Genesis 42:18

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 42:18 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live: for I fear God:” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live: for I fear God:
Genesis 42:18 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 42

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
18And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live: for I fear God:

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And Joseph said unto them the third day, etc.] His heart yearning towards them, though he put on such an appearance; finding they could not come to an agreement among themselves who should go on the errand, he thought fit to recede from his former order, and to give them another: this do, and live: meaning what he was about to say to them, which if they punctually observed and performed, it would be the means of saving their lives: [for] I fear God; and therefore would not do either an unjust or cruel thing. This might have given them an him who he was: but there being among the Gentiles, in all nations, some few that feared God, they took no further notice of it than this, that they might…”
Read attributed excerpt →
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…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“42:18-20 Rather than keep all but one, Joseph would release all but one to take grain home to their starving families.”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Sources and verification