בראשית 42

1 וירא יעקב כי יש שבר במצרים ויאמר יעקב לבניו למה תתראו

When someone told Jacob that there was grain in Egypt that people could buy, he said to his sons, “(Why do you just sit there looking at each other?/Do not just sit there looking at each other!) [RHQ] We need some grain!”

2 ויאמר--הנה שמעתי כי יש שבר במצרים רדו שמה ושברו לנו משם ונחיה ולא נמות

He said to them, “Someone told me that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, in order that we will not die!”

3 וירדו אחי יוסף עשרה לשבר בר ממצרים

So Joseph’s ten [older] brothers went down to Egypt to buy some grain.

4 ואת בנימין אחי יוסף לא שלח יעקב את אחיו כי אמר פן יקראנו אסון

But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s [younger] brother, to go with the others, because he was afraid/worried that something terrible might happen to him like what happened to Joseph.

5 ויבאו בני ישראל לשבר בתוך הבאים כי היה הרעב בארץ כנען

So Jacob’s other sons went down from Canaan to Egypt to buy grain, and others from there went too, because there was a famine in Canaan also.

6 ויוסף הוא השליט על הארץ--הוא המשביר לכל עם הארץ ויבאו אחי יוסף וישתחוו לו אפים ארצה

At that time Joseph was the governor of Egypt. He was the one who sold grain to people who came from all over Egypt and from many other countries [HYP] to buy grain. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, [they were told that it was necessary for them to talk with Joseph. So they went to him and] prostrated themselves before him with their faces to the ground.

7 וירא יוסף את אחיו ויכרם ויתנכר אליהם וידבר אתם קשות ויאמר אלהם מאין באתם ויאמרו מארץ כנען לשבר אכל

As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he pretended that he did not know them. He spoke harshly to them, saying, “Where do you come from?” One of them replied, “We have come from Canaan, to buy some grain.”

8 ויכר יוסף את אחיו והם לא הכרהו

Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

9 ויזכר יוסף--את החלמות אשר חלם להם ויאמר אלהם מרגלים אתם לראות את ערות הארץ באתם

And then Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them many years previously. [But he decided not to tell them yet that he was their younger brother]. He said to them, “You are spies! You have come to find out whether we will be able to defend ourselves [if you attack us]!”

10 ויאמרו אליו לא אדני ועבדיך באו לשבר אכל

One of them replied, “No, sir! We have come to buy grain.

11 כלנו בני איש אחד נחנו כנים אנחנו לא היו עבדיך מרגלים

We are all sons of one man. We are honest men, not spies.”

12 ויאמר אלהם לא כי ערות הארץ באתם לראות

He said to them, “[I do not believe you]. You have come just to see whether we would be able to defend ourselves if we were attacked!”

13 ויאמרו שנים עשר עבדיך אחים אנחנו בני איש אחד--בארץ כנען והנה הקטן את אבינו היום והאחד איננו

But one of them replied, “No, that is not true! Originally there were twelve of us who were brothers, the sons of one man. Our younger brother is with our father. One [younger] brother has died. [EUP]”

14 ויאמר אלהם יוסף הוא אשר דברתי אלכם לאמר--מרגלים אתם

Joseph replied, “[You are lying! I think] it is just as I told you. You are spies!

15 בזאת תבחנו חי פרעה אם תצאו מזה כי אם בבוא אחיכם הקטן הנה

But this is how I will determine whether what you are saying is true. I think that as surely as the king lives, you are spies. And you will not leave this place until your youngest brother comes here!

16 שלחו מכם אחד ויקח את אחיכם ואתם האסרו ויבחנו דבריכם האמת אתכם ואם לא--חי פרעה כי מרגלים אתם

Send one of your group to go and get your younger brother and bring him here. I will put the rest of you in prison, in order that I may test what you have said to find out whether what you are telling me is true. If the one who goes does not bring your younger brother here, then, just as surely as the king lives, it will be clear that you are lying and that you are spies.”

17 ויאסף אתם אל משמר שלשת ימים

Then Joseph put them all in prison for three days.

18 ויאמר אלהם יוסף ביום השלישי זאת עשו וחיו את האלהים אני ירא

On the third day, Joseph went to the prison and said to them, “I am a man who fears that God [will punish me if I do not do what I promise]. So do what I tell you, and I will spare your lives.

19 אם כנים אתם--אחיכם אחד יאסר בבית משמרכם ואתם לכו הביאו שבר רעבון בתיכם

If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, and the rest of you can take some grain back to your families who are very hungry because of the famine.

20 ואת אחיכם הקטן תביאו אלי ויאמנו דבריכם ולא תמותו ויעשו כן

But if you come back here again, you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that you can prove that what you told me is true, and as a result I will not have you executed.” So they agreed to do that.

21 ויאמרו איש אל אחיו אבל אשמים אנחנו על אחינו אשר ראינו צרת נפשו בהתחננו אלינו ולא שמענו על כן באה אלינו הצרה הזאת

They said to each other, “It is surely because of what we did to our [younger] brother that (we are being punished/God is punishing us)! We saw that he [SYN] was very distressed when he pleaded with us not to harm him. But we did not pay any attention to him, and that is why we are having this trouble!”

22 ויען ראובן אתם לאמר הלוא אמרתי אליכם לאמר אל תחטאו בילד--ולא שמעתם וגם דמו הנה נדרש

Reuben said to them, “I told you not to harm the boy [RHQ], but you did not pay attention to what I said! Now we are being (paid back/punished) for killing him [MTY]!”

23 והם לא ידעו כי שמע יוסף כי המליץ בינתם

While they were talking with Joseph, they were speaking through (an interpreter/someone who knew their language and the Egyptian language), but when they said these things among themselves, they were speaking in their own language, and they did not know that Joseph could understand their language, and that he could understand what they were saying.

24 ויסב מעליהם ויבך וישב אלהם וידבר אלהם ויקח מאתם את שמעון ויאסר אתו לעיניהם

[Because of what they said, Joseph realized that they admitted that what they had done to him many years previously was wrong]. He could not keep from crying, [and he did not want them to see him crying], so he left them and went outside the room and began to cry. But then he returned to them and talked to them again. Then he took Simeon, and while they were watching, he told his servants to tie him up. He left Simeon in the prison and told the others that they could go.

25 ויצו יוסף וימלאו את כליהם בר ולהשיב כספיהם איש אל שקו ולתת להם צדה לדרך ויעש להם כן

Joseph told his servants to fill the men’s sacks with grain, but he also told them to put the money that each one had paid for the grain in the top of his sack. He also told them to give them food to eat along the way. After the servants did those things for Joseph’s older brothers,

26 וישאו את שברם על חמריהם וילכו משם

his older brothers loaded the sacks of grain on their donkeys and left.

27 ויפתח האחד את שקו לתת מספוא לחמרו--במלון וירא את כספו והנה הוא בפי אמתחתו

At the place where they stopped to sleep that night, one of them opened his sack to get some grain for his donkey. He was amazed to see his money in the top of the sack.

28 ויאמר אל אחיו הושב כספי וגם הנה באמתחתי ויצא לבם ויחרדו איש אל אחיו לאמר מה זאת עשה אלהים לנו

He exclaimed to his brothers, “Someone has returned my money! Here it is in my sack!” They started shaking with fear, and said to each other, “What is this that God has done to us?”

29 ויבאו אל יעקב אביהם ארצה כנען ויגידו לו את כל הקרת אתם לאמר

When they returned to their father in Canaan land, they told him all that had happened to them. One of them said,

30 דבר האיש אדני הארץ אתנו--קשות ויתן אתנו כמרגלים את הארץ

“The man who governs the whole land of Egypt talked very harshly to us. He acted toward us as though we were spying on his country.

31 ונאמר אליו כנים אנחנו לא היינו מרגלים

But we told him, ‘We are honest men! We are not spies.

32 שנים עשר אנחנו אחים בני אבינו האחד איננו והקטן היום את אבינו בארץ כנען

Originally there were twelve of us who were brothers, the sons of one father. One has died [EUP], and our youngest brother is with our father in Canaan.’

33 ויאמר אלינו האיש אדני הארץ בזאת אדע כי כנים אתם אחיכם האחד הניחו אתי ואת רעבון בתיכם קחו ולכו

The man who is the governor of the land [did not believe us], so he said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are truly honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me. Then the rest of you can take some grain for your families that are starving from hunger and go.

34 והביאו את אחיכם הקטן אלי ואדעה כי לא מרגלים אתם כי כנים אתם את אחיכם אתן לכם ואת הארץ תסחרו

But when you return, bring your youngest brother to me, in order that I will know that you are not spies, but instead, that you are honest men. Then I will release your brother for you. And then you can buy whatever you want in this country.’”

35 ויהי הם מריקים שקיהם והנה איש צרור כספו בשקו ויראו את צררות כספיהם המה ואביהם--וייראו

As they were emptying their sacks, they were surprised that in each man’s sack was his pouch of money! When they and their father saw all the pouches of money, they were frightened.

36 ויאמר אלהם יעקב אביהם אתי שכלתם יוסף איננו ושמעון איננו ואת בנימן תקחו עלי היו כלנה

Their father Jacob said to them, “You have caused two of my children to be taken from me! Joseph is dead, and Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin from me! It is I who am suffering because of all these things that are happening!”

37 ויאמר ראובן אל אביו לאמר את שני בני תמית אם לא אביאנו אליך תנה אתו על ידי ואני אשיבנו אליך

Reuben said to his father, “I will be responsible for Benjamin. [I will take him to Egypt and] bring him back to you. Let me take care of him. If I do not bring Benjamin back to you, you may kill both of my sons.”

38 ויאמר לא ירד בני עמכם כי אחיו מת והוא לבדו נשאר וקראהו אסון בדרך אשר תלכו בה והורדתם את שיבתי ביגון שאולה (Sheol h7585)

But Jacob said, “No, I will not let my son go down there with you. His [older] brother is dead, and he is the only [one of my wife Rachel’s] sons who is left! If something harms him while you are traveling, you would cause me, a gray-haired old man, to die because of sorrow.” (Sheol h7585)