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 to Egypt to buy food. 4But Jacob did not send his youngest son, Benjamin, with them. Jacob was afraid that something bad might happen to Benjamin. Jacob's sons went to Egypt, as well as other people who went there to buy food. They all went to Egypt because there was a bad famine in Canaan. 6Joseph had authority to rule Egypt at that time. He was the man who sold food to all the Egyptians. When Joseph's brothers arrived there, they bent down in front of him, with their faces to the ground. 7As soon as Joseph saw the men, he knew that they were his brothers. But he spoke to them as if they were strangers. He did not speak to them in a kind way. He asked them, ‘Where do you come from?’ They replied, ‘We come from the land of Canaan. We have come here to buy food.’

Genesis 42:5 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to buyשָׁבַרshâbar · to buy grainH7666
• amongתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• for the famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
• was in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Canaanכְּנַ֫עַןkena‛an · CanaanH3667

Cross-references for Genesis 42:5

• Genesis 12:10There was a famine in the land of Canaan. So Abram went to live in Egypt for some time, because the famine was very bad.
• Genesis 26:1There was another famine in the land. This had happened before, when Abraham was alive. Now Isaac went to Gerar to visit Abimelech, the king of the Philistines.
• Genesis 41:57People from all the other countries came to Egypt to buy food from Joseph. They came because the famine was very bad all over the world.
• Acts 7:11Then there was a famine everywhere in Egypt and in Canaan. Everyone was very hungry and they suffered a lot. Our ancestors also had no food to eat.
• Acts 11:28One of these men was called Agabus. The Holy Spirit gave him a message from God. He stood up and he said to the people there, ‘Soon people will be very hungry all over the world because there will be no food.’ (That happened when Claudius ruled the Roman world.)

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