New International Version
Genesis 42:5
5So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)So Jacob’s sons arrived in Egypt along with others to buy food, for the famine was in Canaan as well.
Context of Genesis 42:5
3Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also. 6Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”
Read all of Genesis 42Genesis 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 12:10Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
- Genesis 26:1Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar.
- Genesis 41:57And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.
- Acts 7:11“Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food.
- Acts 11:28One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)
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
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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries