Genesis 42:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them.

NIV: They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.

NASB: They did not know, however, that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between them.

CSB: They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them.

NLT: Of course, they didn’t know that Joseph understood them, for he had been speaking to them through an interpreter.

KJV: And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

NKJV: But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter.

In the prior verses, Joseph's ten older brothers are confessing their guilt for selling him into slavery twenty years earlier (Genesis 42:21–22). They speak so openly because they assume he couldn't understand a word they were saying. They have no idea the Egyptian governor who commands them is their enslaved brother, raised to a position of incredible power (Genesis 41:42–45; 42:8).

To this point, Joseph had used an interpreter to communicate with them, translating between his Egyptian language and their Canaanite or Hebrew tongue. Official business was likely conducted only in Egyptian, but even then, the interpreter was a useful part of Joseph's deception. His secret is strained, however, as he emotionally reacts to what his brothers are saying (Genesis 42:24). That reaction will happen more than once (Genesis 43:30), proving that Joseph's reasonable anger (Genesis 42:7) is tempered by a merciful sense of love.

Genesis 42:18–28 describes a powerful Egyptian governor sending nine of Jacob's sons home with purchased grain, while keeping Simeon as collateral. He commands the others to return only if they can prove their honesty by bringing along their youngest brother. The men tell each other they must be suffering for abusing another brother, Joseph (Genesis 37:28). They don't realize the governor is Joseph himself (Genesis 42:7) and that he understands their language. After leaving, the horrified brothers find the payment for the grain is still in their bags. They do not know Joseph secretly arranged to give it back to them.

Genesis 42 describes the moment Joseph sees his brothers for the first time since they sold him into slavery over 20 years earlier. They have come to Egypt to buy grain, and they do not recognize him. He keeps his secret, speaking roughly to them and hinting they may be spies. He allows them to leave only if they promise to return with their youngest brother Benjamin. He keeps Simeon as collateral but sends them off with full sacks of grain for their family. He also secretly returns their money, something they are terrified to discover on the way home. Back in Canaan, Jacob responds to this terrible news with bitterness and vindictive blame.

Twenty years prior to the events of this chapter, Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:28). Miraculously, Joseph is now the governor of the nation of Egypt (Genesis 41:44). His brothers, who know nothing of Joseph's fate, have come to buy food during a terrible famine (Genesis 41:56–57). Joseph, probably and justifiably angry at his brothers, keeps his identity a secret, at first. Over the next several chapters, he will test, challenge, and chasten them. Yet there is no revenge involved; everything Joseph does furthers a long-term goal of rescuing the family from starvation.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 5/9/2024 8:17:10 PM