord our God has said that we must die. We have done bad things against him. He has decided to punish us with death. He has given us water to drink that has poison in it.
Commentaries on Genesis 42:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Jacob saw that there was corn - That is, Jacob heard from the report of others that there was plenty in Egypt. The operations of one sense, in Hebrew, are often put for those of another. Before agriculture was properly known and practiced, famines were frequent; Canaan seems to have been peculiarly vexed by them. There was one in this land in the time of Abraham, Genesis 12:10; another in the days of Isaac, Genesis 26:1; and now a third in the time of…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. 1Jacob sends ten sons to buy corn. (1-6) Joseph's treatment of his brethren. (7-20) Their remorse, Simeon detained. (21-24) The rest return with corn. (25-28) Jacob refuses to send Benjamin to Egypt. (29-38) Verses 1-6 Jacob saw the corn his neighbours had bought in Egypt, and brought home. It is a spur to exertion to see others supplied. Shall others get food for their souls, and shall we starve while it is to be had? Having discovered where help is to be…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2God used the famine to bring Israel to Egypt under Joseph’s rule, thus fulfilling two prophecies (15:13; 37:7–11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-381. Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt--learned from common rumor. It is evident from Jacob's language that his own and his sons' families had suffered greatly from the scarcity; and through the increasing severity of the scourge, those men, who had formerly shown both activity and spirit, were sinking into despondency. God would not interpose miraculously when natural means of preservation were within reach.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 42:1
In the dictionaries
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
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