Genesis 42:9

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.”
• 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!”

Context of Genesis 42:9

7And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. 8And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. 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. 10And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. 11We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.

Genesis 42:9 word by word

וַיִּזְכֹּ֣ר יוֹסֵ֔ף אֵ֚ת הַחֲלֹמ֔וֹת אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָלַ֖ם לָהֶ֑ם וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ מְרַגְּלִ֣ים אַתֶּ֔ם לִרְא֛וֹת אֶת־עֶרְוַ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ בָּאתֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

• 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 37:5And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
• Numbers 13:2Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
• Joshua 2:1And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
• Joshua 6:23And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.
• Judges 1:24And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.
• 1 Samuel 26:4David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed.
• Luke 20:20And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.
• Hebrews 11:31By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
• Exodus 32:35And Yhwh plagued the people, because they made the calf, which 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

• Accusation, False
• Commerce
• Dissembling
• Spies

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