Genesis 42 Back to blog

Genesis 42

13 Feb 2026 - Theology

Joseph’s Brothers Come to Egypt

Genesis 42:1 - “Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?”

How did Jacob “see” from the land of Canaan that there was grain in Egypt? No, Jacob must have heard; he did not physically see.

Grain = sheber or שֶׁבֶר
Hope = seber or שֵׂבֶר

Jacob “saw” via a divine glimpse that there was still hope in Egypt.

Genesis 42:6 - “And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.”

This is the first instance of the brothers bowing down to Joseph (without knowing it was him), which was foretold by Joseph as a child in Genesis 37.

Why did Joseph accuse his brothers of being spies and imprison them? This was a calculated test to see if they would protect Benjamin, the only other son of Rachel, thereby demonstrating that they have repented for their past jealousy.

Genesis 42:21-22 - “And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.”

This is the first time that Joseph is hearing his brothers show remorse in verse 21. This is also the first time Joseph is hearing that his brother Reuben tried to save him from his other brothers. In verse 24, it says Joseph left them and wept, before returning and continuing his plan.

Why did Joseph take and bind Simeon in front of his brothers? Why not a different brother? The Bible does not say that the brothers chose Simeon, so it must have been Joseph’s choice. Perhaps Joseph remembers as a child when Simeon and Levi killed all the men of Shechem because of the rape of their sister Dinah in Genesis 34. It is possible that he did not want to keep Simeon and Levi together in case they would make a plan to kill him.

Genesis 42:37 - “And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.”

When Reuben asks Jacob to bring his brother Benjamin to Joseph, he offers up his two sons as collateral in case something goes wrong. In verse 38, we read that Jacob does not allow Reuben and his brothers to take Benjamin, because he has already lost one son of Rachel in Joseph, and could not bear it if something happened to Benjamin.

Genesis 42

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