Year of the Bible
Genesis 42
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Commentary on the Book of Genesis, Chapter 42:
Among the people suffering from the famine are Joseph’s family. Ten of Joseph’s brothers journey to Egypt to purchase grain while Benjamin, Joseph’s full blood brother, stays home with Jacob. The brothers do not recognize Joseph but do bow down before him, just as Joseph’s dreams had promised (37:6-7, 9). Joseph demands that Benjamin be brought to him, and he holds Simeon hostage while the other brothers return home. Joseph also secretly returns the money the brothers had brought to purchase food. Jacob fears losing more sons, so he refuses to let Benjamin go to Egypt.
The Book of Genesis, Chapter 42:
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2 And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live, and not die.” 3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might befall him. 5 Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6 Now Joseph was governor over the land; he it was who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came, and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. 7 Joseph saw his brothers, and knew them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” 8 Thus Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not know him. 9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed of them; and he said to them, “You are spies, you have come to see the weakness of the land.” 10 They said to him, “No, my lord, but to buy food have your servants come. 11 We are all sons of one man, we are honest men, your servants are not spies.” 12 He said to them, “No, it is the weakness of the land that you have come to see.” 13 And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.” 14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies. 15 By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain in prison, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” 17 And he put them all together in prison for three days.
18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined in your prison, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, 20 and bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we would not listen; therefore is this distress come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the lad? But you would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” 23 They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. 24 Then he turned away from them and wept; and he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them.
Joseph’s Brothers Return to Canaan
26 Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain, and departed. 27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey food at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack; 28 and he said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!” At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had befallen them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us, and took us to be spies of the land. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men, we are not spies; 32 we are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. 34 Bring your youngest brother to me; then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver to you your brother, and you shall trade in the land.’”
35 As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were dismayed. 36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin; all this has come upon me.” 37 Then Reuben said to his father, “Slay my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” 38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he only is left. If harm should befall him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”
*Daily Lectio Divina Question:
None of us likes to be confronted with our past faults. We often get defensive and assume those around us will react harshly. Lord, are there things from my past that I haven't repented of or am afraid to bring to you? Help me to trust in your mercy, which can heal any and all of my sins.
Biblical Commentary provided by the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan. Join a Catholic Biblical School of Michigan class this September at Holy Family in Grand Blanc, or online.
Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
Permission to use the RSV-2CE given for Bishop's Year of the Bible by Ignatius Press. Many thanks to Ignatius for this.
If you're looking for a good Catholic edition of the Bible, look no further.
Jacob se enteró de que había grano
en Egipto, y dijo a sus hijos:
–¿Por qué estáis mirándoos unos a
otros? 2 He oído que hay grano en Egipto;
bajad allí y comprad para nosotros,
para que podamos vivir y no muramos.
3 Bajaron, pues, diez hermanos de
José a comprar grano a Egipto. 4 A Benjamín,
hermano de José, no lo envió Jacob
con sus hermanos, porque pensó:
«No vaya a sucederle alguna desgracia».
5 Los hijos de Israel llegaron junto
con otros que iban también a comprar,
porque reinaba el hambre en el país de
Canaán. 6 José era el gobernador del país
y el que vendía a toda la gente del país.
Llegaron sus hermanos y se postraron
ante él rostro en tierra. 7 Al ver José a sus
hermanos los reconoció; pero, fingiéndose
extraño, les habló duramente. Les
preguntó:
–¿De dónde venís?
Ellos respondieron:
–Del país de Canaán a comprar alimentos.
8 José había reconocido a sus hermanos
pero ellos no lo reconocieron a él.
9 Se acordó José de los sueños que había
tenido acerca de ellos, y les dijo:
–¡Vosotros sois espías! Habéis venido
a observar los puntos desguarnecidos
del país.
10 Le respondieron:
–No, señor, tus siervos han venido
a comprar alimentos; 11 todos nosotros
somos hijos del mismo padre, y somos
gente honrada; tus siervos no son
espías.
12 Les volvió a decir:
–No. Habéis venido a observar los
puntos desguarnecidos del país.
13 Respondieron:
–Nosotros, tus siervos, éramos doce
hermanos, hijos del mismo padre en elpaís de Canaán; el pequeño está ahora
con nuestro padre, y el otro ya no existe.
14 Les dijo de nuevo José:
–Os lo vuelvo a decir: vosotros sois
espías; 15 pero os voy a poner a prueba de
este modo: ¡Por vida del faraón! no saldréis
de aquí hasta que venga vuestro
hermano pequeño. 16 Enviad a uno de
vosotros que busque a vuestro hermano;
mientras tanto quedaréis presos, y se
pondrán a prueba vuestras palabras, a ver
si la verdad está de vuestra parte. Si no,
¡por vida del faraón!, es que sois espías.
17 Y los puso bajo custodia tres días.
18 Al tercer día les dijo José:
–Haced esto y viviréis, pues yo temo
a Dios. 19 Si sois gente honrada, ¡uno de
vuestros hermanos quede preso en la
cárcel! Los demás id a llevar el grano
comprado para remediar el hambre de
vuestras casas. 20 Después me traeréis a
vuestro hermano pequeño para poder
comprobar la verdad de vuestras palabras,
y no moriréis.
Así lo hicieron, 21 diciéndose los hermanos
entre sí:
–En verdad somos culpables respecto
a nuestro hermano, pues vimos su
angustia cuando nos pedía piedad y no
le escuchamos; por eso nos sobreviene
esta desgracia.
22 Les replicó Rubén:
–¿No os dije que no pecaseis contra
el muchacho, y no me hicisteis caso?
Ahora nos piden cuenta de su sangre.
23 Ellos ignoraban que José entendía,
pues entre ellos había habido un intérprete.
24 José se retiró de su lado y rompió
a llorar; luego volvió a donde estaban
y les habló de nuevo. Eligió de entre
ellos a Simeón y le hizo prender delante
de todos. 25 Después José dio órdenes de
que les llenaran los envases de grano, les
devolvieran su dinero, a cada uno en su
saco, y les dieran provisiones para el camino.
Y así lo hicieron.
26 Cargaron el grano en los asnos y
partieron. 27 Cuando en el lugar donde
pernoctaron uno de ellos abrió su saco
para dar pienso al asno, vio el dinero
que estaba en la boca del saco 28 y dijo a
sus hermanos:
–Me han devuelto el dinero; está
también en mi saco.
Entonces se sobresaltaron y aterrados
se decían unos a otros:
–¿Qué es lo que ha hecho Dios con
nosotros?
29 Llegaron a donde estaba Jacob, su
padre, en la tierra de Canaán y le contaron
todo lo que les había sucedido, diciendo:
30 –El señor del país nos habló duramente
y nos tomó por espías del territorio.
31 Le respondimos: «Nosotros somos
gente honrada; no somos espías; 32 éramos
doce hermanos, hijos del mismo
padre, uno ya no existe, y el pequeño
está ahora con nuestro padre en el país
de Canaán». 33 Entonces el señor del país
nos replicó: «De esta forma sabré que
sois gente honrada: dejad conmigo a
uno de los hermanos, tomad lo necesario
para remediar el hambre de vuestras
casas y marchaos. 34 Después me traeréis
a vuestro hermano pequeño y así sabré
que no sois espías, sino gente honrada.
Entonces os devolveré a vuestro hermano
y podréis circular por el país».
35 Cuando vaciaron los sacos, encontró
cada uno su bolsa de dinero dentro,
y al ver las bolsas con el dinero, tanto
ellos como su padre se llenaron de temor.
36 Les dijo su padre Jacob:
–Me estáis dejando sin hijos; José
ya no existe, Simeón tampoco, y queréis
llevaros a Benjamín. Todo recae sobre
mí.
37 Respondió Rubén a su padre:
–Puedes matar a mis dos hijos si no
te lo devuelvo; confíamelo que yo te lo
devolveré. Pero él dijo:
–Mi hijo no bajará con vosotros,
pues su hermano murió y sólo queda
él; si le ocurriera alguna desgracia en el
viaje que vais a emprender, haríais bajar
de pena mis canas al sheol.
Pregunta de Lectio Divina del día de hoy
La Biblia de Navarra
Permiso para usar esta versión de la primera edición de la Biblia de Navarra
para el Año de la Biblia del Obispo
dado por Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, S.A. (EUNSA).