Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 42:8

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

Gen 42:8

Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him

The betrayers confronted with the betrayed

I.

AN INSTANCE OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE.

II. A PREPARATION FOR GRACE.

III. A FORESHADOWING OF GRACE. (St. J. A. Frere.)

Known and watched

I. BOTH OPEN AND SECRET SINNERS ARE KNOWN AND WATCHED BY GOD.

II. BOTH TRUE AND FALSE PROFESSORS ARE KNOWN AND WATCHED BY THE WORLD. (J. Henry Burn, B. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Because his visage was much altered by his beard, and by other things, it being about twenty years since they saw him; and his Egyptian language, and habit, and carriage, together with the great dignity of his place, prevented all suspicions concerninging their brother.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. 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; or, however, it could not come into their minds, that he whom they sold for a slave could ever be governor of the land of Egypt.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(8) Joseph knew.As this is twice repeated, some suppose that Joseph (in Gen. 42:7) had only a suspicion, from their dress and appearance, that these Canaanites were his brethren; but that when they spake the Hebrew tongue (comp. Gen. 42:23), every doubt was removed. They would not recognize him, as he used the Egyptian language, was clad in a white linen dress, and being but seventeen when sold, had during the twenty years of separation changed in appearance much more than they had.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

‘And Joseph knew his brothers but they did not know him.’

There was no way in which they would have recognised him. He was dressed in the dignity of his office, with his hair and sumptuous clothing in the Egyptian style, and he was now a mature man changed by the course of years and what he had been forced to go through. Moreover he spoke to them through interpreters and they would not dare to look at him closely but would do so with bowed heads.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

In Prison as Spies

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

v. 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, the open, unfortified places of the country, where an attack by a hostile army would be successful. It was a particularly hard test which Joseph determined upon, but in no manner to be compared to the distress of thirteen years as slave which be had to bear on their account.

v. 10. And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. The very idea of their suffering the fate of spies filled them with the greatest consternation and fear.

v. 11. We are all one man’s sons, not a band of adventurers, we are true men, thy servants are no spies. They protest, with mortified pride, that they are upright and honest. It did not stand to reason that a father would send out all his sons on an errand which would result in their execution if they should be caught.

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

v. 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. Joseph’s refusal to believe their assurance of innocence brings him the further information that his aged father is still alive, and that Benjamin is well at home. Their non-committal manner in referring to Joseph shows that they bore uneasy consciences on his account, but they could say no more to the Egyptian ruler.

v. 14. And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies. He treats their mention of a brother at home as a mere subterfuge, as an attempt to make their story plausible.

v. 15. Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh, ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Joseph, maintaining his role as an Egyptian, demands that they should produce this brother, the mention of whom was intended to disarm suspicion.

v. 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. If this brother, whose existence they allege, would be forthcoming, then he would be willing to believe them, but if not, then they should, as he solemnly says, be regarded and treated as spies.

v. 17. And he put them all together into ward three days, thus giving them an opportunity to discuss the situation from all sides and to think over some of their past misdeeds.

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

v. 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;

v. 20. but bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. Here the love of Joseph for his brothers appears. He assures them that the fear of God governs him, he bids them take up the grain for the needs of their family, and while he does not change his condition that he wants to see Benjamin before believing in their uprightness, he relieves the severity by demanding only one out of their midst as hostage, while he offers to dismiss the rest. If they were really repentant, he knew that this way of dealing with them would be sure to have the desired effect. And they did so; the-brethren agreed to this condition in its present form.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Gen 42:8. They knew not him Every thing concurred to conceal Joseph from them; the alteration of his person; his dress; his state; and, above all, their having no apprehension of meeting him.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

No doubt this remembrance was a gracious remembrance. Jos 23:14 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Gen 42:8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.

Ver. 8. But they knew not him. ] As being now altered in stature, voice, visage, his present pomp, and haply also, by his former imprisonment and affliction. We read of a young man, that being condemned to die, was turned gray-headed in one night, through forethought and fear of death, and was thereupon spared.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 42:8-17

8But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him. 9Joseph 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.” 10Then they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11We are all sons of one man; we are honest men, your servants are not spies.” 12Yet he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land!” 13But 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.” 14Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies; 15by this you will be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here! 16Send 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.” 17So he put them all together in prison for three days.

Gen 42:9 “Joseph remembered the dreams” This refers to chapter 37. Joseph had named his first son Manasseh (“making to forget”), but the memories of his brothers’ betrayal came flooding back.

“You are spies” The rabbis say that Jacob told his sons to enter the city by different gates and that Joseph observed this and used it to accuse them of being spies (BDB 920, KB 1183, Piel PARTICIPLE, cf. Jos 2:1; Jos 6:22-23; 1Sa 26:4). He did this in order to test their motives and character.

NASBthe undefended parts of the land”

NKJV, NRSV,

JPSOA”the nakedness of the land”

TEVwhere the country is weak”

NJBthe country’s weak points”

LXX”the marks (i.e., scrutinize the tracks) of the land”

REB”the weak points of our defences”

This term (BDB 788) is literally “naked” (cf. Gen 9:22-23) or “bare.” The sense here (determined by the context) is the area of Egypt without forts or military guards. It is a false accusation to test Jacob’s children.

Gen 42:11 “we are honest men” “Honest” (BDB 467 II, cf. Gen 42:11; Gen 42:19; Gen 42:31; Gen 42:34) is used in the sense of irony of what they had earlier done to Joseph. They appeared as upright, forthright men, but they had acted in evil ways (cf. Genesis 34, 37).

Gen 42:13 “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” The last phrase is obviously referring to Joseph. It is ironical that they are speaking this to his face without knowing who he was.

Gen 42:15 “by the life of Pharaoh” Many commentators have criticized Joseph for taking this oath twice. It fits his disguise! He is obviously not using it in a theological sense. However, it is a reference to the Egyptian tradition that Pharaoh was the son of the sun god, Re. This very oath has been found on Egyptian monuments.

Gen 42:16 Joseph makes several commands and demands.

1. send one of you, BDB 1018, KB 1511, QAL IMPERATIVE

2. that he may get your brother, BDB 542, KB 534, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense

3. while you remain in prison, BDB 63, KB 75, Niphal IMPERATIVE

4. that your words be tested, BDB 103, KB 119, Niphal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense

Gen 42:17 “So he put them all in the prison for three days” Apparently Joseph wanted them to experience some of the agony that he had gone through at their expense.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

but they knew: Luk 24:16, Joh 20:14, Joh 21:4

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Joseph remembered his dreams (Gen 42:9), and the proof of God’s faithfulness undoubtedly encouraged his confidence as he proceeded to deal with his brothers. He played a role before them charging them with a crime punishable with death in Egypt. Such a serious accusation encouraged his brothers to be as honest as possible, which is what Joseph wanted.

A family will rarely risk almost all of its sons in a dangerous spying mission, which probably explains the brothers’ statement that they were all sons of one man (Gen 42:11).

Probably Joseph wanted to be sure that his brothers had not killed Benjamin since they had contemplated killing himself (Gen 42:15).

The three-day imprisonment provided Joseph with time to plan his strategy, and it impressed the brothers with the importance of cooperating with Joseph (Gen 42:17). These three days also gave the brothers a taste of what Joseph had endured for three years. Joseph may have intended that they serve one day’s imprisonment for each year he had suffered incarceration because of their hatred.

"A vindictive Joseph could have dismayed his brothers with worthless sackloads, or tantalized them at his feast as they had tantalized him (Gen 37:24-25); his enigmatic gifts were a kinder and more searching test. Just how well-judged was his policy can be seen in the growth of quite new attitudes in the brothers, as the alternating sun and frost broke them open to God." [Note: Kidner, p. 199. Cf. Waltke, Genesis, p. 542.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)