Old TestamentBeginner II · Story 7Genesis 42:1-25

Ten Brothers in Egypt

Jacob sees that there is grain in Egypt, and ten of his sons go down. Their brother Joseph is over the land. He says that they are spies and puts them in prison. Then he binds Simeon and gives a command to fill their bags with grain. Read the story in simple English, with the real verse at the end.

Start this storyStory + 4 lessons · ~41 min · free

Ten men in plain robes bow low with their faces to the ground before one man who stands and looks at them

The words in this story

10 words you will really use: they appear in the story and in the exercises, and come back for review in the next stories.

grain
the seeds of a food plant, which people use to make bread
noun
famine
a time when a whole land has almost no food
noun
truth
what is true; what is really so
noun
happen
to take place, as an event does
verb
remember
to keep something in your mind and think of it again
verb
carry
to take something from one place to another
verb
concern
to be about someone or something
verb
between
in the place that is in the middle of two people or things
preposition
fill
to put so much in a place that there is no more room
verb
restore
to give something back, or to put it back where it was
verb

What you'll discover

The moments of the story, in the order they happen.

Jacob sees that there is grain in Egypt and sends ten sons, but he does not send Benjamin.
Joseph knows his brothers, but they do not know him. He says they are spies and puts them in prison.
The brothers say that they did wrong, Reuben asks if he did not tell them, and Joseph binds Simeon.
Joseph gives a command to fill the brothers' bags with grain and to restore each man's money.

Original verse

The verse that closes the story, in the World English Bible. After 4 lessons, this is how you read it: the real text, with nothing simplified.

Genesis 42:9 · WEB

Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

Context

One detail about the scene, with the work it comes from.

Who

Who was Benjamin? The unfoldingWord Translation Words article on Benjamin says that Benjamin was Jacob's twelfth son and Rachel's second son.

Source: Translation Words (en_tw) · CC BY-SA 4.0

What a story looks like

First the whole story, in simple English with audio for every sentence. Then 4 short lessons, each with a piece of the story, a tip and exercises. At the end, the Bible verse and a little celebration.

The story · 20 sentences, with the meaning of each word on tap, 3 quick questions about the story
4 lessons · a piece of the story, a tip and exercises in each one
The original verse · the Bible text, unadapted, then the next story

Questions about this story

Which Bible passage is this story from?

Genesis 42:1 to 25, in the World English Bible.

Why do Jacob's sons go to Egypt?

There is a famine in Canaan, and there is grain in Egypt (Genesis 42:1-5).

Which son does Jacob not send to Egypt?

Benjamin. Jacob says that something might happen to him (Genesis 42:4).

What does Joseph say when his brothers come to him?

He knows them, but they do not know him, and he says: You are spies (Genesis 42:8-9).

What does Joseph do with Simeon?

He takes Simeon from among his brothers and binds him before their eyes (Genesis 42:24).

How close is it to the Bible?

It follows Genesis 42:1 to 25 in order, in short sentences. It leaves out parts of the brothers' talk and some of Joseph's words, and some of what he did, as when he turned away and wept (Genesis 42:24). The real verses at the end are Genesis 42:9, 42:5 and 42:25.

Other questions:Do I need to know English?Does Biblup teach doctrine?