Genesis 42:9
in Genesis 42Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
KJV
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
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This verse in Genesis 42
Commentary
5 notes on this verseYe are spies - מרגלים אתם meraggelim attem, ye are footmen, trampers about, footpads, vagabonds, lying in wait for the property of others; persons who, under the pretense of wishing to buy corn, desire only to find out whether the land be so defenceless that the tribes to which ye belong (see Gen 42:11) may attack it successfully, drive out the inhabitants, and settle in it themselves; or, having plundered it, retire to their deserts. This is a frequent custom among the Arabs to the present day.
This site's exposition
Joseph remembered his dreams about them
More than twenty years on, the dreams are the first thing the text names about Joseph. Ten men are on the ground, and both Benjamin and their father are missing, so the second dream of the sun, moon and eleven stars still waits. Genesis gave the rule at 41:32, that a dream doubled is a matter decreed by God, who will carry it out shortly. Joseph told Pharaoh so, and now he watches it happen.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them,....
He showed himself very rigorous and harsh with them. The very manner of his speaking, considering the post he was in, was enough to frighten them; for he spoke roughly to them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A 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.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּזְכֹּ֣ר | vaiyizkor | and he remembered | H2142 → | 230 times |
| יוֹסֵ֔ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַחֲלֹמ֔וֹת | hachalomot | the dreams | H2472 → | 65 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| חָלַ֖ם | chalam | he had dreamed | H2492 → | 29 times |
| לָהֶ֑ם | lahem | of <the> them | ||
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶם֙ | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מְרַגְּלִ֣ים | meragelim | [are] spies | H7270 → | 25 times |
| אַתֶּ֔ם | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| לִרְא֛וֹת | lirot | to see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֶרְוַ֥ת | ʾervat | [the] nakedness of | H6172 → | 54 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| בָּאתֶֽם׃ | batem | you have come | H935 → | 2568 times |
וַיִּזְכֹּ֣רand he remembered
vaiyizkorH2142 →230 times
יוֹסֵ֔ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
הַחֲלֹמ֔וֹתthe dreams
hachalomotH2472 →65 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
חָלַ֖םhe had dreamed
chalamH2492 →29 times
לָהֶ֑םof <the> them
lahem
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶם֙to them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
מְרַגְּלִ֣ים[are] spies
meragelimH7270 →25 times
אַתֶּ֔םyou
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
לִרְא֛וֹתto see
lirotH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֶרְוַ֥ת[the] nakedness of
ʾervatH6172 →54 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
בָּאתֶֽם׃you have come
batemH935 →2568 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
Hebrews 11:31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
it leads to
- James 2:25
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 1:5
Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 6:22–25
Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised…
- Joshua 2:1–24
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
- Matthew 1:1
This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
- James 2:25
Through
Joshua 2:1Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:31
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
- Numbers 13:17–21
When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev and into the hill country.
- Hebrews 11:31
Through
Exodus 32:35And the LORD sent a plague on the people because of what they had done with the calf that Aaron had made.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 12:9–10
Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own, for you have…
- 2 Samuel 12:9–10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.