English Standard Version
Genesis 42:9
9And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, "You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land."
Genesis 42:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And 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.
- New International Version (NIV)Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!”
- New Living Translation (NLT)And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them many years before. He said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see how vulnerable our land has become.”
Context of Genesis 42:9
7Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. "Where do you come from?" he said. They said, "From the land of Canaan, to buy food." 8And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, "You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land." 10They said to him, "No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food. 11We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies."
Read all of Genesis 42Genesis 42:9 word by word
וַיִּזְכֹּ֣ר יוֹסֵ֔ף אֵ֚ת הַחֲלֹמ֔וֹת אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָלַ֖ם לָהֶ֑ם וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ מְרַגְּלִ֣ים אַתֶּ֔ם לִרְא֛וֹת אֶת־עֶרְוַ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ בָּאתֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Josephיוֹסֵףyôsêph · JosephH3130
- rememberedזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
- the dreamsחֲלוֹםchălôm chălôm · dreamH2472
- which he dreamedחָלַםchâlam · to dreamH2492
- of them, and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- spiesרָגַלrâgal · to spyH7270
- to seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- the nakednessעֶרְוָה‛ervâh · nakednessH6172
- of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- ye are comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
Cross-references for Genesis 42:9
- Genesis 37:5Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.
- Numbers 13:2"Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them."
- Joshua 2:1And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.
- Joshua 6:23So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. And they brought all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel.
- Judges 1:24And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, "Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you."
- 1 Samuel 26:4David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come.
- Luke 20:20So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.
- Hebrews 11:31By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
- Exodus 32:35Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.
Commentaries on Genesis 42:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Ye are spies - אתם מרגלים meraggelim attem, ye are footmen, trampers about, footpads, vagabonds, lying in wait for the property of others; persons who, under the pretense of wishing to buy corn, desire only to find out whether the land be so defenceless that the tribes to which ye belong (see Genesis 42:11;) may attack it successfully, drive out the inhabitants, and settle in it themselves; or, having plundered it, retire to their deserts. This is a…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. 9You are spies!: The brothers thought Joseph was a spy for their father and treated him harshly (37:2, 14, 18–28). Now, Joseph was testing them in a similar way to see their reaction.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-149-14. Ye are spies--This is a suspicion entertained regarding strangers in all Eastern countries down to the present day. Joseph, however, who was well aware that his brethren were not spies, has been charged with cruel dissimulation, with a deliberate violation of what he knew to be the truth, in imputing to them such a character. But it must be remembered that he was sustaining the part of a ruler; and, in fact, acting on the very principle sanctioned…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 42:9
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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