Genesis 42:30

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 42:30 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “The man, the lord of the land, spake roughly with us, and took us for spies of the country.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

The man, the lord of the land, spake roughly with us, and took us for spies of the country.
Genesis 42:30 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 42

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
30The man, the lord of the land, spake roughly with us, and took us for spies of the country.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“The man, [who is] the lord of the land, etc.] Of Egypt; not the king, but the deputy governor of it, whose authority under Pharaoh was very great, and reached to the whole land, and all political affairs, and especially what related to the corn, and the sale of it; he, say they, spake roughly to us; gave them hard words, and stern looks, and used them in a very rough manner, (see <014207>Genesis 42:7); and took us for spies of the country; laid such a charge against them, and treated them as such; or “gave” them f1752, committed them to prison as such.”
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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