Genesis 42:16

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 42:16 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
Genesis 42:16 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 42

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
16Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, etc.] He proposes that one of them might be sent by them to their father’s house, and bring, Benjamin down to Egypt: and ye shall be kept in prison; the rest of them till he came: that your words may be proved, whether [there be any] truth in you; by this it would be seen whether they were men of truth and honesty or not; and should their brother be brought they would appear to be good men and true: or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely ye [are] spies; should not their brother they spoke of be produced, it would be a plain case that they were not the honest men they pretended to be, nor did they come merely to buy corn, but had an ill…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- Joseph and Ten of His Brethren 1. שׁבר sheber, “fragment, crumb, hence, grain.” בר bar “pure,” “winnowed,” hence, “corn” (grain). 6. שׁליט shallı̂yṭ, “ruler, governor, hence,” Sultan. Not elsewhere found in the Pentateuch. 25. כלי kelı̂y, “vessel,” here any portable article in which grain may be conveyed. שׂק śaq, “sack,” the very word which remains in our language to this day. אמתחת 'amtachath “bag.” Twenty years, the period of Joseph’s long and anxious waiting, have come to an end. The dreams of his boyhood are now at length to be fulfilled. The famine has reached the chosen family, and they look at one another perplexed and irresolute, not knowing what to do. Genesis 42:1-5 The aged…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification