Genesis 42:10
in Genesis 42“Not so, my lord,” they replied. “Your servants have come to buy food.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
KJV
And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
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This verse in Genesis 42
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Ye are spies--This is a suspicion entertained regarding strangers in all Eastern countries down to the present day. Joseph, however, who was well aware that his brethren were not spies, has been charged with cruel dissimulation, with a deliberate violation of what he knew to be the truth, in imputing to them such a character.
This site's exposition
Your servants have come to buy food
on Genesis 42:10-13
Under pressure they hand over the family register, twelve brothers, the sons of one man in Canaan, and they tell the lord of the land that one brother is no more. John Gill notes that their first answer had sounded as if there were no other sons, so the fuller count reads like a story adjusted under test. The brother they call no more is listening.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
)--a great change since they said, Behold, this dreamer comes. They very modestly deny the charge: We are no spies. They tell him their business, that they came to buy food, a justifiable errand, and the same that many strangers came to Egypt upon at this time.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And they said unto him, nay, my lord,.... One in the name of the rest, or each in his turn, denying that they were spies, and addressing him with the greatest reverence and submission, calling him their lord, and thus further accomplishing his dreams: but to buy food are thy servants come; that and no other was the errand they came upon.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֖יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | no | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֑י | ʾadoni | O lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| וַעֲבָדֶ֥יךָ | vaavadeikha | and servants your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| בָּ֖אוּ | bau | they have come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לִשְׁבָּר־ | lishbor- | to buy | H7666 → | 21 times |
| אֹֽכֶל׃ | ʾokhel | food | H400 → | 43 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֥וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֖יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
לֹ֣אno
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֲדֹנִ֑יO lord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
וַעֲבָדֶ֥יךָand servants your
vaavadeikhaH5650 →799 times
בָּ֖אוּthey have come
bauH935 →2568 times
לִשְׁבָּר־to buy
lishbor-H7666 →21 times
אֹֽכֶל׃food
ʾokhelH400 →43 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 27:29May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you…
it leads to
- Numbers 24:9
He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”
- Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
- Isaiah 49:23
Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD;…
- Romans 9:12
not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”
- Genesis 9:25–26
he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
- Numbers 24:9
Through
1 Samuel 26:17Then Saul recognized David’s voice and asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” “It is my voice, my lord and king,” David said.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 24:16
When David had finished saying these things, Saul called back, “Is that your voice, David my son?” Then Saul wept aloud
- 1 Samuel 24:16
Through
Genesis 44:9If any of your servants is found to have it, he must die, and the rest will become slaves of my lord.”
it leads to
- Genesis 31:32
If you find your gods with anyone here, he shall not live! In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself if anything is yours, and take it back.” For Jacob did not know…
- Genesis 31:32
Through
Genesis 27:37But Isaac answered Esau: “Look, I have made him your master and given him all his relatives as servants; I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can…
it leads to
- Genesis 27:28–29
May God give to you the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth—an abundance of grain and new wine.
- Genesis 27:28–29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.