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

13But they said, “We your servants are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan. Look, the youngest is with our father today and the other one is no more.” 14Joseph said to them, “It’s just like I told you when I said, ‘You’re spies.’ By this you’ll be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you’ll not leave from here until your youngest brother comes here! 16Send one from among yourselves to get your brother, while you remain confined, in order to test your words, to see whether the truth is with you. If not, by the life of Pharaoh, you’re definitely spies!” 17So he put them together in custody 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 42:7Then Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he made himself unrecognizable to them. Then he spoke harshly and said to them, “Where have you come from?” “From the land of Canaan,” they said, “to buy grain as food.”
• Deuteronomy 6:13You must fear Adonai your God and serve Him, and swear by His Name.
• 1 Samuel 1:26“It’s me, my lord!” she said. “As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman that stood by you here, praying to Adonai.
• 1 Samuel 17:55Now when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this boy?” Abner said, “As your soul lives, your majesty, I don’t know.”
• 1 Samuel 20:3Then David swore again saying, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes. So he must have thought, ‘Let’s not let Jonathan know about this, else he will be grieved.’ But truly as Adonai lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”
• Jeremiah 5:2Though they say, “As Adonai lives!” surely they swear falsely.
• Matthew 5:33“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall carry out your oaths to Adonai.’
• Matthew 23:16“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘Whoever swears by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Temple, he is obligated.’
• James 5:12But above all, my dear brothers and sisters, do not swear—either by heaven, or by the earth, or by any other oath. But let your “yes” be “yes,” and your “no,” be “no”—so that you may not fall under judgment.
• Genesis 42:20And your youngest brother, bring to me so that your words can be verified—and you won’t die.” So they did.
• Genesis 43:3But Judah said to him, “The man warned us firmly saying, ‘You won’t see my face unless your brother is with you.’
• Genesis 44:20So we said to my lord, ‘We have a father who is old, a child born to him of his old age is young. Now his brother is dead, so he is the only one of his mother’s children left, and his father loves him.’

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

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