Genesis 42:7

42:7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger ¹  to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked, “Where do you come from?” They answered, ²  “From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food.” ³ 

Genesis 42:12

42:12 “No,” he insisted, “but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable.” ⁴ 

Genesis 42:16

42:16 One of you must go and get ⁵  your brother, while ⁶  the rest of you remain in prison. ⁷  In this way your words may be tested to see if ⁸  you are telling the truth. ⁹  If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”

Genesis 42:30

42:30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us ¹⁰  as if we were ¹¹  spying on the land.

¹ sn But pretended to be a stranger. Joseph intends to test his brothers to see if they have changed and have the integrity to be patriarchs of the tribes of Israel. He will do this by putting them in the same situations that they and he were in before. The first test will be to awaken their conscience.

² tn Heb “said.”

³ tn The verb is denominative, meaning “to buy grain”; the word “food” could simply be the direct object, but may also be an adverbial accusative.

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 “send from you one and let him take.” After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose.

⁶ tn The disjunctive clause is here circumstantial-temporal.

⁷ tn Heb “bound.”

⁸ tn The words “to see” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁹ tn Heb “the truth [is] with you.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “made us.”

¹¹ tn The words “if we were” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.