Joseph's Brothers Held in an Egyptian Prisonby Josiah-R
42:23Genesis 42:23
And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
Joseph spoke to his brothers through an interpreter, so they did not know that he understood their language. Because they believed their words were private, they spoke freely in unguarded conversation, which allowed him to hear without their knowledge and learn their true feelings. What he heard was their open admission that they were guilty for their cruelty to him and for the way they had treated him.
They specifically recalled seeing the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with them and they would not hear, and Reuben reminded them that he had warned them not to sin against the child. Their belief that this distress had come upon them because of that cruelty shows their repentance. Hearing their confession moved Joseph to turn aside from them and weep. After weeping, he returned to commune with them and took Simeon and bound him before their eyes.
Joseph spoke to his brothers through an interpreter, so they did not know that he understood their language. Because they believed their words were private, they spoke freely in unguarded conversation, which allowed him to hear without their knowledge and learn their true feelings. What he heard was their open admission that they were guilty for their cruelty to him and for the way they had treated him.
They specifically recalled seeing the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with them and they would not hear, and Reuben reminded them that he had warned them not to sin against the child. Their belief that this distress had come upon them because of that cruelty shows their repentance. Hearing their confession moved Joseph to turn aside from them and weep. After weeping, he returned to commune with them and took Simeon and bound him before their eyes.