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Genesis 42 · a question people ask

Jacob said, "All these things are against me." Were they?

In the text

Jacob spoke without knowing what the reader knows: Joseph was alive and governor of Egypt (42:6), and Simeon was being kept, not lost (42:24). Genesis records his words without correcting them in this chapter. Later Joseph tells his brothers, "God sent me before you to preserve life" (45:5), and "you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (50:20).

The verses

“Jacob, their father, said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children! Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin away. All these things are against me.””
Genesis 42:36 · World English Bible
“Now don’t be grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.”
Genesis 45:5 · World English Bible
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today.”
Genesis 50:20 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Genesis 42

Genesis 42: The brothers bow

Joseph's brothers came to Egypt for grain and bowed before him, as in his dream, without knowing him. He recognized them but acted like a stranger, tested them and kept Simeon. The brothers confessed, in front of him, "We are certainly guilty concerning our brother," and Joseph turned away and wept. Jacob said, "All these things are against me."

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions