Genesis Chapter Forty-Two Series

GENESIS CHAPTER FORTY-TWO OVERVIEW

Overall what is happening in this chapter is that the brothers of Joseph go to Egypt to buy grain.

Thomas Coke (1801) – Genesis 42

Jacob sends his sons into Egypt to buy corn, but keeps Benjamin at home. Joseph knows his brethren, though they know not him. He pretends to think them spies, and commands them to bring Benjamin to him. They returned from Egypt, and relate the matter to their father, who refuses to let Benjamin go down with them.

Joseph Benson’s Commentary (1857) – Genesis 42

We have in this chapter:

(1) The humble application of Jacob’s sons to Joseph, to buy corn, (Genesis 42:1-6).

(2) The fright Joseph put them into, for their trial, (Genesis 42:7-20).

(3) The conviction they were now under of their sin concerning Joseph long before, (Genesis 42:21-24).

(4) Their return to Canaan with corn, and the great distress their good father was in, upon the account they gave him of their expedition, (Genesis 42:25-38).

Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge (2010) – Genesis 42

Overview:

Jacob sends his ten sons to buy corn in Egypt; (Genesis 42:1)

They are imprisoned by Joseph for spies; (Genesis 42:16)

They are set at liberty, on condition to bring Benjamin; (Genesis 42:18)

They have remorse for Joseph; (Genesis 42:21)

Simeon is kept for a pledge; (Genesis 42:24)

They return with corn, and their money; (Genesis 42:25)

Their relation to Jacob; (Genesis 42:29)

Jacob refuses to send Benjamin. (Genesis 42:36)

John Gill (1746) – Genesis 42

This chapter relates how that Jacob having heard there was corn in Egypt, sent all his sons but Benjamin thither to buy corn, (Genesis 42:1); and coming before Joseph, they bowed to him, and he knowing them, though they knew not him, spoke roughly to them, and charged them with being spies, (Genesis 42:6); they in their defense urged that they were the sons of one man in Canaan, with whom their youngest brother was left, on which Joseph ordered them to send for him, to prove them true men, (Genesis 42:10); and put them all into prison for three days, and then released them, and sent them away to fetch their brother, (Genesis 42:17); this brought to mind their treatment of Joseph, and they confessed their guilt to each other, which Joseph heard, and greatly affected him, they supposing he understood them not, and before he dismissed them bound Simeon before their eyes, whom he retained till they returned, (Genesis 42:21); then he ordered his servants to fill their sacks with corn, and put each man's money in his sack, which one of them on the road found, opening his sack for provender, filled them all with great surprise and fear, (Genesis 42:25); upon their return to Jacob they related all that had befallen them, and particularly that the governor insisted on having Benjamin brought to him, (Genesis 42:29); their sacks being opened, all their money was found in them, which greatly distressed them and Jacob also, who was very unwilling to let Benjamin go, though Reuben offered his two sons as pledges for him, and himself to be a surety, (Genesis 42:35).

Thomas Constable (2012) – Genesis 42

Joseph awakened his brothers' guilty consciences when he put his brothers in prison as spies after they had come to Egypt for grain. By keeping Simeon hostage while allowing the others to bring Benjamin back, Joseph pricked their consciences even more.

Joseph treated his brothers as he did to discover how they felt toward Jacob and Benjamin, who had taken Joseph's place in Jacob's affections. He also did so to see if they had genuinely repented of their sin against himself. He apparently did not act out of revenge, and he was not vindictive. Joseph simply wanted to uncover his brothers' hearts.

"Joseph's tests of his brothers were important in God's plan to channel his blessing through the seed of Abraham. God had planned to bring the family to Egypt so that it might grow into a great nation [Genesis 15:13]. But because the people who would form that nation had to be faithful, the brothers needed to be tested before they could share in the blessing. Joseph's prodding had to be subtle; the brothers had to perceive that God was moving against them so that they would acknowledge their crime against Joseph and demonstrate that they had changed. If they failed the test, God could have started over with Joseph, just as he had said he would with Moses in Exodus 32:10, when his wrath was kindled against Israel."

Matthew Henry (1714) – Genesis 42

We had, in the foregoing chapter, the fulfilling of the dreams which Joseph had interpreted: in this and the following chapters we have the fulfilling of the dreams which Joseph himself had dreamed, that his father's family should do homage to him. The story is very largely and particularly related of what passed between Joseph and his brethren, not only because it is an entertaining story, and probably was much talked of, both among the Israelites and among the Egyptians, but because it is very instructive, and it gave occasion for the removal of Jacob's family into Egypt, on which so many great events afterwards depended.