Genesis 42:3

Summary

Genesis 42:3 states that ten of Joseph's brothers went down to Egypt in order to buy grain. The Hebrew sentence marks the group precisely (ten brothers), the purpose of the journey (buying grain), and the geographic direction (from Egypt).

Key words

• yeredu ("they went down", H3381) — qal verb, narrative form, continuing the story sequence; expresses physical descent, consistent with travel toward Egypt from a higher elevation.
• achei ("brothers of", H0251G) — masculine plural noun in construct state, linking directly to Yosef ("Joseph", H3130G); the construct form ties "brothers" grammatically and semantically to Joseph as the reference point.
• asarah ("ten", H6235) — feminine singular numeral, placed after the noun it modifies (achei Yosef), a common Hebrew numeral-noun order.
• lishbor ("to buy grain", H7666) — qal infinitive with prefixed lamed ("to/in order to"), forming a purpose clause explaining why the brothers went down.
• mi-Mitzrayim ("from Egypt", H4714G with H9006) — proper noun with the preposition min ("from"), indicating the place of origin for the grain being purchased.

What the text says

The Hebrew clause structure is straightforward narrative syntax: verb–subject–purpose–source. The verb yeredu ("they went down", H3381) opens the sentence with the narrative vav, continuing the story from the previous verses. The subject is given as achei Yosef ("brothers of Joseph", H0251G + H3130G), a construct phrase, followed by the numeral asarah ("ten", H6235) placed after the noun phrase rather than before it — a common Hebrew word order for cardinal numbers modifying nouns.

The purpose of the journey is expressed through the infinitive construct lishbor ("to buy grain", H7666), introduced by the prefixed preposition lamed, which in Biblical Hebrew regularly marks purpose or intention ("in order to"). The object of this infinitive is bar ("grain", H1250A). Finally, the phrase mi-Mitzrayim ("from Egypt", H4714G) uses the preposition min ("from", H9006) to indicate that Egypt is the source from which the grain is to be obtained, not merely the destination of the journey.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew mi-Mitzrayim ("from Egypt") and the LXX ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ("from Egypt") both use a source preposition. The Vulgate renders this as in Ægypto ("in Egypt"), shifting the sense from "buying grain sourced from Egypt" to "buying grain while in Egypt." The SBLIBRE Spanish translation follows this locative sense with "bajaron a Egipto para comprar trigo" ("went down to Egypt to buy grain"), while the RV1909 and BSB preserve the source-oriented "de/from Egypt," closer to the Hebrew and LXX phrasing.