Discovery BoxGenesis 42:9-18 
Context42:9 Then Joseph remembered 1 the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see if our land is vulnerable!” 2
42:10 But they exclaimed, 3 “No, my lord! Your servants have come to buy grain for food! 42:11 We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men! Your servants are not spies.”
42:12 “No,” he insisted, “but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable.” 4 42:13 They replied, “Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers. 5 We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time, 6 and one is no longer alive.” 7
42:14 But Joseph told them, “It is just as I said to you: 8 You are spies! 42:15 You will be tested in this way: As surely as Pharaoh lives, 9 you will not depart from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 42:16 One of you must go and get 10 your brother, while 11 the rest of you remain in prison. 12 In this way your words may be tested to see if 13 you are telling the truth. 14 If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 42:17 He imprisoned 15 them all for three days. 42:18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do as I say 16 and you will live, 17 for I fear God. 18
1 sn You are spies. Joseph wanted to see how his brothers would react if they were accused of spying.
2 tn Heb “to see the nakedness of the land you have come.”
3 tn Heb “and they said to him.” In context this is best understood as an exclamation.
4 tn Heb “and he said, ‘No, for the nakedness of the land you have come to see.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “twelve [were] your servants, brothers [are] we.”
6 tn Heb “today.”
7 tn Heb “and the one is not.”
8 tn Heb “to you, saying.”
9 tn Heb “[By] the life of Pharaoh.”
sn As surely as Pharaoh lives. Joseph uses an oath formula to let the brothers know the certainty of what he said. There is some discussion in the commentaries on swearing by the life of Pharaoh, but since the formulation here reflects the Hebrew practice, it would be hard to connect the ideas exactly to Egyptian practices. Joseph did this to make the point in a way that his Hebrew brothers would understand. See M. R. Lehmann, “Biblical Oaths,” ZAW 81 (1969): 74-92.
10 tn Heb “send from you one and let him take.” After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose.
11 tn The disjunctive clause is here circumstantial-temporal.
12 tn Heb “bound.”
13 tn The words “to see” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
14 tn Heb “the truth [is] with you.”
15 sn The same Hebrew word is used for Joseph’s imprisonment in 40:3, 4, 7. There is some mirroring going on in the narrative. The Hebrew word used here (אָסַף, ’asaf, “to gather”) is not normally used in a context like this (for placing someone in prison), but it forms a wordplay on the name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yosoef) and keeps the comparison working.
16 tn Heb “Do this.”
17 tn After the preceding imperative, the imperative with vav (ו) can, as here, indicate logical sequence.
18 sn For I fear God. Joseph brings God into the picture to awaken his brothers’ consciences. The godly person cares about the welfare of people, whether they live or die. So he will send grain back, but keep one of them in Egypt. This action contrasts with their crime of selling their brother into slavery.
