Genesis 42:18

Summary

On the third day of their detention, Joseph speaks to his brothers, giving them a command ("do this and live") and grounding that command in a statement about his own relationship to God: he is one who fears God.

Key words

• va-yomer ("and he said", H0559) — qal verb with narrative vav, marking this as the next event in the sequence of the story.
• ba-yom ha-shelishi ("on the third day", H3117G / H7992) — noun with definite article plus ordinal number, fixing the temporal setting of the speech within the narrative.
• 'asu ("do", H6213A) — qal imperative, plural, a direct command addressed to the brothers.
• vichyu ("and live", H2421) — qal imperative, plural, joined by the conjunction vi ("and") to the previous imperative, presenting survival as the result of compliance.
• yare' ("fearing", H3373) — qal participle, masculine singular, describing Joseph's ongoing state or characteristic rather than a single completed action.

What the text says

The verse opens with the standard narrative formula va-yomer... yosef ("and Joseph said"), followed by the temporal marker ba-yom ha-shelishi ("on the third day"), which anchors the speech after the three days mentioned in the preceding verse. Joseph's words to the brothers consist of two paired imperatives: zot 'asu ("this do") and vichyu ("and live"). The imperative-plus-imperative construction ('asu... vichyu) presents a direct causal or consequential link in Hebrew grammar itself — the second imperative functions as the result of obeying the first, without any subordinating conjunction like "so that" being required.

The final clause, et-ha-elohim ani yare', places the object ha-elohim ("God", H0430G, with the direct object marker H0853) before the subject pronoun ani ("I", H0589) and the participle yare' ("fearing", H3373). This word order (object — subject — participle) is a fronting of the object for emphasis, a common feature of Hebrew clause structure not preserved in a strict word-for-word translation. The participle yare' denotes a durative or characteristic state ("one who fears") rather than a punctual act, so the clause describes Joseph's steady disposition rather than a momentary reaction.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the final clause with γὰρ ("for"), making explicit a causal link between the command and Joseph's fear of God ("do this... for I fear God"), whereas the Hebrew simply places the clauses in sequence without an explicit conjunction of cause. The Vulgate similarly uses enim ("for"), matching the LXX's explicit causal marker rather than the asyndetic (unlinked) Hebrew structure. The Vulgate also adds "eductis de carcere" ("having been brought out of prison"), a detail not present in the Hebrew word list given here.