Genesis 42:1

Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt

42:1 When Jacob heard ¹  there was grain in Egypt, he ²  said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?” ³ 

Genesis 42:5

42:5 So Israel’s sons came to buy grain among the other travelers, ⁴  for the famine was severe in the land of Canaan.

[42:1]  ¹ tn Heb “saw.”

[42:1]  ² tn Heb “Jacob.” Here the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:1]  ³ sn Why are you looking at each other? The point of Jacob’s question is that his sons should be going to get grain rather than sitting around doing nothing. Jacob, as the patriarch, still makes the decisions for the whole clan.

[42:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the midst of the coming ones.”