Genesis 43:3

43:3 But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned ¹  us, ‘You will not see my face ²  unless your brother is with you.’

Genesis 43:7

43:7 They replied, “The man questioned us ³  thoroughly ⁴  about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ ⁵  So we answered him in this way. ⁶  How could we possibly know ⁷  that he would say, ⁸  ‘Bring your brother down’?”

Genesis 42:3

42:3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.

Genesis 42:10

42:10 But they exclaimed, ⁹  “No, my lord! Your servants have come to buy grain for food!

Genesis 42:27

42:27 When one of them ¹⁰  opened his sack to get feed for his donkey at their resting place, ¹¹  he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. ¹² 

Genesis 42:35

42:35 When they were emptying their sacks, there was each man’s bag of money in his sack! When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were afraid.

[43:3]  ¹ tn The infinitive absolute with the finite verb stresses the point. The primary meaning of the verb is “to witness; to testify.” It alludes to Joseph’s oath, which was tantamount to a threat or warning.

[43:3]  ² tn The idiom “see my face” means “have an audience with me.”

[43:7]  ³ tn The word “us” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[43:7]  ⁴ tn The infinitive absolute with the perfect verbal form emphasizes that Joseph questioned them thoroughly.

[43:7]  ⁵ sn The report given here concerning Joseph’s interrogation does not exactly match the previous account where they supplied the information to clear themselves (see 42:13). This section may reflect how they remembered the impact of his interrogation, whether he asked the specific questions or not. That may be twisting the truth to protect themselves, not wanting to admit that they volunteered the information. (They admitted as much in 42:31, but now they seem to be qualifying that comment.) On the other hand, when speaking to Joseph later (see 44:19), Judah claims that Joseph asked for the information about their family, making it possible that 42:13 leaves out some of the details of their first encounter.

[43:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “and we told to him according to these words.”

[43:7]  ⁷ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the imperfect verbal form, which here is a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of a past time).

[43:7]  ⁸ tn Once again the imperfect verbal form is used as a historic future (that is, future from the perspective of past time).

[42:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “and they said to him.” In context this is best understood as an exclamation.

[42:27]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the one.” The article indicates that the individual is vivid in the mind of the narrator, yet it is not important to identify him by name.

[42:27]  ¹¹ tn Heb “at the lodging place.”

[42:27]  ¹² tn Heb “and look, it [was] in the mouth of his sack.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to look through the eyes of the character and thereby draws attention to the money.