Genesis 42:1-2

"Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence, that we may live, and not die."

This record of a family council precipitated by the stern realities of the terrible famine and the threat of death from starvation emphasizes the authority and decisiveness of Jacob, whose "energy and resourcefulness (of the father) is (sic) set in striking contrast to the perplexity of the sons."[2] Such a glimpse underlines the fact that we are actually dealing with the [~toledowth] of Jacob, not that of Joseph. Like any good narrative, this one leaves out many things. It is not related how Jacob learned of the availability of grain in Egypt, nor what proposals (if any) his sons offered as a remedy for the situation. Whatever discussions and proposals were discussed and rejected, Jacob resolved them all by the order, "Get you down thither, and buy for us from thence!"