Genesis 42
Joseph Knew His Brethren, but They Knew Not Him
Famine sends ten of Jacob’s sons to Egypt to buy grain, and they bow to the governor without knowing him. Joseph accuses them of spying, holds them three days, and keeps Simeon until they bring Benjamin. Their silver turns up in their sacks, and Jacob refuses to let Benjamin go.
Start reading Background
Joseph was about seventeen when his brothers sold him (Gen. 37:2; Gen. 37:28) and thirty when Pharaoh set him over Egypt (Gen. 41:46). Seven years of plenty followed, then the famine he had foretold: “the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread” (Gen. 41:54). Egypt was “blessed with the most stable and regular agricultural system the world had ever had,” and “often when there was a famine, the people went to Egypt.” Abraham had gone down there in a famine too (Gen. 12:10). So “all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn” (Gen. 41:57), and Jacob’s sons are among them.
Chapters 42–45 are one story in four steps: this first journey, a second with Benjamin (Gen. 43), the silver cup (Gen. 44), and Joseph making himself known (Gen. 45).
Later scripture remembers the famine and this journey. A psalm says the Lord “called for a famine upon the land” and “sent a man before them, even Joseph” (Ps. 105:16–17). Stephen retells it before the high priest: “when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren” (Acts 7:12–13).
The chapter has five parts: Jacob sends ten sons (verses 1–5); the governor accuses them of spying (6–17); three days, a confession, and a hostage (18–24); the silver in the sacks (25–28); and Jacob’s refusal (29–38).
The thread through the chapter
Genesis 42 turns on who recognizes whom. “Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him” (verse 8). The Hebrew verb, nakar, “recognize,” is the one that carried a bloodied coat to Jacob (“know now whether it be thy son’s coat,” Gen. 37:32) and returned a signet and staff to Judah (Gen. 38:25–26). Now the brothers who sold the dreamer cannot see him in the governor, while the governor sees them at once. What they cannot see in him they begin to see in themselves. On the third day they say, “We are verily guilty concerning our brother” (verse 21); the man they are speaking about hears them (verse 23) and turns away to weep (verse 24).
Joseph’s harshness has a purpose, and it centers on the youngest brother. The spying charge, the three days, and the hostage all lead to one demand: bring Benjamin. It is read as a test of whether the brothers “had changed and would not betray Benjamin as they had betrayed him.” Chapter 42 does not finish the test. It ends with Simeon in Egypt, the silver in the sacks, and a father who will not let go of the last son of Rachel.
Jacob is the one person in the chapter who sees none of it. He counts his losses (“Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me,” verse 36), and the man who has bound Simeon is the Joseph he mourns. The reader knows what Jacob does not, and Joseph will say it himself when he is known: “God did send me before you to preserve life” (Gen. 45:5).
Tap any highlighted phrase to open a note beneath its versein the margin.
Jacob sends ten sons to Egypt
Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt and said to his sons, “Why are you just staring at each other? I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.” Ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain. Jacob kept Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, at home; he was afraid that something terrible might happen to him. So the sons of Israel went along with the others who came to buy, because the famine had reached Canaan.
1 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
3 And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
4 But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
5 And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
The governor and the spies
Joseph was the ruler of the land and the one who sold grain to everyone. His brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. Joseph saw his brothers and knew who they were, but he acted like a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where have you come from?” “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not know him. He remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is undefended.”
“No, my lord,” they said. “Your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man; we are honest men, not spies.” “No,” he said, “you have come to see where the land is undefended.” They answered, “We are twelve brothers, sons of one man in Canaan. The youngest is with our father right now, and one is no more.” Joseph said, “It is just as I told you: you are spies. This is how you will be tested: as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave here unless your youngest brother comes. Send one of you to get your brother, and the rest will be kept in prison, so that your words can be tested to see whether you are telling the truth. If not, then as Pharaoh lives, you are spies.” And he held them all in custody for three days.
6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
11 We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
17 And he put them all together into ward three days.
Three days, a confession, and a hostage
On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and live, for I fear God. If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay confined in the prison where you have been held. The rest of you go and carry grain home for your hungry households. But bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be shown true and you will not die.” And they did so.
They said to one another, “Truly we are guilty over our brother. We saw his distress when he pleaded with us, and we would not listen. That is why this distress has come on us.” Reuben answered, “Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you would not listen, and now we must answer for his blood.” They did not know that Joseph understood them, because there was an interpreter between them. Joseph turned away from them and wept. When he came back, he spoke to them, took Simeon from among them, and bound him before their eyes.
18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
19 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.
The silver in the sacks
Joseph ordered their sacks filled with grain, each man’s silver put back in his sack, and food given them for the journey. And it was done. They loaded their donkeys and left. At the place where they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey and found his silver in the mouth of the sack. “My silver has been returned!” he said. “Here it is in my sack.” Their hearts sank, and they turned to one another trembling: “What is this that God has done to us?”
25 Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.
26 And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.
27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack’s mouth.
28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?
Jacob refuses
When they reached their father Jacob in Canaan, they told him everything that had happened. “The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and took us for spies. We told him we were honest men, twelve brothers, sons of one father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father in Canaan. The man said, ‘This is how I will know you are honest: leave one of your brothers with me, take food for your starving households, and go. Bring your youngest brother to me, and I will know you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you may trade in the land.’”
As they emptied their sacks, each man found his bundle of silver in his sack. When they and their father saw the bundles, they were afraid. Their father Jacob said, “You have robbed me of my children. Joseph is gone, Simeon is gone, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!” Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will bring him back.” But Jacob said, “My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm comes to him on the journey, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”
29 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,
30 The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
31 And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:
32 We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:
34 And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.
35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
Seeing Christ in Genesis 42
Many aspects of Joseph’s life “can remind us of Jesus Christ,” and two of the likenesses the Church draws are in this chapter. Both “were not recognized by those who should have known them.” Joseph’s brothers stand before him and know him not (verse 8); of Jesus, His hearers said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?” (John 6:42). And both “were saviors to their people and provided them with lifesaving bread” (see the note at verse 35).
The revealing is still ahead. Stephen says, “at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren” (Acts 7:13), and that scene too is read as a likeness: “Joseph revealed himself to his brothers when they came the second time. Jesus Christ will reveal Himself to the world at His Second Coming.” The passages set beside it are Matt. 24:30–31 and D&C 45:51–53.
Worth exploring next
- The second journey and the cup. Gen. 43 and Gen. 44, with Judah’s pledge for Benjamin (Gen. 43:8–9; Gen. 44:18–34).
- Joseph makes himself known. Gen. 45:1–8; Acts 7:9–16; Ps. 105:16–22.
- The dreams. Gen. 37:5–11; Gen. 43:26–28.
- Joseph’s disguise and the cup. “Clothes and Cups: The Tangible World of Joseph” (Religious Studies Center, BYU) follows Joseph’s garments and his silver cup through the story.
Sources & further reading
- The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Westminster Leningrad Codex (the Masoretic Hebrew text), Read in the Hebrew–English interlinear on Bible Hub.
- Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.
- Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828.
- “Money”, Bible Dictionary.
- “Sheol”, Bible Dictionary.
- “Pentateuch”, Bible Dictionary.
- Genesis 42–50, Scripture Helps: Old Testament (2025).
- Genesis 37–41, Scripture Helps: Old Testament (2025).
- Genesis 37–50: Joseph: The Power of Preparation, Old Testament Student Manual: Genesis–2 Samuel (Church Educational System, 2003).
- Lesson 37: Genesis 42–43, Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual (2014).
- Genesis 42–45: “I am Joseph Your Brother”, Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual (2026).
- John Gee, “Clothes and Cups: The Tangible World of Joseph”, In From Creation to Sinai: The Old Testament through the Lens of the Restoration, ed. Daniel L. Belnap and Aaron P. Schade (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book), 425–46.
- Kerry Muhlestein, “Egypt in the Bible”, Religious Educator 11, no. 3 (2010): 79–93 (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University).
- Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis, In Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, online at Bible Hub.
- Herbert E. Ryle, The Book of Genesis in the Revised Version, Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge: University Press, 1921); read on Bible Hub.
- Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers: Genesis, Read on Bible Hub.