Genesis 42:17
in Genesis 42So Joseph imprisoned them for three days,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he put them all together into ward three days.
KJV
And he put them all together into ward three days.
⋯
This verse in Genesis 42
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Just as I said, you are spies
on Genesis 42:14-17
The test he sets has one aim, getting Benjamin down to Egypt. As surely as Pharaoh lives is the oath, and Adam Clarke reads it as the speech of the Egyptian they take him to be. Then he holds all ten in custody for three days.
This site's exposition
So Joseph imprisoned them for three days
Custody here is mishmar in Hebrew, the word for the guard house of 40:3 where Joseph spent his own years beside Pharaoh's officials. He gives them three days of what he had for years. The third day brings release, as it did for the cupbearer at 40:20.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He concluded with them, at last, that one of them should be left as a hostage, and the rest should go home and fetch Benjamin.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And he put them all together into ward three days. In order to consult together, and agree who should be sent to fetch their brother; and which it seems probable in this length of time they could not agree upon, no one caring to be the bringer of such evil tidings to their father.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
put them . . . into ward three days--Their confinement had been designed to bring them to salutary reflection. And this object was attained, for they looked upon the retributive justice of God as now pursuing them in that foreign land. The drift of their conversation is one of the most striking instances on record of the power of conscience [Ge 42:21, 22].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֶּאֱסֹ֥ף | vaiyeesof | and he removed | H622 → | 200 times |
| אֹתָ֛ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מִשְׁמָ֖ר | mishmar | custody | H4929 → | 22 times |
| שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת | sheloshet | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| יָמִֽים׃ | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
וַיֶּאֱסֹ֥ףand he removed
vaiyeesofH622 →200 times
אֹתָ֛ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מִשְׁמָ֖רcustody
mishmarH4929 →22 times
שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁתthree
sheloshetH7969 →432 times
יָמִֽים׃days
yamimH3117 →2304 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 12:10Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 1:4
Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused…
- Leviticus 11:44–45
For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground.
- Titus 2:14
He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
- Ezekiel 36:25–27
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Ephesians 5:26–27
to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
- 2 Peter 1:4
Through
Genesis 40:7So he asked the officials of Pharaoh who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so downcast today?”
it leads to
- Nehemiah 2:2
so the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? This could only be sadness of the heart.” I was overwhelmed with fear
- Nehemiah 2:2
Through
Acts 4:3They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in custody until the next day.
it leads to
- Acts 5:18
and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
- Acts 5:18
Through
Leviticus 24:12They placed him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them.
it leads to
- Exodus 18:15–16
“Because the people come to me to inquire of God,” Moses replied.
- Exodus 18:15–16
Where this verse is studied
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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.