Bible Strands
Genesis 42:30
“The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The brothers report to their father Jacob upon returning to Canaan, recounting their encounter with the Egyptian official. They describe how he addressed them with severity and challenged their intentions.
The words — The text highlights קָשׁ֑וֹת (ka.shot), meaning "harshly," and אֲדֹנֵי (a.do.nei), meaning "lord of," to describe the official's demeanor and status. These terms emphasize the power imbalance and the severity of his interrogation.
The thread — This harsh confrontation echoes Genesis 42:7, where Joseph deliberately treats his brothers as strangers and speaks severely to them. The brothers' accusation of spying directly triggers their defense in Genesis 42:31 that they are "honest men, not spies."
Why it lands — The text records how the brothers translate an official's strict questioning into a charge of espionage. It requires a reader to note how fear and limited information shape testimony before divine purposes are revealed.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
Cross-references
- Genesis 42:7 And when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where have you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We are here to buy food.”