Verse Lens · Context pointer
Genesis 42:5 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 5. 5And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The sons of Israel arrive among other buyers because Canaan also suffers from the famine. Their family crisis is part of a wider regional crisis.
Read It With
- Genesis 42:1–17
Read verses 3–7. The brothers travel with other buyers, Joseph controls grain distribution, and their purchase request becomes an unrecognized family encounter.
Why It Needs Context
Verse 5 explains why they join the stream to Egypt, but it does not yet identify the ruler from whom they must buy or the recognition imbalance that follows.
Read Genesis 42:1–5 together
Why these verses belong together: Jacob hears of grain, sends ten sons for household survival, withholds Benjamin out of fear, and famine brings the sons of Israel among other buyers.
Verse 1. 1 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
Verse 2. 2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
Verse 3. 3 And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
Verse 4. 4 But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
Verse 5. 5 And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 42:1–17 — Joseph Tests the Brothers Who Do Not Recognize HimSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed text, famine movement, dreams, recognition, accusation, family disclosure, test, confinement, later tears, reconciliation, and providential conclusion.
Exact location: Genesis 42:1–17 with 37:2–36, 41:37–57, 42:18–28, 44:1–45:15, and 50:15–21 in the pinned standardized 1769 KJV
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Ruler and grain-distributor titles, bowing, recognition and concealment forms, harsh words, nakedness idiom, honesty language, testing, oath, and ward terminology.
Exact location: WLC Genesis 42:1–17, especially vv. 6–17
Open source ↗