2
He said,וַיֹּאמֶר“Look,הִנֵּהI have heardשָׁמַעְתִּיthatכִּיthere isיֶשׁgrainשֶׁבֶרin Egypt.בְּמִצְרָיִםGo downרְדוּthereשָׁמָּהand buyוְשִׁבְרוּfor usלָנוּfrom there,מִשָּׁםso that we may liveוְנִחְיֶהand notוְלֹאdie.”נָמוּת
Genesis 42:2
Study it in the app“He said, “Look, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy for us from there, so that we may live and not die.””
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 42:2, word by word
- He saidיֹּאמֶרyomer
say
To say with the mouth to someone what one thinks or wants, or to answer him.
Where else “yomer” appears- I have heardשָׁמַעְתִּיshamati
hear
To hear a sound, or learn of something.
Where else “shamati” appears- grainשֶׁבֶרshever
grain
Grain bought or sold.
Where else “shever” appears- in Egyptמִצְרָיִםmitsrayim
Egypt, Mizraim
See it on the mapWhere else “mitsrayim” appears- Go downרְדוּredu
go down
To go from a higher place to a lower one, like from the mountain to the valley.
Where else “redu” appears- and buyשִׁבְרוּshivru
buy grain
To get wheat or barley by paying for it, especially in time of famine.
Where else “shivru” appears- so that we may liveנִחְיֶהnichye
live
To have breath and remain in this world, not die.
Where else “nichye” appears- dieנָמוּתnamut
die
To cease living; also, one who has ceased living.
Where else “namut” appears
Places in this verse
Egypt
Today: Egypt (Nile Valley)
A country in northeast Africa along the Nile River, southwest of Israel.
Joseph was sold into it, and his family went down to live there (Gen 37:28; 46:6). God brought Israel out of it with a mighty hand (Exod 12:41). The child Jesus fled there with his parents (Matt 2:14).
The context
1Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at one another?”
2 · This verse (above)
3So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
To study Genesis 42 in a group
1. What it says
What did Joseph do when he saw his brothers, and what did they find in their sacks (vv. 7-28)?
2. What it means
Why did the brothers say they were paying for what they did to their brother (v. 21)?
3. How I live it
What mistake from the past do you need to face honestly today?