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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.
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.
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.
And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
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.
And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
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.
And he put them all together into ward three days.
And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
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:
But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
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.
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.
And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
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.
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.

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

42:6 bowed down themselves. When his brothers bowed before Joseph, they were fulfilling the prophecy of his dream, as he had reported it to them some twenty-one or more years earlier (Genesis 37:5-10).


42:7 saw his brethren. It seems very likely that Joseph knew that his brothers would eventually have to come to him to buy grain, and had planned how he would handle the situation when they would finally appear–no doubt after much thought and prayer. He was most concerned that God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob be fulfilled in the descendants of Israel, but this would first require full reconciliation of all the family members to each other. He was not seeking revenge but restoration, and this would necessarily require recognition of their sin by his brothers, followed by forgiveness by himself. Accordingly, the several stages of his plan to bring this about were set in motion at this time.


42:16 fetch your brother. It was important for Joseph to learn whether the ten older brothers resented Benjamin, as they had him, since he and Benjamin were the only sons of Jacob’s beloved Rachel.


42:21 verily guilty. For the first time, Joseph knew that his brothers had recognized, and were confessing their sin. This was what he wanted to hear.


42:23 an interpreter. Since Babel, it had been necessary to develop a profession of linguists, who could translate one language into another. This explains the frequent accounts of Abraham and others being able to communicate with people of other nations.


42:24 Simeon. Joseph longed to be reconciled to his family, but first had to learn their attitude to him, to their father and to his younger brother Benjamin. Therefore, he subjected them to a number of tests. After hearing them express regret for what they had done to him (Genesis 42:21-22), Joseph took Simeon hostage while he sent the older brothers back for Benjamin, since Simeon had taken the lead part in their action against Joseph. This was calculated to further stir their consciences.


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