What does Genesis 42:32 mean?
ESV: We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’
NIV: We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’
NASB: We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’
CSB: We were twelve brothers, sons of the same father. One is no longer living, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.
NLT: We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One brother is no longer with us, and the youngest is at home with our father in the land of Canaan.’
KJV: 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.
NKJV: We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’
Verse Commentary:
Jacob's sons are telling him what happened when they attempted to buy grain in Egypt (Genesis 42:1–5). The lord of the land accused them of being spies (Genesis 42:6–12). They don't realize that the man they bow before is the brother the sold into slavery twenty years earlier (Genesis 37:28). When that man—Joseph—demands they leave one man behind and bring their youngest brother to prove their innocence (Genesis 42:18–19, 24), the men realize this is divine punishment for their earlier crime (Genesis 42:21–22).
Attempting to reassure Joseph, whom they only know as an Egyptian vizier, the brothers told him they were all sons of their father. They added the detail that they had two more brothers (Genesis 42:13), one they presumed dead, meaning Joseph, and another who remained with their father: Benjamin, the youngest. They would have known, now, that revealing Benjamin's existence (Genesis 43:6) opened them up to what they must tell their father next (Genesis 42:33).
Verse Context:
Genesis 42:29–38 explains the results of Jacob's sons first trip to Egypt to buy food during a famine. There, the governor allowed them to leave only after keeping leaving Simeon as security, and demanding they return with Benjamin, the youngest, to prove their honesty. They also discovered—to their horror—that the money they paid the governor for grain was still in their bags. They do not know the governor is their own brother, Joseph (Genesis 37:28). However, Jacob refuses to risk losing yet another son and forbids the men to take Benjamin to Egypt.
Chapter Summary:
Genesis 42 describes the moment Joseph sees his brothers for the first time since they sold him into slavery over 20 years earlier. They have come to Egypt to buy grain, and they do not recognize him. He keeps his secret, speaking roughly to them and hinting they may be spies. He allows them to leave only if they promise to return with their youngest brother Benjamin. He keeps Simeon as collateral but sends them off with full sacks of grain for their family. He also secretly returns their money, something they are terrified to discover on the way home. Back in Canaan, Jacob responds to this terrible news with bitterness and vindictive blame.
Chapter Context:
Twenty years prior to the events of this chapter, Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:28). Miraculously, Joseph is now the governor of the nation of Egypt (Genesis 41:44). His brothers, who know nothing of Joseph's fate, have come to buy food during a terrible famine (Genesis 41:56–57). Joseph, probably and justifiably angry at his brothers, keeps his identity a secret, at first. Over the next several chapters, he will test, challenge, and chasten them. Yet there is no revenge involved; everything Joseph does furthers a long-term goal of rescuing the family from starvation.
Book Summary:
The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.
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