Genesis 42:2

Summary

Jacob reports that he has heard grain is available in Egypt and instructs his sons to go down and buy some, so that the family may survive rather than perish. The verse combines a report of hearsay, a double imperative, and a purpose clause expressing the stakes of the journey.

Key words

• sha.Ma'.ti ("I have heard", H8085G) — qal perfect, first person: marks completed action, the report Jacob has already received before speaking.
• yesh ("there is", H3426) — existential particle indicating simple presence/availability, here of grain in Egypt.
• re.du ("go down", H3381) — qal imperative plural: a direct command to the sons, paired with the directional sha.Ma ("there", H8033G) ending in the directional he.
• shiv.ru ("buy grain", H7666) — qal imperative plural, from the same root as She.ver ("grain", H7668) in verse's earlier clause, creating a wordplay between the noun for grain and the verb for acquiring it.
• nich.Yeh ("we may live", H2421) — qal imperfect with vav, expressing purpose/result following the imperatives: "so that we may live."

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative va-yo.mer ("and he said", H0559), continuing the story sequence. Jacob's speech begins with the interjection hi.Neh ("here!", H2009), which draws attention before the report itself. The perfect verb sha.Ma'.ti situates the hearing as prior and completed: Jacob already possesses this information before speaking. The clause introduced by ki ("that", H3588A) reports the content of what was heard — the existence of She.ver ("grain", H7668) be-mitz.Ra.yim ("in Egypt", H4714G), using the existential yesh.

The command section uses two paired imperatives: re.du ("go down", H3381) toward sha.Ma ("there", H8033G, with directional he), and shiv.ru ("buy grain", H7666) la.nu ("for us") mi.sham ("from there"). The root of shiv.ru is the same consonantal root as She.ver, so the Hebrew text pairs the noun "grain" with a verb built on that same root, meaning "to acquire grain" — a relationship not preserved in English translations that render it simply as "buy."

The final clause chains two imperfect verbs with vav: ve-nich.Yeh ("and we may live", H2421) and ve-lo na.mut ("and not die", H4191), expressing the purpose or result of the journey — survival versus death — as the stated motivation for the imperatives.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew specifies She.ver / shiv.ru ("grain" / "buy grain"), sharing the same root. The LXX renders the noun as sitos ("grain") but the verb as priasthe ("buy"), without the same root-play, and adds mikra brōmata ("small [amounts of] food") not present in the Hebrew. The Vulgate renders the grain as triticum ("wheat") and expands emite nobis necessaria ("buy for us necessities"), also introducing wording beyond the Hebrew's simple "buy grain for us." The Vulgate's closing phrase, non consumamur inopia ("we not be consumed by poverty"), differs from the Hebrew's direct lo na.mut ("we will not die").