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?

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Jacob	יַעֲקֹ֔ב ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · proper noun, a man's name
saw	וַיַּ֣רְא vai.Yar'	H7200	to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
was	יֶשׁ yesh-	H3426	there is or are (or any other form of the verb to be · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
corn	שֶׁ֖בֶר She.ver	H7668	grain (as if broken into kernels) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Egypt	בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם be.mitz.Ra.yim	H4714	Mitsrajim · preposition + proper noun, a place name
Jacob	יַעֲקֹב֙ ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · proper noun, a man's name
said	וַיֹּ֤אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
sons	לְבָנָ֔יו le.va.Nav	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
look	תִּתְרָאֽוּ tit.ra.'U	H7200	to see · verb, hithpael imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Acts 7:12 But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
Joshua 7:10 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
Genesis 41:54 And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt the…
Genesis 41:57 And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.
Genesis 42:2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not d…
Exodus 5:19 And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your brick…
Exodus 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw…
1 Kings 19:3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 42:1-6

Though Jacob's sons were all married, and had families of their own, yet, it should seem, they were still incorporated in one society, under the conduct and presidency of their father Jacob. We have here, I. The orders he gave them to go and buy corn in Egypt, Gen 42:1, Gen 42:2. Observe, 1. The famine was grievous in the land of Canaan. It is observable that all the three patriarches, to whom Canaan was the land of promise, met with famine in that land, which was not only to try their faith, whether they could trust God though he should slay them, though he should starve them, but to teach them to seek the better country, that is, the heavenly, Heb 11:14-16. We have need of something to wea…

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Adam Clarke on Genesis 42:1

Jacob saw that there was corn - That is, Jacob heard from the report of others that there was plenty in Egypt. The operations of one sense, in Hebrew, are often put for those of another. Before agriculture was properly known and practiced, famines were frequent; Canaan seems to have been peculiarly vexed by them. There was one in this land in the time of Abraham, Gen 12:10; another in the days of Isaac, Gen 26:1; and now a third in the time of Jacob. To this St. Stephen alludes, Act 7:11 : there was great affliction, and our fathers found no sustenance.

John Gill on Genesis 42:1

Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt,.... That is, to be sold there, or otherwise it being there, unless it could be bought, would have been of no avail to foreigners; wherefore the Septuagint version is, that there was a sale (w) there, a sale of corn; the word has the signification of "breaking" (x) in it, because that bread corn is broke in the mill, or is broken from the heap when sold or distributed, or because when eaten it breaks the fast. Now Jacob had either seen persons passing by with corn, of whom he inquired from whence they had it, who replied, from Egypt; or he understood by the report of others that corn was to be bought there; though some of the Jewish writers wou…

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The Church Fathers

And Jacob said to his sons, "Why are you idle? Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy food for us." This is not something Jacob said one time; he says it daily to his sons who come to Christ's grace too late, "Why are you idle? Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt." From this grain there comes the grain that rises again. And so whoever suffers famine ought to attribute it to his own laziness. "Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt." Generally, indeed, younger men hear of something more quickly than their elders, for many of the former travel about and are engaged out of doors. But an old man is the first to hear of this business matter, yet an old man who has lived to a great age in faith, an old man whose old age is worthy of respect, and the time of his old age is a spotless life.
— Ambrose of Milan, On Joseph the Patriarch

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Corn — The word so rendered (dagan) in Gen. 27:28, 37, Num. 18:27, Deut. 28:51, Lam. 2:12, is a general term representing all the commodities we usually describe by the words corn, grain, seeds, peas,…
Joseph — Remover or increaser. (1.) The elder of the two sons of Jacob by Rachel (Gen. 30:23, 24), who, on the occasion of his birth, said, “God hath taken away [Heb. ‘asaph] my reproach.” “The Lord shall add…
Egypt · History of Israel in: Joseph’s ten brethren arrive — History of Israel in: Joseph’s ten brethren arrive

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 42:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 42:1-6

Adam Clarke on Genesis 42:1

John Gill on Genesis 42:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 42:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 42:1-6

Adam Clarke on Genesis 42:1

John Gill on Genesis 42:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 42:1-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 42:1–end

Rashi on Genesis 42:1