Genesis 42:9

Joseph’s Brothers Sent to Egypt · Genesis 42:1–24
Read Genesis 42

Translations

Modern
Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
Traditional
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.
Literal
And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land.”
Latin
Recordatusque somniorum, quæ aliquando viderat, ait ad eos: Exploratores estis: ut videatis infirmiora terræ venistis.

Original

Hebrew
English
Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”

Notes

You are spies!: The brothers thought Joseph was a spy for their father and treated him harshly (37:2, 14, 18–28). Now, Joseph was testing them in a similar way to see their reaction.

Joseph did several unusual things to his brothers when they came looking for grain. The last time Joseph had been with them, they were filled with jealousy, hatred, and anger; they attempted to destroy their brother, and they deceived their father. Joseph put them through various tests, similar to the trying situations they had put him through, to see if they had changed.

Theme notes and profiles

Egypt Joseph Symbolic Numbers

Events

People

Joseph: Son of Jacob, ruler in Egypt

Glossary

Benjamin (Person) Bible, Manuscripts and Text of the (New Testament) Famine Genesis, Book of Jacob Joseph Patriarchs, Period of the Wheat

Topics

Commerce: Carried on by Egyptians Commerce: Egyptians Dissembling: Joseph False Accusation: Incidents Illustrative of Against Joseph's Brethren by Joseph Spies: General Scriptures Concerning