Genesis 42:1 BSB — MannaFest

Genesis 42:1

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?

KJV

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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Commentary

4 voices

Ambrose of Milan

On Joseph the Patriarch (397)

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."

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

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.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The famine was grievous in the land of Canaan. It is observable that all the three patriarchs, 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. xi.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt--learned from common rumor. It is evident from Jacob's language that his own and his sons' families had suffered greatly from the scarcity; and through the increasing severity of the scourge, those men, who had formerly shown both activity and spirit, were sinking into despondency.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיַּ֣רְא	vai.Yar'	and he saw	H7200 →
יַעֲקֹ֔ב	ya.'a.Ko	Jacob	H3290 →
כִּ֥י	ki	that	H3588 →
יֶשׁ־	yesh-	there	H3426 →
שֶׁ֖בֶר	She.ver	[was] grain	H7668 →
בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם	be.mitz.Ra.yim	in Egypt	H4714 →
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר	vai.Yo.mer	and he said	H559 →
יַעֲקֹב֙	ya.'a.Ko	Jacob	H3290 →
לְבָנָ֔יו	le.va.Nav	to sons his	H1121 →
לָ֖מָּה	La.mah	<to> why?	H4100 →
תִּתְרָאֽוּ׃	tit.ra.'U	are you looking at one another	H7200 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Joshua 7:10
But the LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen on your face?
leads to
- 1 Samuel 16:1
  Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending…
- Exodus 14:15
  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.
- 1 Chronicles 22:16
  in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and may the LORD be with you.”
- 1 Samuel 15:22
  But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of…
Through
Genesis 42:2
“Look,” he added, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
leads to
- Genesis 43:8
  And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our children.
- Genesis 43:2
  So when Jacob’s sons had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
1 Kings 19:3
And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
leads to
- Genesis 21:31
  So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.
- Matthew 26:70–74
  But he denied it before them all: “I do not know what you are talking about.”

Featured studies on this passage

Walks through Genesis 42

Irony in Scripture: More Than the Speaker Knows

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About Genesis

The Creation of Light — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

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01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Genesis

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Genesis