Genesis 42:19

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 42:19 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in your prison-house; but go ye, carry grain for the famine of your houses:” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in your prison-house; but go ye, carry grain for the famine of your houses:
Genesis 42:19 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 42

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
19if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in your prison-house; but go ye, carry grain for the famine of your houses:

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“If ye [be] true [men], etc.] As you say you are: let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison; agree among yourselves which of you (for one of you must) remain in prison where you are: and the rest being set at liberty, go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses; Joseph, though he dealt with them after this manner to get what knowledge he could of his family, and to get sight of his brother, yet was concerned for the good of them and theirs, lest they should be in extreme want through the famine, and that they might have a speedy supply of corn, was not willing to detain them any longer.”
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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