Genesis 42:15

Genesis 42:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
• New International Version (NIV)And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
• English Standard Version (ESV)By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
• New King James Version (NKJV)In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

Context of Genesis 42:15

13“Sir,” they said, “there are actually twelve of us. We, your servants, are all brothers, sons of a man living in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is back there with our father right now, and one of our brothers is no longer with us.” 14But Joseph insisted, “As I said, you are spies! This is how I will test your story. I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you will never leave Egypt unless your youngest brother comes here! 16One of you must go and get your brother. I’ll keep the rest of you here in prison. Then we’ll find out whether or not your story is true. By the life of Pharaoh, if it turns out that you don’t have a younger brother, then I’ll know you are spies.” 17So Joseph put them all in prison for three days.

Genesis 42:15 word by word

בְּזֹ֖את תִּבָּחֵ֑נוּ חֵ֤י פַרְעֹה֙ אִם־תֵּצְא֣וּ מִזֶּ֔ה כִּ֧י אִם־בְּב֛וֹא אֲחִיכֶ֥ם הַקָּטֹ֖ן הֵֽנָּה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Herebyזֹאתzô'th · thisH2063
• ye shall be provedבָּחַןbâchan · to testH974
• By the lifeחַיchay · aliveH2416
• of Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
• ye shall not go forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• hence, except your youngestקָטֹןqâţân qâţôn · small: youngH6996
• brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935

Cross-references for Genesis 42:15

• Genesis 42:7Joseph recognized his brothers instantly, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where are you from?” he demanded. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We have come to buy food.”
• Deuteronomy 6:13You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name.
• 1 Samuel 1:26“Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord.
• 1 Samuel 17:55As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “I really don’t know,” Abner declared.
• 1 Samuel 20:3Then David took an oath before Jonathan and said, “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I won’t tell Jonathan—why should I hurt him?’ But I swear to you that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the Lord and by your own soul!”
• Jeremiah 5:2But even when they are under oath, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ they are still telling lies!”
• Matthew 5:33“You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’
• Matthew 23:16“Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’
• James 5:12But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.
• Genesis 42:20But you must bring your youngest brother back to me. This will prove that you are telling the truth, and you will not die.” To this they agreed.
• Genesis 43:3But Judah said, “The man was serious when he warned us, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’
• Genesis 44:20And we responded, ‘Yes, my lord, we have a father who is an old man, and his youngest son is a child of his old age. His full brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him very much.’

Commentaries on Genesis 42:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15By the life of Pharaoh - פרעה חי chey Pharaoh, Pharaoh liveth. As if he had said, As surely as the king of Egypt lives, so surely shall ye not go hence unless your brother come hither. Here therefore is no oath; it is just what they themselves make it in their report to their father, Genesis 43:3; : the man did solemnly protest unto us; and our translators should not have put it in the form of an oath, especially as the original not only will bear another…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. 15-17Joseph put his brothers in prison for three days. He did this to see if they felt guilt for what they had done in the past (42:21–23). The brothers had similarly thrown Joseph into a cistern-prison while they decided what to do with him (37:24).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. By the life of Pharaoh--It is a very common practice in Western Asia to swear by the life of the king. Joseph spoke in the style of an Egyptian and perhaps did not think there was any evil in it. But we are taught to regard all such expressions in the light of an oath (Mt 5:34; Jas 5:12).Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 42:15

• Commerce
• Dissembling

In the dictionaries

• Pharaoh
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• Bereave
• Espy
• Famine
• Fear
• Joseph
• Lade
• Lord
• Nakedness

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