And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
The speakers are Jacob's sons, Joseph's brothers, declaring that their first journey down to Egypt was solely to buy food, because famine in Canaan had driven them there to purchase grain. In one account this explanation is directed to Egypt's ruler as an answer to the charge that they were spies, stating their peaceful purpose. In other accounts the words are addressed to Joseph's steward, the steward of Joseph's house, spoken beforehand when the brothers had been taken inside Joseph's house to dine before facing Joseph.
They spoke because they were afraid they had been brought inside to be called to account for the money found in their sacks. They suspected it had been placed there deliberately to find occasion against them and enslave them. They spoke in advance to befriend the steward, to clear themselves and to demonstrate that they had acted honestly.
The declaration about the first journey was part of a fuller account in which they reported finding the money at the openings of their sacks. They asserted they had brought it back in full weight along with additional money to buy food. They insisted they did not know who had put it there.
The speakers are Jacob's sons, Joseph's brothers, declaring that their first journey down to Egypt was solely to buy food, because famine in Canaan had driven them there to purchase grain. In one account this explanation is directed to Egypt's ruler as an answer to the charge that they were spies, stating their peaceful purpose. In other accounts the words are addressed to Joseph's steward, the steward of Joseph's house, spoken beforehand when the brothers had been taken inside Joseph's house to dine before facing Joseph.
They spoke because they were afraid they had been brought inside to be called to account for the money found in their sacks. They suspected it had been placed there deliberately to find occasion against them and enslave them. They spoke in advance to befriend the steward, to clear themselves and to demonstrate that they had acted honestly.
The declaration about the first journey was part of a fuller account in which they reported finding the money at the openings of their sacks. They asserted they had brought it back in full weight along with additional money to buy food. They insisted they did not know who had put it there.