Genesis 42

πρᾶσις, "a sale," where the Masoretic version reads "rations" (שֶׁבֶר): the Greek names the selling, not the grain, and the selling is Joseph's (42:6). For "Why do you make yourselves seen?" (the hithpael of רָאָה, 135h) the Greek has Ἵνα τί ῥᾳθυμεῖτε, "Why do you dawdle?": a father's rebuke of sons sitting idle, the sense the KJV's "look one upon another" was reaching for. The Greek does not repeat the name before "said," where the Masoretic version reads "and Jacob said" (seeded, marked).

The Greek has no "And he said" at the head of the verse and no "from there" after "for us" (both seeded, marked), and adds μικρὰ βρώματα, "small foods" (seeded), the provisions Jacob asks for again at 43:2, where the Masoretic version has them too ("a little food"). μικρός keeps its home gloss "small" and βρῶμα its plural. ἵνα ζῶμεν, "so that we may live," makes the purpose a clause, where the Masoretic version reads "and let us live."

μή ποτε συμβῇ αὐτῷ μαλακία, "lest an ailment befall him," where the Masoretic version reads "lest harm meet him" (אָסוֹן): μαλακία is a softness of the body, sickness, as in Matt 4:23 ("every disease and every ailment"); the Greek fears illness on the road where the Hebrew fears mishap. The same fear returns at 42:38 with the verb μαλακίζομαι. The Greek does not name Jacob as the subject of "did not send" (seeded, marked). Swete prints Βενιαμείν and μή ποτε in two words where Rahlfs prints Βενιαμιν and μήποτε; the sense is the same.

ἄρχων τῆς γῆς, "ruler of the land," for the Masoretic version's "the potentate over the land" (שַׁלִּיט, 135g); ἄρχων is the Greek's common word for such an officer (Matt 9:18; John 3:1), not ἡγεμών "governor" (151e). For "he was the seller of rations" (the hiphil of שָׁבַר, 135a) the Greek has a plain imperfect, οὗτος ἐπώλει, "this one was selling," with πωλέω "sell" (149e). ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, "on face upon the land," is the Greek's regular rendering of "nostrils to the land."

ἠλλοτριοῦτο ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν, "he was estranging himself from them," an imperfect middle, for the Masoretic version's "he made himself foreign to them" (the hithpael of נָכַר, 135b): the Greek verb is of the root of ἀλλότριος "foreign," so the pun on recognizing and estranging that the Hebrew makes with one root is carried by sense, not sound. The brothers come to buy βρώματα, "foods," plural, where the Masoretic version reads "rations of food."

κατανοῆσαι τὰ ἴχνη τῆς χώρας, "to consider the tracks of the country," where the Masoretic version reads "to see the bareness of the land" (עֶרְוַת הָאָרֶץ): the Hebrew means the land's nakedness, its unguarded places; the Greek reads its ἴχνη, the tracks and footprints by which it is entered and crossed (Rom 4:12; 1 Pet 2:21, "that you should follow in his tracks"). "Tracks" is held at 42:12, where the Greek has "the tracks of the land" and the verb "see." In 42:9 the dreams are those ὧν ἴδεν αὐτός, "that he himself had seen," where the Masoretic version reads "that he had dreamed of them"; ἴδεν is Swete's spelling of εἶδεν.

The Greek has no "to him" after "said" (seeded, marked) and no "and" before "your servants." οἱ παῖδές σου ἤλθομεν, "your servants, we have come," puts the verb in the first person, where the Masoretic version reads "your servants have come." πριάσασθαι is Swete's form of the verb πρίαμαι, "purchase," of 42:2–3. κύριε, "lord," a human lord, is lowercase.

εἰρηνικοί ἐσμεν, "peaceable we are," where the Masoretic version reads "honest are we" (כֵּנִים, 135c): the Greek has the brothers plead that they are men of peace, not raiders, as Hamor calls Jacob's sons "peaceable" (34:21). The gloss is held through 42:19, 31, 33 and 34. οὐκ εἰσίν, "are not," is present where the Masoretic version reads "have not been."

The Greek does not repeat "sons of one man" here (seeded, marked), having said it at 42:11. ὁ δὲ ἕτερος οὐχ ὑπάρχει, "but the other does not exist," where the Masoretic version reads "and the one is not": ἕτερος is "other," the next of a count (146c), and ὑπάρχω keeps its home gloss "exist" (Phil 2:6), the brothers' word for Joseph whom they think dead; again at 42:32. ὁ νεώτερος, "the younger," is the comparative for the Masoretic version's "the youngest."

The Greek introduces the quoted words with ὅτι, "that" (seeded, marked), where the Masoretic version has "saying" alone; the word is kept with the least English that shows it (142a). εἴρηκα, "I have said," for "I spoke."

νὴ τὴν ὑγίαν Φαραώ, "by the health of Pharaoh," where the Masoretic version reads "life of Pharaoh" (חֵי פַרְעֹה): the Greek swears by the king's health with the oath particle νή (1 Cor 15:31), the formula of Greek speech, where the Hebrew swears by his life. The Masoretic version keeps the oath's bare "if" (21), "if you go out from here," whose unspoken curse means they shall not; the Greek says it outright with the emphatic negative οὐ μή, "you shall not go out," so the two say the same thing and no negation is added. ἐὰν μὴ … ἔλθῃ, "unless … comes," is a clause for the Masoretic version's "except at the coming of." φανεῖσθε, "you shall appear," is the passive of φαίνω (147f), shown up for what you are, where the Masoretic version reads "you shall be proved." ὑγίαν is Swete's spelling (Rahlfs ὑγίειαν); the same oath returns at 42:16.

λάβετε, "take," plural, where the Masoretic version reads "let him take"; ἀπάχθητε, "be led away," for "be bound" (ἀπάγω, of the arrested, Mark 14:44); ἕως τοῦ φανερὰ γενέσθαι τὰ ῥήματα ὑμῶν, "until your words come to be manifest," for "and let your words be proved"; and εἰ ἀληθεύετε ἢ οὔ, "whether you speak truth or not," for "whether truth is with you." Swete prints εἰ μήν, a spelling of the oath-formula ἦ μήν that Rahlfs prints, "surely," where the Masoretic version reads "for" (כִּי).

The Greek has no "Joseph" after "said to them" (seeded, marked) and adds γάρ, "for" (seeded), so that the fear of God is given as the reason. τὸν θεόν, "God," with the article, prints the capital (9) where the Masoretic version keeps "the elohim" lowercase (135i): the Greek lexicon does not carry the Hebrew agreement rule. ζήσεσθε, "you shall live," a future, for the imperative "live."

κατασχεθήτω, "let him be held fast," where the Masoretic version reads "let him be bound," and ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ, "in the custody," for "in the house of your custody." For "go, bring rations for the hunger of your houses" the Greek has βαδίσατε καὶ ἀπαγάγετε τὸν ἀγορασμὸν τῆς σιτοδοσίας ὑμῶν, "proceed and lead away the buying of your grain-dole": what they have bought of the grain allotted to them. The alignment seeds "the hunger of your houses" as lacking; it is marked after "your grain-dole," where "of your houses" stood, and the Greek's own words are marked as different (σιτοδοσία, the dole of grain, recurs at 42:33).

For the Masoretic version's "and you shall not die" the Greek has εἰ δὲ μή, ἀποθανεῖσθε, "but if not, you shall die": the promise is turned into a threat, and the sense is the same; no negation is lost. πιστευθήσονται, "will be believed," a future, for "let be firm" (אָמַן). Swete prints καταγάγετε, "bring down," from Alexandrinus, where Rahlfs reads ἀγάγετε "lead" and the Masoretic version "bring."

The Greek adds γάρ, "for," and αὐτοῦ, "him," after "hearken to" (both seeded, marked). ἐν ἁμαρτίᾳ ἐσμέν, "in sin we are," where the Masoretic version reads "liable are we" (אֲשֵׁמִים). Swete prints ὑπερίδομεν, "we overlooked," where Rahlfs spells it ὑπερείδομεν and the Masoretic version reads "we saw": the Greek makes the guilt a looking past, a disregard of what they saw. κατεδέετο, "he was begging earnestly," is the imperfect of καταδέομαι, for "he begged favor." ἐπῆλθεν, "has come upon," for "has come to."

The Greek lacks the Masoretic version's "too" (גַּם) in "and his blood too": the lack is marked (150l), though the alignment does not seed it. It adds μου, "me," after "hearken to" (seeded, marked). Reuben asks Οὐκ ἐλάλησα, "Did I not speak," for "Did I not say," and quotes himself as saying μὴ ἀδικήσητε, "do not wrong" (ἀδικέω, 1 Cor 6:7–8), where the Masoretic version reads "do not sin against." τὸ παιδάριον, "the lad," for "the child"; ἐκζητεῖται, "is sought out," as in Luke 11:50–51.

The alignment seeds ἦν, "was," as a plus, but the Masoretic version's English already reads "was between them," and nothing is added; the seed is refused (150j). ὁ ἑρμηνευτής, "the interpreter," for the Masoretic version's "the go-between" (מֵלִיץ): the Greek names the office the scene needs. ἀκούει, "was hearing," keeps ἀκούω "hear," which here is to understand a language (1 Cor 14:2).

The Greek names Joseph as the one who wept (seeded, marked). ἀποστραφείς, "having turned back," for "he went around," and πάλιν προσῆλθεν, "again he approached," for "he returned"; εἶπεν, "said," for "spoke"; and ἐναντίον αὐτῶν, "before them," for "before their eyes."

The Greek makes all three of Joseph's orders infinitives, ἐμπλῆσαι, "to make full," where the Masoretic version reads "and they filled," and gives τὸ ἀργύριον ἑκάστου, "the silver of each," singular, for "their silvers, each man." τὰ ἄγγια, "the containers," is ἀγγεῖον (Matt 13:48; 25:4), for "articles" (כְּלִי). The verse ends καὶ ἐγενήθη αὐτοῖς οὕτως, "and it came to be for them thus," where the Masoretic version reads "and he did for them thus."

λύσας, "having loosed," for "opened," and τὸν μάρσιππον, "his bag," where the Masoretic version reads "his sack" (שַׂק); the Greek uses μάρσιππος also for the Masoretic version's "pack" (אַמְתַּחַת), here at the verse's end and through 43:23, so the two Hebrew words fall together. The Greek has τοῖς ὄνοις, "his donkeys," plural; οὗ κατέλυσαν, "where they lodged," for "at the lodging"; and ἴδεν τὸν δεσμὸν τοῦ ἀργυρίου αὐτοῦ, "he saw the bond of his silver," the thing that tied it, where the Masoretic version reads "his silver": δεσμός keeps its home gloss "bond" (Phil 1:7), as at 42:35, where the Masoretic version has "bundle" (צְרוֹר). The silver is ἐπάνω τοῦ στόματος, "above the mouth," of the bag. The Greek lacks the second "look" (seeded, partial, marked). ἴδεν is Swete's spelling of εἶδεν.

The Greek lacks the Masoretic version's "also" (וְגַם) before "look"; the alignment does not seed it, and the lack is marked (150l). It adds τοῦτο, "it," as the subject of the second clause (seeded, marked). ἐξέστη ἡ καρδία αὐτῶν, "their heart was beside itself," for "their heart went out" (ἐξίστημι, Mark 3:21); ἐταράχθησαν πρὸς ἀλλήλους, "they were troubled with one another," for "they trembled, a man to his brother."

The Greek adds ἐν φυλακῇ, "in custody" (seeded, marked), and has ἔθετο ἡμᾶς … ὡς κατασκοπεύοντας τὴν γῆν, "set us … as spying out the land," for "gave us as spies of the land." λελάληκεν, "has spoken," is a perfect.

ὁ μικρότερος, "the smaller," the comparative of μικρός for the Masoretic version's "the youngest" (קָטָן, "the small one"); at 42:13, 15, 20 and 34 the Greek has νεώτερος "younger." ὁ εἷς οὐχ ὑπάρχει, "the one does not exist," as at 42:13. Swete prints εἰς γῆν Χανάαν, "in the land of Canaan," with εἰς for ἐν as often in this Greek, where Rahlfs reads ἐν γῇ.

Swete prints γνωσόμεθα, "we shall come to know," from Alexandrinus, where Rahlfs reads γνώσομαι and the Masoretic version "I shall know": the brothers report the lord of the land as speaking for his court. The Greek adds ὧδε, "here" (seeded, marked). For "and the hunger of your houses—take, and go" it has τὸν δὲ ἀγορασμὸν τῆς σιτοδοσίας ὑμῶν λαβόντες ἀπέλθατε, "but, having taken the buying of your grain-dole, go away," as at 42:19.

The Greek has ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι, "but that," where the Masoretic version reads "that" (כִּי) alone; the added ἀλλά, which the alignment does not seed, is marked. ἀποδώσω, "I will give back," for "I will give"; ἄγω "lead" for "bring."

ἐν τῷ κατακενοῦν αὐτούς, "as they were emptying," for "they were emptying out"; and ἦν ἑκάστου ὁ δεσμὸς τοῦ ἀργυρίου, "the bond of the silver of each was," for "each man's bundle of his silver" (42:27). The Greek has no "look" (וְהִנֵּה) before it, which the alignment does not seed; it is not marked (142a). τοῦ ἀργυρίου, "silver," singular, for "silvers."

λήμψεσθε, "you will take," a future, for "you would take"; and ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ ἐγένετο πάντα ταῦτα, "on me all these things have come to be," for "on me have they all been." The Greek has no "and" before "Simeon," which is not marked (142a). ἀτεκνόω, "make childless," for "bereave," as at 43:14.

ἀπόκτεινον, "kill," an imperative, where the Masoretic version reads "you may make die" (the hiphil of מוּת, 133e); ἀνάξω αὐτόν, "I will lead him up," for "I will return him."

For "should harm meet him on the way … you would bring down" the Greek has two futures, συμβήσεται αὐτὸν μαλακισθῆναι, "it will befall him to be ailing," and κατάξετε, "you will bring down": the father speaks of what will happen, not of what may. μαλακίζομαι is the verb of μαλακία, "ailment" (42:4). τὸ γῆρας, "my old age," for "my grayness" (שֵׂיבָה); εἰς ᾅδου, "to Hades," where the Masoretic version reads "to Sheol," as at 37:35. ἀπέθανεν, "died," an aorist, for "is dead." Swete prints πορεύεσθε, where Rahlfs reads the subjunctive πορεύησθε; the sense is the same.