Joseph's Brothers Held in an Egyptian Prisonby Josiah-R
42:17Genesis 42:17
And he put them all together into ward three days.
Joseph put all ten of his brothers together into ward in prison for three days after accusing them of being spies. The confinement tested the truth of their account and their character, requiring them to prove themselves by bringing Benjamin down to Egypt. Rather than separate or endanger Benjamin, the brothers chose to remain together in custody so as not to bring further sorrow upon their father.
Those three days together were days of bitter sorrow that forced them to reflect upon their past wrong course, especially their cruelty in selling Joseph as a slave. They understood that if they were convicted as spies and could bring no evidence to clear themselves, they would all have to die or become slaves. They feared that God was punishing them for enslaving Joseph by letting them suffer slavery themselves.
They doubted that any effort of theirs could persuade their father to let Benjamin leave him, since Joseph was thought to have suffered a cruel death. During those same three days Joseph thought of his father and his brothers' families possibly suffering for lack of food, and he became convinced that his brothers had repented of their cruel treatment of him and would never treat Benjamin as they had treated him.
Joseph put all ten of his brothers together into ward in prison for three days after accusing them of being spies. The confinement tested the truth of their account and their character, requiring them to prove themselves by bringing Benjamin down to Egypt. Rather than separate or endanger Benjamin, the brothers chose to remain together in custody so as not to bring further sorrow upon their father.
Those three days together were days of bitter sorrow that forced them to reflect upon their past wrong course, especially their cruelty in selling Joseph as a slave. They understood that if they were convicted as spies and could bring no evidence to clear themselves, they would all have to die or become slaves. They feared that God was punishing them for enslaving Joseph by letting them suffer slavery themselves.
They doubted that any effort of theirs could persuade their father to let Benjamin leave him, since Joseph was thought to have suffered a cruel death. During those same three days Joseph thought of his father and his brothers' families possibly suffering for lack of food, and he became convinced that his brothers had repented of their cruel treatment of him and would never treat Benjamin as they had treated him.