The KJV Holy Bible

 

Genesis Chapter Forty Two

 

1 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?

2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.

3 And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.

4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.

5 And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.

7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.

8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.

9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.

11 We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.

12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.

14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:

15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.

16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.

17 And he put them all together into ward three days.

18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:

19 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:

20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.

23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.

25 Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.

26 And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.

27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth.

28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?

29 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,

30 The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

31 And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:

32 We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:

34 And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.

35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.

37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.

38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

 

 

Esoteric Interpretation & Commentary

 

The Hermetic Blueprint of Genesis: The Starvation of the Ego and the Testing of the Lower Faculties

"Genesis Chapter Forty-Two initiates the painful but necessary reintegration of the Divided Mind. When the Cosmic Pendulum swings into the negative cycle (the famine), the Conscious Mind and its lower, workaday faculties find themselves entirely depleted of Vital Energy. To survive, they are forced to descend into the dense Subconscious matrix (Egypt), where the Supreme Spiritual Intuition (Joseph) now Reigns Absolute. This chapter details the strict alchemical testing of the unrefined intellect and emotions. The Higher Intuition does not immediately reveal itself; instead, it applies pressure, restriction, and judgment to force the lower ego into Self-Awareness and Purification."

 

 

Verses 1-5: The Depletion of the Conscious Mind and the Descent for Vitality - "Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?... get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die." 

The Seven years of famine have arrived, representing a period of Deep Spiritual and Physical Depletion. The Conscious, Awakened Mind (Jacob/Israel) Realizes that its Ten active faculties (the brothers) are paralyzed and starving in the Higher Conscious Realm (Canaan). Because the Pure Intuition (Joseph) previously consolidated all the Vital Energy (the corn) down in the Subconscious (Egypt), the Conscious Mind must send its lower faculties down into the dense material matrix to retrieve the Life Force. However, Israel keeps Benjamin (the youngest, representing the newly formed, delicate Will or 'Right Hand') behind. The Conscious Mind fiercely protects its most vulnerable Spiritual Achievement from the dangers of the descent.

 

 

Verses 6-16: The Blindness of the Lower Faculties and the Accusation of the Spirit - "And Joseph was the governor over the land... and Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come." 

The Ten lower faculties bow before the governor of Egypt, fulfilling the prophetic dream from Chapter 37. Joseph (the Divine Intuition) immediately recognizes the lower faculties, but they are entirely blind to him. The unrefined intellect and emotions cannot recognize Pure Spiritual intuition when it is operating through the heavy, powerful structures of the material world. Instead of greeting them with Love, Joseph speaks roughly and accuses them of being spies. Esoterically, the Higher Intuition deliberately challenges the lower ego, Questioning its True Motives and Forcing it to Justify its Presence in the depths of the Psyche.

 

 

Verses 17-24: The Three-Day Crucible and the Binding of Reactive Emotion - "And he put them all together into ward three days... And he took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes." 

Joseph casts all Ten faculties into prison for three days. This is the Universal Alchemical cycle of dissolution—the lower ego must be restricted in darkness until it breaks down and acknowledges its past Karmic failures. In the darkness, the brothers finally confess their guilt regarding how they treated Joseph years ago. The Intuition hears this confession and is moved to compassion, but it Maintains Strict Discipline. Joseph takes Simeon and binds him. Remember from Chapter 34 that Simeon represents aggressive, reactive emotion and unchecked passion. By binding Simeon in the Subconscious, the Divine Intuition effectively paralyzes the Mind's ability to react violently, ensuring the remaining faculties will operate with caution and obedience.

 

 

Verses 25-28: The Grace of the Spirit and the Terror of the Ego - "Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack... And their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?" 

Joseph provides the Vital Energy (the corn) but secretly commands that their Silver (their worldly currency) be returned to their sacks. When the lower faculties discover the Silver, they are absolutely terrified. The lower ego operates entirely on transactional logic: it believes it must purchase its survival through worldly effort. When it receives Life-Sustaining Energy as a free gift of grace from the Hidden Divine (without the exchange of material currency), the ego is thrown into a state of panic, Realizing it is Entirely Subject to a Higher Cosmic Law it cannot control.

 

 

Verses 29-38: The Return to the Center and the Demand for the Ultimate Faculty - "And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them... And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone:" 

The nine remaining faculties return to the Conscious Mind (Jacob) and report the strict conditions of the Subconscious ruler: to survive and to free Simeon, they must bring Benjamin (the final, protected Spiritual Faculty) down into the matrix. Jacob vehemently refuses. The Conscious Mind is terrified that if it sends its last, most precious Spiritual development down into the heavy material world, it will be destroyed just as he believes Joseph was. The Conscious Mind is not yet ready for total integration.