42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. 1 Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down 2 before him with 3 their faces to the ground.
43:26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, 6 and they bowed down to the ground before him.
44:14 So Judah and his brothers 7 came back to Joseph’s house. He was still there, 8 and they threw themselves to the ground before him.
1 tn The disjunctive clause either introduces a new episode in the unfolding drama or provides the reader with supplemental information necessary to understanding the story.
2 sn Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him. Here is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams (see Gen 37). But it is not the complete fulfillment, since all his brothers and his parents must come. The point of the dream, of course, was not simply to get the family to bow to Joseph, but that Joseph would be placed in a position of rule and authority to save the family and the world (41:57).
3 tn The word “faces” is an adverbial accusative, so the preposition has been supplied in the translation.
4 sn You are spies. Joseph wanted to see how his brothers would react if they were accused of spying.
5 tn Heb “to see the nakedness of the land you have come.”
6 tn Heb “into the house.”
7 sn Judah and his brothers. The narrative is already beginning to bring Judah to the forefront.
8 tn The disjunctive clause here provides supplemental information.