New International Version
Genesis 42:9
9Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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."
- 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
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.” 8Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” 10“No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. 11We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not 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 37:5Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.
- Numbers 13:2“Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
- Joshua 2:1Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
- Joshua 6:23So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
- Judges 1:24the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.”
- 1 Samuel 26:4he sent out scouts and learned that Saul had definitely arrived.
- Luke 20:20Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.
- Hebrews 11:31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
- Exodus 32:35And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had 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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries