Genesis 42:3

3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.

Genesis 42:3 in Other Translations

KJV
3 And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
ESV
3 So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.
NLT
3 So Joseph’s ten older brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain.
MSG
3 Ten of Joseph's brothers went down to Egypt to get food.
CSB
3 So 10 of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.

Genesis 42:3 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 42:3

And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
] They obeyed their father's orders, and immediately set out for Egypt; "ten" of them went down in a body together, all but Benjamin, so that it is easily reckoned who they were, and they are called not Jacob's sons, as they were; but Joseph's brethren, whom they had sold into Egypt, and to whom now they were going, though they knew it not, to buy corn of him in their necessity, and to whom they would be obliged to yield obeisance, as they did.

Genesis 42:3 In-Context

1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?”
2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.
5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.

Cross References 1

  • 1. ver 10; Genesis 43:20
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