Free Bible Commentary
“Genesis 42:8-17”
Categories: Genesis“But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him. Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them, and said to them, ‘You are spies; you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land.’ Then they said to him, ‘No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man; we are honest men, your servants are not spies.’ Yet he said to them, ‘No, but you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land!’ But they said, ‘Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive.’ Joseph said to them, ‘It is as I said to you, you are spies; by this you will be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here! Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.’ So he put them all together in prison for three days.”
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“But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him.” (verse 8) Joseph pretended to be a stranger to his estranged brothers, and they were none the wiser of his true identity. “It being about twenty two years since they saw him, and then he was young, and his beard not grown, as now it was; and besides, he was clothed as a prince, and spoke the Egyptian language; and being in such great grandeur and splendour, and in such power and authority, and having such a retinue attending him, they never once thought of him, whom they supposed might be dead, having never heard of him all this time...” (Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible)
“Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them…” (verse 9) This influx of memories must have triggered a flood of emotions deeply within Pharaoh’s right-hand man. “The sight of his brothers prostrating themselves before him suddenly reminds Joseph of those long-forgotten dreams, and he realizes for the first time that they had actually presaged his future. Yet he cannot help but recall as well the hatreds they had engendered. He must have heard his brothers mention those dreams derisively as they threw him into the pit.” (Nahum Sarna)
“You are spies...” (verse 9) With those old, hurt feelings freshly kicking around inside him, Joseph’s kneejerk reaction was to accuse his brothers of being up to no good. There may very well have been suspicion aroused by these ten men crossing the border “via ‘the Way of Horus,’ the military highway from Canaan that led through Gaza to El-‘Arish” (Nahum Sarna), so Joseph’s accusation against them could have served a dual purpose. By accusing his brothers of being spies, Joseph would have demonstrated to his subordinates that he took the safety and security of the land of Egypt very seriously, and it also provided the perfect opportunity to put his brothers to the test.
“We are all sons of one man…” (verse 11) The logic behind this defense was anyone should have understood that no father would risk the lives of ten of his sons by sending them all on a dangerous spy mission together. “We are honest men…” Joseph knew all too well from firsthand experience that this was a flat out lie! Of course, they had likely changed and grown over the course of the past twenty plus years, but such a statement could not have been met with anything other than derision in the mind of the brother they had dealt with so dishonestly, deceptively and despicably.
“No, but you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land!” (verse 12) Joseph accused them of investigating the land of Egypt to determine the more vulnerable areas that would be exposed to attack. He refused to relent no matter their cries of innocence or the pleas for mercy. Joseph accused his brothers of being spies four times in very short order (verses 6, 11, 14, 16), and with each accusation their hearts must have sunk deeper within their chests as the inevitability of their imprisonment and the fear of possible execution pressed heavily down upon them.
“Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive.” (verse 13) The mention of both Benjamin and Jacob being alive and well in the land of Canaan must have eased the mind of Joseph greatly, and he no doubt wanted to know much more about their circumstances. But he also knew they were in need of proper nourishment if they were to maintain their state of welfare, so he didn’t have much time to keep up the current charade that he was playing. Joseph could only be left to wonder whether the thought that he was “no longer alive” was expressed by his brothers with a heart filled with remorse or not.
“By this you will be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here!” (verse 15) Joseph swore by the life of Pharaoh, the only one with a higher rank than himself (Hebrews 6:16), that the only chance the brothers had of ever walking out of Egypt as free men would be for one of them to go back home and bring back Benjamin. This would ostensibly serve as the “proof” Joseph needed to believe the brothers were telling the truth about not being spies. “Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you.” (verse 16) Otherwise they would be tried as spies.
“So he put them all together in prison for three days.” (verse 17) “Hebrew mishmar…the same term as used previously for the place of Joseph’s imprisonment. Its use hints at a sort of retributive justice.” (Nahum Sarna) The tables had been turned on these abusive brothers in so many ways and their sins had finally caught up with them. “Behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). Of even great significance though, they would also meet with the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness, extended by the hand of the righteous Joseph. Praise be to the Lord that His amazing grace is greater than the sum total of our detestable sins! “The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression…” (Numbers 14:18).
Please read Genesis 42:18-28 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
-Louie Taylor
