✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Gênesis 42

ARC · Chapter 42/50

1Vendo então Jacob que havia mantimento no Egypto, disse Jacob a seus filhos: Porque estaes olhando uns para os outros?

2Disse mais: Eis que tenho ouvido que ha mantimentos no Egypto; descei para lá, e comprae-nos d'ali, para que vivamos e não morramos.

3Então desceram os dez irmãos de José, para comprarem trigo do Egypto.

4A Benjamin, porém, irmão de José não enviou Jacob com os seus irmãos, porque dizia: Para que lhe não succeda porventura algum desastre.

5Assim vieram os filhos de Israel para comprar, entre os que vinham lá; porque havia fome na terra de Canaan.

6José, pois, era o governador d'aquella terra; elle vendia a todo o povo da terra; e os irmãos de José vieram, e inclinaram-se a elle com a face na terra.

7E José, vendo os seus irmãos, conheceu-os; porém mostrou-se estranho para com elles, e fallou com elles asperamente, e disse-lhes: D'onde vindes? E elles disseram: Da terra de Canaan, para comprarmos mantimento.

8José, pois, conheceu os seus irmãos; mas elles não o conheceram.

9Então José lembrou-se dos sonhos, que havia sonhado d'elles, e disse-lhes: Vós sois espias, e sois vindos para ver a nudez da terra.

10E elles lhe disseram: Não, senhor meu; mas teus servos são vindos a comprar mantimento.

11Todos nós somos filhos de um varão; somos homens de rectidão; os teus servos não são espias.

12E elle lhes disse: Não; antes viestes para ver a nudez da terra.

13E elles disseram: Nós, teus servos, somos doze irmãos, filhos de um varão na terra de Canaan; e eis que aqui o mais novo está com nosso pae hoje; mas um não está mais.

14Então lhes disse José: Isso é o que vos tenho dito, dizendo que sois espias:

15N'isto sereis provados; pela vida de Pharaó, não saireis d'aqui senão quando vosso irmão mais novo vier aqui.

16Enviae um d'entre vós, que traga vosso irmão, mas vós ficareis presos, e vossas palavras sejam provadas, se ha verdade comvosco; e se não, pela vida de Pharaó, vós sois espias.

17E pôl-os juntos em guarda tres dias.

18E ao terceiro dia disse-lhes José: Fazei isso, e vivereis; porque eu temo a Deus.

19Se sois homens de rectidão, que fique um de vossos irmãos preso na casa de vossa prisão; e vós ide, levae mantimento para a fome de vossa casa,

20E trazei-me o vosso irmão mais novo, e serão verificadas vossas palavras, e não morrereis. E elles assim fizeram.

21Então disseram uns aos outros: Na verdade, somos culpados ácerca de nosso irmão, pois vimos a angustia da sua alma, quando nos rogava; nós porém não ouvimos: por isso vem sobre nós esta angustia.

22E Ruben respondeu-lhes, dizendo: Não vol-o dizia eu, dizendo: Não pequeis contra o moço; mas não ouvistes: e vêdes aqui, o seu sangue tambem á requerido.

23E elles não sabiam que José os entendia, porque havia interprete entre elles.

24E retirou-se d'elles, e chorou. Depois tornou a elles, e fallou-lhes, e tomou a Simeão d'elles, e amarrou-o perante os seus olhos.

25E ordenou José, que enchessem os seus saccos de trigo, e que lhes restituissem o seu dinheiro a cada um no seu sacco, e lhes dessem comida para o caminho; e fizeram-lhes assim.

26E carregaram o seu trigo sobre os seus jumentos, e partiram d'ali.

27E, abrindo um d'elles o seu sacco, para dar pasto ao seu jumento na venda, viu o seu dinheiro; porque eis que estava na bocca do seu sacco.

28E disse a seus irmãos: Tornou-se o meu dinheiro, e eil-o tambem aqui no meu sacco. Então lhes desfalleceu o coração, e pasmavam, dizendo um ao outro: Que é isto que Deus nos tem feito?

29E vieram para Jacob, seu pae, na terra de Canaan; e contaram-lhe tudo o que lhes aconteceu, dizendo:

30O varão, o senhor da terra, fallou comnosco asperamente, e tratou-nos como espias da terra;

31Mas dissemos-lhe: Somos homens de rectidão: não somos espias:

32Somos doze irmãos, filhos de nosso pae; um não é mais, e o mais novo está hoje com nosso pae na terra de Canaan.

33E aquelle varão, o senhor da terra, nos disse: N'isto conhecerei que vós sois homens de rectidão; deixae commigo um de vossos irmãos, e tomae para a fome de vossas casas, e parti,

34E trazei-me vosso irmão mais novo; assim saberei que não sois espias, mas homens de rectidão; então vos darei o vosso irmão e negociareis na terra.

35E aconteceu que, despejando elles os seus saccos, eis que cada um tinha a trouxinha com seu dinheiro no seu sacco; e viram as trouxinhas com seu dinheiro, elles e seu pae, e temeram.

36Então Jacob, seu pae, disse-lhes: Tendes-me desfilhado; José não está mais, e Simeão não está mais: agora levareis a Benjamin. Todas estas coisas vieram sobre mim.

37Mas Ruben fallou a seu pae, dizendo: Mata os meus dois filhos, se t'o não tornar a trazer; dá-m'o em minha mão, e t'o tornarei a trazer.

38Elle porém disse: Não descerá meu filho comvosco; porquanto o seu irmão é morto, e elle só ficou. Se lhe succedesse algum desastre no caminho que fordes, fareis descer minhas cãs com tristeza á sepultura.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Because of the famine, Joseph's ten brothers go to Egypt to buy grain and bow down before him without recognizing him; Joseph tests them, holds Simeon as a hostage, and demands that they bring Benjamin on their next trip.

Explanation

This chapter brings a moment of quiet poetic justice: the same brothers who once bowed figuratively before Joseph's dreams now bow literally before him, fulfilling a decades-old prophecy without even realizing it. Joseph, recognizing them but remaining disguised, does not seek immediate revenge but seems to genuinely test whether his brothers had changed, especially in how they would treat Benjamin, Rachel's other son. The moment when the brothers, unaware that Joseph understands them (because of the interpreter), express genuine remorse for what they did to Joseph years earlier ('we are verily guilty concerning our brother,' v. 21) shows real moral growth, leading Joseph to step away and weep in private. The lesson for today is that sincere repentance, even when it comes late, is recognized and valued, and that reconciliation often requires time and proof of genuine change.

Fun facts

  • The fact that Joseph communicates with his brothers through an interpreter (v. 23) — despite understanding their Hebrew perfectly — is a detail that reinforces just how hidden his identity remains, heightening the dramatic tension of the scene for the reader who already knows the truth.
  • Jacob's reluctance to let Benjamin go to Egypt (v. 38) reflects his deep-seated fear, still carrying the trauma of Joseph's supposed death, showing how the pain of losing a child can shape family decisions for decades.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Gênesis 42:1Jacob demands practical action from his sons: knowing there is grain in Egypt, just staring at one another does nothing to solve the hunger at home.
  2. Gênesis 42:2Jacob sends his sons down to buy grain in Egypt — the decision that will bring the family closer to Joseph again, without anyone in Canaan knowing it yet.
  3. Gênesis 42:3Joseph’s ten older brothers go down to buy wheat — the whole group except the youngest.
  4. Gênesis 42:4Jacob doesn’t let Benjamin go along, afraid some disaster might happen to him — the same kind of fear that, decades earlier, hadn’t stopped the tragedy with Joseph.
  5. Gênesis 42:5Jacob’s sons arrive in Egypt mixed in among other buyers, since the famine was also hitting Canaan, not just Egypt.
  6. Gênesis 42:6The brothers bow before Joseph, governor of the land, with their faces to the ground — unknowingly fulfilling exactly the image from the dream of the sheaves told back in chapter 37.
  7. Gênesis 42:7Joseph recognizes his brothers right away, but pretends to be a stranger, speaks harshly, and asks where they’re from — hiding his own identity behind the office.
  8. Gênesis 42:8The text confirms the imbalance of the scene: Joseph recognizes them, but they have no idea that this powerful governor is the brother they sold as a slave.
  9. Gênesis 42:9Joseph accuses the brothers of being spies come to see the “nakedness of the land,” an expression that means checking a country’s weak, unprotected spots, like military reconnaissance. It’s a serious accusation, and also ironic: Joseph knows exactly who they are, but uses the accusation to test them.
  10. Gênesis 42:10The brothers deny the accusation, insisting they only came to buy grain like any other traveler.
  11. Gênesis 42:11They stress that they are all sons of the same father, honest men, not spies — trying to prove honesty precisely before someone who knows they already lied once, about Joseph.
  12. Gênesis 42:12Joseph keeps up the accusation even in the face of their defense, continuing the test he’s setting up.
  13. Gênesis 42:13Under pressure, the brothers reveal the family’s real makeup: twelve brothers in all, one no longer exists, and the youngest stayed with their father — without knowing they’re speaking to the brother they consider dead.
  14. Gênesis 42:14Joseph uses their own explanation to reinforce the accusation, saying it’s exactly what he had already said.
  15. Gênesis 42:15“By the life of Pharaoh” was a common oath formula in Egypt, similar to swearing by God today. Using this expression reinforces that Joseph is speaking there as an official Egyptian authority, not as a private individual.
  16. Gênesis 42:16Joseph proposes a concrete test: one of them will go get the youngest brother while the others stay imprisoned, to prove whether the story is true.
  17. Gênesis 42:17Joseph keeps them all imprisoned together for three days, perhaps to let them reflect on the situation.
  18. Gênesis 42:18On the third day, Joseph changes the terms of the test, justifying the decision by saying he fears God — a line that sounds almost ironic, coming from someone still hiding his own identity from his brothers.
  19. Gênesis 42:19The new proposal is milder: only one needs to stay imprisoned, while the rest carry grain back to the family starving at home.
  20. Gênesis 42:20Joseph demands they bring the youngest brother as final proof of their story — the demand that will later force Jacob to release Benjamin.
  21. Gênesis 42:21Not knowing Joseph understands them, the brothers confess to each other, right there, the guilt they carry for ignoring his anguish when they sold him.
  22. Gênesis 42:22Reuben recalls that he had already warned them not to sin against the boy, and now feels that blood, symbolically spilled, is being called to account against them.
  23. Gênesis 42:23The brothers don’t know they’re speaking with Joseph because, in the conversation, there was an interpreter translating — Joseph pretends not to understand their language and uses this go-between. That’s how he manages to hear everything they say to each other without being recognized.
  24. Gênesis 42:24Joseph withdraws alone to weep, hiding his emotion, and only afterward returns to have Simeon bound before them all, as part of the test.
  25. Gênesis 42:25Joseph orders the money the brothers paid for the wheat to be secretly returned inside their sacks, without their knowledge. It isn’t a simple act of generosity: it creates confusion and fear later, and works as one more test, since finding silver they hadn’t paid looks like proof of theft.
  26. Gênesis 42:26The brothers load the wheat they bought onto the donkeys and set out back to Canaan, with no idea of the surprise waiting for them on the way.
  27. Gênesis 42:27Stopping to feed his donkey, one of them opens his sack and finds his own money back, untouched — a frightening mystery instead of good news.
  28. Gênesis 42:28Fear grips the brothers, who ask each other what God is doing to them — reading the returned money as a sign of something bigger at play.
  29. Gênesis 42:29Arriving in Canaan, they tell Jacob everything that happened in Egypt, including the accusation of spying.
  30. Gênesis 42:30They report the governor’s harsh treatment and the accusation that they were spies of the land.
  31. Gênesis 42:31They repeat their own defense: they are honest men, not spies.
  32. Gênesis 42:32They explain the family’s makeup to their father, the same way they had already explained it to Joseph — twelve brothers, one no longer exists, the youngest stayed home.
  33. Gênesis 42:33They tell him the governor’s proposal: leave one brother behind, take grain home, and prove the truth by bringing the youngest brother.
  34. Gênesis 42:34They explain that, by meeting this condition, they could get their imprisoned brother back and even trade freely in the land of Egypt.
  35. Gênesis 42:35Emptying the sacks, they discover that all of them, not just one, had their own money back — fear spreads through the whole family.
  36. Gênesis 42:36Jacob laments having lost Joseph and now Simeon, and resists the idea of risking Benjamin too — feeling everything is conspiring against him.
  37. Gênesis 42:37Reuben offers himself as an extreme guarantee, pledging the lives of his own two sons if he doesn’t bring Benjamin back — a desperate offer that doesn’t convince Jacob.
  38. Gênesis 42:38Saying something will bring someone’s “gray hairs” down to the grave is an old way of saying it will kill the person from grief in old age — gray hairs being a sign of advanced age. Jacob is saying that losing Benjamin too would be the end of him.

Chapters

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play