7 And when Joseph saw his brothers, it was clear to him who they were, but he made himself strange to them, and talking roughly to them, said, Where do you come from? And they said, From the land of Canaan, to get food. 8 Now though Joseph saw that these were his brothers, they had no idea who he was. 9 Then the memory of his dreams about them came back to Joseph, and he said to them, You have come secretly to see how poor the land is. 10 And they said to him, Not so, my lord: your servants have come with money to get food. 11 We are all one man's sons, we are true men; we have not come with any secret purpose. 12 And he said to them, No, but you have come to see how poor the land is. 13 Then they said, We your servants are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan; the youngest of us is now with our father, and one is dead. 14 And Joseph said, It is as I said; you have come with some secret purpose; 15 But in this way will you be put to the test: by the life of Pharaoh, you will not go away from this place till your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of your number to get your brother, and the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are true; if not, by the life of Pharaoh, your purpose is certainly secret. 17 So he put them in prison for three days. 18 And on the third day Joseph said to them, Do this, if you would keep your lives: for I am a god-fearing man: 19 If you are true men, let one of you be kept in prison, while you go and take grain for the needs of your families; 20 And come back to me with your youngest brother, so that your words may be seen to be true, and you will not be put to death. This is what you are to do.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 42:7-20
Commentary on Genesis 42:7-20
(Read Genesis 42:7-20)
Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. Joseph settled at last, that one of them should be left, and the rest go home and fetch Benjamin. It was a very encouraging word he said to them, "I fear God;" as if he had said, You may be assured I will do you no wrong; I dare not, for I know there is one higher than I. With those that fear God, we may expect fair dealing.