Genesis 42:23

Genesis 42:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
• New International Version (NIV)They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter.

Context of Genesis 42:23

21Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; for that reason this distress has happened to us.” 22Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now justice for his blood is required.” They did not know, however, that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between them. 24Then he turned away from them and wept. But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, but also to return every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. And that is what was done for them.

Genesis 42:23 word by word

וְהֵם֙ לֹ֣א יָֽדְע֔וּ כִּ֥י שֹׁמֵ֖עַ יוֹסֵ֑ף כִּ֥י הַמֵּלִ֖יץ בֵּינֹתָֽם׃Read the interlinear

• They did not knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• however, that Josephיוֹסֵףyôsêph · JosephH3130
• understoodשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: understandH8085
• betweenבַּ֫יִןbêyn · betweenH996

Cross-references for Genesis 42:23

• Genesis 42:24Then he turned away from them and wept. But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
• Genesis 43:19So they approached Joseph’s house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house,
• John 16:13But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
• 2 Corinthians 5:20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Commentaries on Genesis 42:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23For he spake unto them by an interpreter - Either there was a very great difference between the two languages as then spoken, or Joseph, to prevent all suspicion, might affect to be ignorant of both. We have many evidences in this book that the Egyptians, Hebrews, Canaanites, and Syrians, could understand each other in a general way, though there are also proofs that there was a considerable difference between their dialects.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. 21-24Verses 21-24 The office of conscience is to bring to mind things long since said and done. When the guilt of this sin of Joseph's brethren was fresh, they made light of it, and sat down to eat bread; but now, long afterward, their consciences accused them of it. See the good of afflictions; they often prove the happy means of awakening conscience, and bringing sin to our remembrance. Also, the evil of guilt as to our brethren. Conscience now reproached…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-23Surely we are being punished: The brothers believed that God was punishing them. They thought this because they now had to bring Benjamin to Egypt, even though their father did not want this. They connected this trouble with their past sin of selling Joseph to traders. They began to see this as divine punishment (God judging wrong actions). The fear of divine punishment began to cause feelings of guilt that Joseph's cries for mercy and their father's…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-2417-24. put them ... into ward three days--Their confinement had been designed to bring them to salutary reflection. And this object was attained, for they looked upon the retributive justice of God as now pursuing them in that foreign land. The drift of their conversation is one of the most striking instances on record of the power of conscience [Ge 42:21, 22].Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 42:23

• Commerce
• Interpreter

In the dictionaries

• Bereave
• Espy
• Famine
• Fear
• Joseph
• Lade
• Lord
• Nakedness
• Sack
• Traffick

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