Genesis 42:15

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

You will be tested in this way: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not depart from this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

בְּזֹ֖את תִּבָּחֵ֑נוּ חֵ֤י פַרְעֹה֙ אִם־תֵּצְא֣וּ מִזֶּ֔ה כִּ֧י אִם־בְּב֛וֹא אֲחִיכֶ֥ם הַקָּטֹ֖ן הֵֽנָּה׃

Transliteration

By-zōʾt tibbāḥēnû: ḥê parʿōh if-tēṣĕʾû from-here, except if-in-bĕbôʾ ʾăḥîkem haqqāṭōn here.

Grammar Details

• *zōʾt*: demonstrative pronoun, feminine singular - this
• *tibbāḥēnû*: niphal imperfect, 2nd masculine plural - you will be tested
• *ḥê*: construct form of adjective, masculine singular - life of
• *parʿōh*: proper noun, masculine singular - Pharaoh
• *tēṣĕʾû*: qal imperfect, 2nd masculine plural - you will go out
• *bĕbôʾ*: preposition + qal infinitive construct - in coming
• *ʾăḥîkem*: noun, masculine singular construct with 2nd masculine plural suffix - your brother
• *haqqāṭōn*: definite article + adjective, masculine singular - the youngest

Word Meanings

• *ḥê*: by the life of/as surely as lives

Referenced Verses

• 1 Sam 17:55 : 55 Now as Saul watched David going out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the general in command of the army,“Whose son is this young man, Abner?” Abner replied,“As surely as you live, O king, I don’t know.”
• 1 Sam 20:3 : 3 Taking an oath, David again said,“Your father is very much aware of the fact that I have found favor with you, and he has thought,‘Don’t let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.’ But as surely as the LORD lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!”
• Jer 5:2 : 2 These people make promises in the name of the LORD. But the fact is, what they swear to is really a lie.”
• Jer 5:7 : 7 The LORD asked,“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? Your people have rejected me and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. Even though I supplied all their needs, they were like an unfaithful wife to me. They went flocking to the houses of prostitutes.
• Matt 5:33-37 : 33 Oaths“Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation,‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not take oaths at all– not by heaven, because it is the throne of God, 35 not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 36 Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 37 Let your word be‘Yes, yes’ or‘No, no.’ More than this is from the evil one.
• Matt 23:16-22 : 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say,‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ 17 Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And,‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’ 19 You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.
• Jas 5:12 : 12 And above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your“Yes” be yes and your“No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.
• Gen 42:7 : 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked,“Where do you come from?” They answered,“From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food.”
• Gen 42:12 : 12 “No,” he insisted,“but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
• Gen 42:16 : 16 One of you must go and get your brother, while the rest of you remain in prison. In this way your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”
• Gen 42:20 : 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me. Then your words will be verified and you will not die.” They did as he said.
• Gen 42:30 : 30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us as if we were spying on the land.
• Gen 42:34 : 34 But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know that you are honest men and not spies. Then I will give your brother back to you and you may move about freely in the land.’”
• Gen 43:3 : 3 But Judah said to him,“The man solemnly warned us,‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’
• Gen 44:20-34 : 20 We said to my lord,‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’ 21 “Then you told your servants,‘Bring him down to me so I can see him.’ 22 We said to my lord,‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves his father, his father will die.’ 23 But you said to your servants,‘If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 24 When we returned to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 “Then our father said,‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ 26 But we replied,‘We cannot go down there. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go, for we won’t be permitted to see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’ 27 “Then your servant my father said to us,‘You know that my wife gave me two sons. 28 The first disappeared and I said,“He has surely been torn to pieces.” I have not seen him since. 29 If you take this one from me too and an accident happens to him, then you will bring down my gray hair in tragedy to the grave.’ 30 “So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us– his very life is bound up in his son’s life. 31 When he sees the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave. 32 Indeed, your servant pledged security for the boy with my father, saying,‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame before my father all my life.’ 33 “So now, please let your servant remain as my lord’s slave instead of the boy. As for the boy, let him go back with his brothers. 34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see my father’s pain.”
• Deut 6:13 : 13 You must revere the LORD your God, serve him, and take oaths using only his name.
• 1 Sam 1:26 : 26 She said,“My lord. Just as surely as you are alive, my lord, I am the woman who previously stood here with you in order to pray to the LORD.