Genesis 42 · Verse 7

Genesis 42:7

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.
Genesis 42:7, King James Version

Genesis 42:7 in other translations

BSBAnd when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where have you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We are here to buy food.”
WEBJoseph saw his brothers, and he recognized them, but acted like a stranger to them, and spoke roughly with them. He said to them, “Where did you come from?” They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
ASVAnd Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly with them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
YLTAnd Joseph seeth his brethren, and discerneth them, and maketh himself strange unto them, and speaketh with them sharp things, and saith unto them, ‘From whence have ye come?' and they say, ‘From the land of Canaan--to buy food.'
DARBYAnd Joseph saw his brethren, and knew them; but he made himself strange to them, and spoke roughly to them, and said to them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan, to buy food.
BBEAnd when Joseph saw his brothers, it was clear to him who they were, but he made himself strange to them, and talking roughly to them, said, Where do you come from? And they said, From the land of Canaan, to get food.
WebsterAnd Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange to them, and spoke roughly to them; and he said to them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.

What does Genesis 42:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 42:7-8
7-8. Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, ... but they knew not him--This is not strange. They were full-grown men--he was but a lad at parting. They were in their usual garb--he was in his official robes. They never dreamt of him as governor of Egypt, while he had been expecting them. They had but one face; he had ten persons to judge by. made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly--It would be an injustice to Joseph's character to suppose that this stern manner was prompted by any vindictive feelings--he never indulged any resentment against others who had injured him. But he spoke in the authoritative tone of the governor in order to elicit some much-longed-for information respecting the state of his father's family, as well as to bring his brethren, by their own humiliation and distress, to a sense of the evils they had done to him.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 42:7-20
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. Joseph settled at last, that one of them should be left, and the rest go home and fetch Benjamin. It was a very encouraging word he said to them, "I fear God;" as if he had said, You may be assured I will do you no wrong; I dare not, for I know there is one higher than I. With those that fear God, we may expect fair dealing.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Genesis 42:7 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּ֥רְאvai.Yar'and he sawH7200
יוֹסֵ֛ףyo.SefJosephH3130
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
אֶחָ֖יו'e.Chavbrothers hisH251
וַיַּכִּרֵ֑םvai.ya.ki.Remand he recognized themH5234
וַיִּתְנַכֵּ֨רvai.yit.na.Kerand he acted as a strangerH5234
אֲלֵיהֶ֜ם'a.lei.Hemto themH413
וַיְדַבֵּ֧רvay.da.Berand he spokeH1696
אִתָּ֣ם'i.Tamwith themH854
קָשׁ֗וֹתka.ShotharshH7186
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
אֲלֵהֶם֙'a.le.Hemto themH413
מֵאַ֣יִןme.'A.yinfrom where?H370
בָּאתֶ֔םba.Temhave you comeH935
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּvai.Yo.me.Ruand they saidH559
מֵאֶ֥רֶץme.'E.retzfrom [the] land ofH776
כְּנַ֖עַןke.Na.'anCanaanH3667
לִשְׁבָּר\־lish.bor-to buyH7666
אֹֽכֶל\׃'O.khelfoodH400

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 42:7

  • Genesis 42:30

    The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

  • Genesis 42:19-20

    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: But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

  • Genesis 42:14-17

    And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies: Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. 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. And he put them all together into ward three days.

  • Genesis 42:9-12

    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. And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

  • Matthew 15:23-26

    But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
roughly unto them. Heb. hard things with them.
9-12,14-17,19,20; Mt 15:23-26

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 42:6

    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.

  • Genesis 42:7

    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.

  • Genesis 42:8

    And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.

Read all of Genesis 42

Genesis 42:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y José como vió á sus hermanos, conociólos; mas hizo que no los conocía, y hablóles ásperamente, y les dijo: ¿De dónde habéis venido? Ellos respondieron: De la tierra de Canaán á comprar alimentos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Joseph vit ses frères, et les reconnut; et il fit l’étranger vis-à-vis d’eux, et leur parla durement, et leur dit: D’où venez-vous? Et ils dirent: Du pays de Canaan, pour acheter des vivres.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Joseph sah seine Brüder und erkannte sie; aber er stellte sich fremd gegen sie und redete hart mit ihnen und sprach zu ihnen: Woher kommet ihr? Und sie sprachen: Aus dem Lande Kanaan, um Speise zu kaufen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		et agnovisset eos, quasi ad alienos durius loquebatur, interrogans eos: Unde venistis? Qui responderunt: De terra Chanaan, ut emamus victui necessaria.